Please help my poor Lemon Boy

SirZoltan · July 21, 2006

A short history of this plant [which I feel might be necessary...and then again it might not

]:
I accidentally overfertilized this Lemon boy [its been a while now]. So, I quickly tried to flush out the potting soil of that fertlizer. The plant decided it wanted to live and keep growing so it was looking really healthy and everything seemed to be fine after it regrew some new leaves etc. Now it looks like this
Lemon boy with problem?

I don't know if it is obvious in the picture or not, but the main stem and most of the growth is a brownish green color rather than your typical total green color.

Please help me if you have any ideas what might be wrong with this poor Lemon boy plant. It appears from what I can tell that the problem area is mostly in the middle and the new growth is only starting to become affected.

If you need more pics please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

kimpossible · July 21, 2006

Hi Chad,

I am not a container-grower. I have plenty of room to put the plants in the ground, & find them much easier to take care of that way. The only time I tried containers, I ended up with uneven watering, BER, &, basically, disaster & failure!!!

But there are plenty of growers on this forum that are knowledgeable & successful container-growers, & you might want to post your thread on the container forum.

Good luck! I hope someone can help you out...

Polar_Lace · July 21, 2006

Chad,

Read the 'Sticky' post above this one:

Forewarned is forearmed: how to read your tomato leaves

Edited to say this:
I think this may be it:
Bacterial Diseases of Tomato

SirZoltan · July 24, 2006

I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain its not bacterial canker because there are NO spots on anything especially the tomatoes themselves. I am not an expert - so please correct me if I'm wrong here.

The leaves just appear to be shriveling up and dying.

Any ideas how to save this or if its even salavageable?

I wanted to try a Lemon boy tomato SO bad.

Oh well, I guess there is always next year.

Thanks again,
Chad

Suze · July 24, 2006

Chad -- I can't really make out any specific disease processes from your picture, and since you say there are no spots, I'm inclined to think the problem is NOT bacterial or fungal.

When you say you overfertilized before, could you be a little more specific on just how much you overdid it?

Suggestion: try rooting a large cutting or two right now, just in case the plant declines further.

Worth1 · July 24, 2006

Cut the tops off and re-root them in a new container, you have nothing to loose.
If it’s bad soil or too much salt from fertilizer you will be able to tell very soon.

Worth

Worth1 · July 24, 2006

Suze
You and I posted the same thing at the same time.

Worth

Suze · July 24, 2006

Worth, great minds think alike.

Worth1 · July 24, 2006

travis · July 25, 2006

Zoltan,

I'm not an expert on container growing. And I have no idea what you or Mother Nature did to that pitiful plant there.

But last year I had a Lemon Boy in a container go south on me in the middle of a heat wave. I notice you're out in the Southwest. Is it very hot and dry there now?

I cut back all the wilted, yellowed, and ugly foliage ... in your case everything but that one lively lookin' branch on the left side of the photo ... and I cut off all the fruit and flowers and then babied the thing back in August ... watering it almost daily when it was hot and dry ... and it recovered, grew a lot of new leaders, set a bunch of flowers, and went ahead and made a passle of fruit ... most of which I had to pick green and ripen indoors.

But you're out where the growing season may be longer than mine. So, you still stand a good chance.

PV

SirZoltan · July 25, 2006

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I sorta had an inkling to cut off part of it that was still nice and green and see if I could get it to root.

What I meant by overfertilize...
I had put Osmocote in the soil when I planted it. Then, I accidentally grabbed a container of water that had probably 15-30-15 fertilizer mixed in at full strength. Well...lets just say my plant didn't like that very much! Most of the growth started to shrivel up and turn brown etc. So, I had heard that you might be able to flush most of the fertlizer out [except for the osmocote, obviously] with a VERY nice deep watering. This seemed to help immensely and the plant started growing some nice new green growth, so I slowly started clipping off the older dead stuff as the new growth took over.

Then within the last week or 2 it started shriveling up from the middle out [as you see in the picture]. So, I'm totally buffaloed.

Any more questions, requests for upclose pics etc, just let me know. I'm willing to do anything I can to get you guys and gals to help me solve my problem.

In the meantime, I'm gonna cut me off a hunk [or 2] of the healthiest looking part of the plant and try rooting it.

Thanks again,
Chad

spkfero · July 25, 2006

Chad

How Soon Did Your Lemon Boy Go Down,
After You Added Glass Cutting To Your
Container
Did You Put Weed Killer On Your Lawn ???

