# Blueberry Leaves are turning yellowish



## tome (May 6, 2003)

Some of my blueberrys are losing their bright green color and turning a yellowish color. Any answers out there as to what I should apply to them to correct it?

Thanks,
Tom


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2004)

tome said:


> Some of my blueberrys are losing their bright green color and turning a yellowish color. Any answers out there as to what I should apply to them to correct it?
> 
> Thanks,
> Tom


Tom I found this on a site called "treesforyou" on goggle it talks about blueberry and trees leaves turning yellow.

http://www.treesforyou.org/Planting/TreeCare/Healthy/yellowl.htm

Plants with iron chlorosis first turn yellow-green to yellow between the veins, with the veins remaining a darker green. With more severe chorosis the leaves become pale yellow and develop brown spots between the main veins. Leaf margins may also turn brown with the leaves later drying up and falling off. Tree growth slows to a stop and dieback of branches can occur when iron chlorosis is extremely severe. 

Iron chlorosis is quite common in our area because we tend to have alkaline soil, those are soils with a high pH, often over 8.0. While our soils actually contain adequate amounts of mineral iron, its in a chemical form unavailable to the plants due to the high pH of the soil. The yellowing or chlorosis can involve the entire tree, or may be restricted to one side or even just one branch. Within the same yard, there may also be perfectly healthy green trees growing right next to ones with iron chlorosis. 

Certain types of trees and shrubs are more prone to iron chlorosis than others because they are more sensitive to high pH soils. Those trees most likely to show symptoms of iron chlorosis include Pin Oak, Flowering Dogwood, Sweet Gum, Silver Maple, Tulip Tree, Magnolia, Catalpa, White Oak, Holly, and White Pine. Acid-loving shrubs, like azalea, blueberry and rhododendron, are also prone to iron chlorosis. These types of trees and shrubs should be avoided when planting in soils where pH is extremely high. 
You might need to check it out this might be your problem. You migh to to correct the ph in your soil.
Gmom


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Well I don't have an answer for you, but I wanted to mention that our blueberry leaves turn colors all the time, deep green, green and yellow, green and red, and back to green. They always looks healthy, I have no clue why they do this.


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## countrygrrrl (Aug 4, 2003)

I'm growing my first blueberries this year and have discovered they really, really like a cup or two of coffee every few days.  

I also began deep watering them a week or so ago, and they went bonkers. They appear to think high heat and lots of water are the best of both worlds. 

And finally, there's a rumor that you should never, never fertilize blueberries their first year or so. If these are older plants, obviously that doesn't apply to you.


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

I was having a similar problem earlier this summer. I did a search on Gardenweb and came up with many folks who, like me, were experiencing a cooler and wetter spring than usual and that will wash away the acidifier you might have applied, as well as the blueberries tend to need warmer weather to get the nice green we like to see. It suggested using Hollytone on them, which I did and I am see a nice improvement on mine. pH is the big factor in keeping healthy blueberries. They like acid and alkaline soils decreases their thriftiness as well as decrease berry production. I don't have a clue why anyone would say don't fertilize the first year. I have a print out from my cousin who runs a blueberry farm and they suggest 1) adjust pH to proper level at time of planting-proper pH is 4.0-5.0, if you pH is above this add 3 ounces of ammonium sulfate and a pound of cottonseed meal for each plant. Also iclude rotted leaf mold or peat moss to help lower the pH. 2) Fertilizer-approximately 8 weeks after planting apply 1-2 ounces of ammonium sulfate around the drip line of the plant. Do not over fertilize as this may burn the plant. Continue to add 2 oz. of fertilizer at blossom time and 2 oz. one month later during subsequent years.


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## tobo6 (Jan 14, 2003)

This happened to me years ago, simply overwatering them did it because they were at the edge of our yard and got the water so much when we did our lawn.

I just got some blueberry plants last week, and on the tag it says to water and keep moist when first planted, but after they are settled to water infrequently and deeply. It also says to only fertilize in the spring when new growth is happening.

Deb


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## tome (May 6, 2003)

Thanks guy, I really appreciate all the imput. Will try and apply what I've learned here. 

This forum is really great, again thanks.


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