When a plant is in good health, its leaves have a green color that is nice to see. However, if we see that they begin to turn yellow… it may be a symptom of a serious problem. In terms of plant health, this problem is called chlorosis , which occurs when the plant cannot absorb iron or magnesium adequately through its root system , and the leaves begin to turn yellow. And if it is not fixed quickly, these leaves usually fall.
But there is no reason to be alarmed. Chlorosis, no matter how complicated it may seem, is an easily avoidable disease and, above all, easily controllable. Do you want to know some measures so that your plants do not have to suffer from this problem? We will explain them to you below.
Irrigation water
In most cases, chlorosis is caused by an excess of lime in the water. Lime prevents iron from being absorbed by the roots. If you live in an area where the water is very hard, you can add a few drops of lemon vinegar to the irrigation water to lower the pH and facilitate the absorption of iron, or buy a specific fertilizer for acidophilic plants and pour a few drops into the water before watering.
If you don’t know or aren’t sure what kind of water you have, you can buy pH strips and do a quick and cheap test yourself. Remember that a pH greater than or equal to 7 is considered calcareous, while 4 to 6 is considered acidic.
Substratum
We have very good quality irrigation water, however the substrate… may not be the most suitable for your plant. It is just as important to know the pH of the water as of the substrate , since it will not do any good to water an acidophilic plant with rainwater in a soil that has a very high pH.
In this case, it is best to transplant the plant, and change the substrate for one with a low pH; or add blonde peat.
Location
It is sometimes the case that chlorosis appears because the plant is in an unsuitable location. As a general rule, all plants should be outside; however, if we have them indoors they should be away from air currents.
Likewise, it will be necessary to be careful with fertilizers and insecticides. We will always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