Gene

July 21, 2006	#1
SirZoltan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 11	Please help my poor Lemon Boy A short history of this plant [which I feel might be necessary...and then again it might not ]: I accidentally overfertilized this Lemon boy [its been a while now]. So, I quickly tried to flush out the potting soil of that fertlizer. The plant decided it wanted to live and keep growing so it was looking really healthy and everything seemed to be fine after it regrew some new leaves etc. Now it looks like this Lemon boy with problem? I don't know if it is obvious in the picture or not, but the main stem and most of the growth is a brownish green color rather than your typical total green color. Please help me if you have any ideas what might be wrong with this poor Lemon boy plant. It appears from what I can tell that the problem area is mostly in the middle and the new growth is only starting to become affected. If you need more pics please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks in advance, Chad

July 21, 2006	#2
kimpossible Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Z5b SW Ont Canada Posts: 767	Hi Chad, I am not a container-grower. I have plenty of room to put the plants in the ground, & find them much easier to take care of that way. The only time I tried containers, I ended up with uneven watering, BER, &, basically, disaster & failure!!! But there are plenty of growers on this forum that are knowledgeable & successful container-growers, & you might want to post your thread on the container forum. Good luck! I hope someone can help you out... __________________ *So Many Tomatoes ... So Little Time*

July 21, 2006	#3
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	Chad, Read the 'Sticky' post above this one: Forewarned is forearmed: how to read your tomato leaves Edited to say this: I think this may be it: Bacterial Diseases of Tomato __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

July 24, 2006	#4
SirZoltan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 11	Well umm... I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain its not bacterial canker because there are NO spots on anything especially the tomatoes themselves. I am not an expert - so please correct me if I'm wrong here. The leaves just appear to be shriveling up and dying. Any ideas how to save this or if its even salavageable? I wanted to try a Lemon boy tomato SO bad. Oh well, I guess there is always next year. Thanks again, Chad

July 25, 2006	#11
SirZoltan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 11	Thanks! Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I sorta had an inkling to cut off part of it that was still nice and green and see if I could get it to root. What I meant by overfertilize... I had put Osmocote in the soil when I planted it. Then, I accidentally grabbed a container of water that had probably 15-30-15 fertilizer mixed in at full strength. Well...lets just say my plant didn't like that very much! Most of the growth started to shrivel up and turn brown etc. So, I had heard that you might be able to flush most of the fertlizer out [except for the osmocote, obviously] with a VERY nice deep watering. This seemed to help immensely and the plant started growing some nice new green growth, so I slowly started clipping off the older dead stuff as the new growth took over. Then within the last week or 2 it started shriveling up from the middle out [as you see in the picture]. So, I'm totally buffaloed. Any more questions, requests for upclose pics etc, just let me know. I'm willing to do anything I can to get you guys and gals to help me solve my problem. In the meantime, I'm gonna cut me off a hunk [or 2] of the healthiest looking part of the plant and try rooting it. Thanks again, Chad

July 24, 2006	#5
Suze Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 3,027	Chad -- I can't really make out any specific disease processes from your picture, and since you say there are no spots, I'm inclined to think the problem is NOT bacterial or fungal. When you say you overfertilized before, could you be a little more specific on just how much you overdid it? Suggestion: try rooting a large cutting or two right now, just in case the plant declines further.

July 24, 2006	#6
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Cut the tops off and re-root them in a new container, you have nothing to loose. If it’s bad soil or too much salt from fertilizer you will be able to tell very soon. Worth

July 25, 2006	#10
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Zoltan, I'm not an expert on container growing. And I have no idea what you or Mother Nature did to that pitiful plant there. But last year I had a Lemon Boy in a container go south on me in the middle of a heat wave. I notice you're out in the Southwest. Is it very hot and dry there now? I cut back all the wilted, yellowed, and ugly foliage ... in your case everything but that one lively lookin' branch on the left side of the photo ... and I cut off all the fruit and flowers and then babied the thing back in August ... watering it almost daily when it was hot and dry ... and it recovered, grew a lot of new leaders, set a bunch of flowers, and went ahead and made a passle of fruit ... most of which I had to pick green and ripen indoors. But you're out where the growing season may be longer than mine. So, you still stand a good chance. PV

July 25, 2006	#12
spkfero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: michigan Posts: 84	Chad How Soon Did Your Lemon Boy Go Down, After You Added Glass Cutting To Your Container Did You Put Weed Killer On Your Lawn ??? Gene