Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2006
PDF file available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/nurseryplants.html

It's Not Easy Being Green
June 2006
Dustin Chalfant, Certified Applicator

    Have you noticed the chlorotic trees around town? They're pretty
easy to spot next to our lush green trees. A chlorotic tree appears to
be more yellowish than it should be and its veins will be very visible.

    What causes chlorosis? There are many speculated causes, but the two
most commonly agreed upon are: 1) lack of iron in the soil available for
uptake by the tree's roots and 2) an insufficient root system. In the
end, all that basically means is that the tree has lost its ability to
make enough chlorophyll and the tree cannot produce the energy it needs
to live and grow, much like a human would be without enough food. Some
common trees that are susceptible to chlorosis are pin oak, silver
maple, baldcypress, crabapple and sweet gum. According to Kansas State
University, chlorosis can also affect white pine, elm, London plane
tree, cottonwood, walnut, sugar maple, Eastern red cedar, Bradford pear
and willow trees.

    At Johnson's, we offer several chlorosis solutions. The first is
Medicap Systemic Iron Implants that are applied to the tree by drilling
into the trunk and then slipping them in. This puts the iron directly
into the tree's "blood stream" allowing for instant uptake. You could
also use ferti-lome Liquid Iron around your tree for root uptake. The
drawback to both of these options is that they are a yearly process. A
third option is an Iron Chlorosis Treatment provided by Johnson's. This
treatment puts a cache of iron in the ground for root uptake that will
last approximately 10+ years! Give us a call today for your free
estimate.