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Corkscrew Hazel Clorosis

jucati1198jucati1198 Posts: 56
in Problem solving
Hello dear Gardeners!

Please help me with my Corkscrew Hazel. I bought two pots in February and they sat in the nursery containers until probably April/May - I was painfully watching them struggle while doing a house move. I think they become waterlogged during the spring because the foliage started to dry on the edges and drop, and when I checked the roots they looked overwatered with a little bit of fungal growth. :( Immediately, I potted them up into a slightly larger pot and surrounded them with some violas to make sure that the new soil doesn't stay moist for too long, I also used mycorrhizal fungi. I was very careful with watering and while many of the older leaves continued to dry and drop, there has been a lot of new growth. I've noticed some leaf damage 2 weeks ago and was hoping it's a caterpillar that will go away soon. However in the last couple of days, the damage got worse, and last night I finally caught the 3 mischiefs - hairy caterpillars size of a pinky and got rid of them (by transferring them to a much larger hazel tree in a public garden nearby). While doing that I've noticed that there are signs of chlorosis.

I'm not sure what to do because they are in neutral soil and I think they prefer alkaline. Can plants develop chlorosis if the soil is not alkaline enough for them? If so, how do I save them? Or is it a sign of stress from another waterlogging or from the caterpillar attack?  Please help I really love those little trees.

P.S. They are in shade and get full sun between 13:00 and 15:00.

Posts

  • jucati1198jucati1198 Posts: 56

    Sorry, can't figure out while the pics are uploaded side-ways. They are actually portrait.


  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    IME, Corkscrew Hazels, like most trees, do tend to be better off in the ground.
    You are quite right in that the contrary weather this year won't have helped.  I doubt the caterpillars would have made much difference to the overall health of the tree.
    Bit difficult to see the size of the containers but they appear to be rather small pots for the size of tree and placed directly on paving ?  Are you allowing for natural drainage and are you feeding them at all ? 
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    You can’t grow these in pots They need to be planted in the ground , do it as soon as you are able and I guarantee your problems will be over 
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Actually, you can grow many trees in containers for a limited number pf years  - it just isn't the ideal situation and you will eventually need to decide at what stage you are willing to call it a day and either ditch or find a suitable site in your garden.
    So many nurseries and G Centres fail to make clear the needs of the products they sell, it is hardly surprising that people new to gardening can be easily misled.
    I'd be a bit careful about advising plant in ground and problems over - may well be the case in this particular instance but just have a look at how many posters are reporting problems with well established trees/shrubs - gardeners are rarely short of one problem or another ;)  
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    What sort of compost are they in? I agree the pots look tiny for the size of the plants.
  • jucati1198jucati1198 Posts: 56
    Thank you all for your help! The variety I have is called 'Scooter' which is more compact than the more common varieties like 'Concorta'. It only grows to 1.5 meters in 10 years and is supposed to be suitable for large containers. The nursery pot was 20 cm in diameter. I have potted them a size up into 40cm pots. I was planning to pot them up slowly to avoid overpotting. I think the photo looks a bit misleading because I took it from above. Considering they have only been repotted a few months ago, I would be surprised if they have outgrown the new pots already. Also, when I pulled out the violas this weekend I saw the old root system of the hazel which doesn't seem to have grown.
    @philippasmith2 they are in plastic pots hanging inside an overpot with about 10cm clearance below for drainage.

    I spoke to someone in a nursery this weekend and they suggested they might need feeding because they might have been nutrition deprived already before being repotted. In this case, the standard 6 weeks feed in the new compost was not sufficient for long. I think this makes sense. So, I started feeding them with an organic liquid balanced feed. Will do that once a week for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference.
    @Posy they are in a Bord Na Mona's 'Growise Multipurpose Compost with John Innes'. 

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I wouldn't use MPC for a tree or shrub . I would use soil lightened with a bit of compost.


  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Or JI3 .
  • jucati1198jucati1198 Posts: 56
    That's the only compost I could find at that time, as our 2 local garden centres struggled with supply. They still don't have any JI3 in stock. Generally, I don't use garden soil in pots at all - I found in the past that it can introduce disease which is more difficult to control in pots. I usually use Bord Na Mona's peat-free for trees and shrubs and it worked well for me but seem to be sold out everywhere at the moment. Would love to find SylvaGrow® John Innes No.3 peat-free but have never seen it except for online where it's painfully overpriced.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you are stuck for the JI but can get Top Soil ( as sold in GC's and DIY places ) you could, as a temporary measure. make your own mix.  Not ideal but perhaps better than basic MPC . Something to consider maybe ? 
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