Hello everyone, I'm new here but have been following this blog for over a year. I got my hands on some cuttings from an awesome, sweet fig tree from Italy. The owner is clueless to the variety. I rooted them indoors over the winter successfully and transplanted them into pots in a professional potting mix. Their in full sun and growing well but the leaves are lime green! does anybody know why this is and why their not dark green? thank you so much, Mark

Not all fig varieties have the same coloured leaves. The amount of sun affects the leaf colour as well.
Also, if you have not been fertilizing them, the colour tends to be lighter. Leaves grow darker with adequate fertilizing.
and that's all I know about that.

grant
Z5b

You may be iron deficient which would cause a yellowing/lime green color.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=vhi&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=iron+deficiency+in+trees&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1600&bih=754&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Are they outside in unfiltered sunlight?
Filtered light can cause this symptom through glass or plastic like in a greenhouse. If they are still indoors harden them off under a tree for two weeks then half day of full sun for another week then full sun. If they are outside then it is definitely an iron issue.

What can you do to add iron? I have two trees inground outside I planted them in the early spring and they leafed out outside. They are in full sun all day. I did add some lime a few weeks ago and I just added some fertalizer yesterday.

Take one Tspoon of liquid Iron concentrated and dilute it into one g of water. Water the tree first, wait for 30 mints-1hr then add/pour the diluted Iron around your tree.
 If you buy/have the granulated Iron fertilizer take one Tspoon add to 1g water  let it stand for one night then next morning water your trees with it.

Iron fertilizer will decrease the pH of the soil so make sure not to add Fe too often.

After watering your plants 2-3 times with Fe leaves should turn green, but if they are still pale green then  your tree needs Mg. Mg deficiency can cause the fig leaves turn pale green. make sure the lime that you are using contains Ca and Mg (both of them).

I use the Bonide liquid Fe concentrated (below),

http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Iron-Concentrate-1-Quart/dp/B0015I6ZW8/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1308362283&sr=1-3


P.S. Do not water your plant 2-3 days in a row with diluted Iron. For example,
 day 1) water with regular water, wait 30mins, then add the diluted Iron.
day2 and 3) Only water (no Fe).
day 4) same as day 1.
day 5 and 6) same as day 2 and 3 (no Fe).
You get the idea....

New leaves are often light green for a while. Takes a while to darken. I had the same post a couple weeks ago - all of my leaves have darkened since then.

Mark,

Before you add acidifier or additional Iron, read up on Iron Chlorosis. See If that is what your leaves look like. I doubt that is what you have. I have extremely alkaline soil and even though several of my fruit trees suffer from iron chlorosis, the Ficus carica are not one of them. Your prolem is likely something else. Can you post pictures? Be advised, it can take several weeks for Iron/acidifier supplements to take visible effect. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation on how often to apply. I usually apply it to the plants that need it once or twice a season. Good luck!

Jason is correct.  I thought the same thing (about the lime green leaves), but I observed them over time and they darkened up as the leaves matured.

Give it a little time.  It's probably no emergency, and if the plant starts looking worse more aggressive intervention can be used if needed, but remember the Hipocratic Oath: "First do no harm."

Most conditions with plants, animals, and humans are self-limiting and will self-correct over time, and you want to be careful you don't make things worse with too much chemical amendments.  Go slow if you use them, as you can add more but you can't take it out.

As other forum members mentioned above, new young leaves will be pale green and as they mature they will change color to dark green. If that's the case do not add the Fe, just be patient. But if the leaves are mature and still pale green there might be some sort of deficiency usually Iron or Mg.

Chart below can be helpful. It was posted by James couple of weeks ago.

Thanks so much guys! Here's a photo of the lime green fig tree.

Looks like low Nitrogen, not Iron Chlorosis. With clorosis, the veins would be dark green and the rest of the leaf would be yellowing. Several reasons it may be happening including over/under watering. Remember that Miracle Grow may contain fertilizer but it only lasts "up to" 4 months. Try a small dose of liquid fertilizer with higher N percentage followed by a recommended amount of Osmocote (19-6-12) for a sustained higher level. Should darken the leaves up to normal. Here is a pic of one of my figs that was planted in that cheap "potting soil" sold at Lowes, Walmart, and Home Depot. It is basically dehydrated sewage. It has now been cleared up by washing away the rootball and re-potting in my own soilless mix with just Osmocote for fertilizer. Good luck!

Here are some pictures of my two trees that are lime green. Go4Broek. Can I ask what brand was that potting soil? I just added some of Osmocote 19 6 12 two days ago. Should I spay it with some miracle grow? I don't think I have been excessively watering it because we have had some pretty big storms lately, but the two other older in ground trees are fine and my potted trees are fine.

Agree....likely a nitrogen deficiency..........

Sometimes a potting soil has a nitrogen demand that goobles up the nitrogen especially during hot weather. You can spray some dilulted MG (all purpose is fine) directly on the leaves and you should see an improvement in short order. That is one of the benefits of pH neturalized water solluble MG.....nutrients can be absorbed (safely) and rapidly through the leaves. What drips on the ground will help too.


FYI.......I grow all of my fig trees in the ground and have never seen that "overwatering" situation that others talk about. Maybe one has to have a hard pan for that to occur.........

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

71GTO,

How long have your fig plants been in-ground? As I told Mark, Osmocote can take several weeks to have a visible result. Liquid fertilizer can show up in a few days. Use both initially. I can tell you that you need clear a larger radius of lawn around your plants. The lawn is likely competing and depleting the Nitrogen from the figs' root zone. Give them 2-3' in all directions and mulch. You can rake in a small amount of balanced fertilizer before mulching to make up what the lawn has depleted and water in a gallon or so of liquid fertilizer for faster short-term results. Good luck!

It's the bags that look like this:
 

They were planted in late March. I actually did clear a larger diameter around they trees yesterday. One pic has the new look. I added some top soil mulch and some border to keep te grass from creeping in, which is what happened. I added Osmocote a few days ago and today I used a little miracle grow liquid. Thanks again for all the help.

Its been a few weeks and my two trees are much better they are the right shade of green now. They have put on new growth. leaves and figs since clearing around them and giving them some MG.

Big improvement! Congrats and good luck!