They both look like they could do with an iron infusion. Try a little liquid fertilizer.
Whats wrong with my rose of Sharon?
- Thread starter leoturt
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LasTortugasNinja
Guest
I hate plants. Almost as many opinions on them as there are for tortoises! I planted a rose of Sharon. The nursery specialist, who showed us pics of her 9 plants in her yard... told us it needs 10 gal water a week, & never let the soil get dry.
Ours is thriving, so I’m not going to argue. I guess there are tons of variables.
I hate plants.
...
did I mention I hate plants?
Stupid salads...
Ours is thriving, so I’m not going to argue. I guess there are tons of variables.
I hate plants.
...
did I mention I hate plants?
Stupid salads...
hahahahaha...lol...you are too funny...I have almost 100 Rose of Sharon in various sizes of growth...tortoise cactus...different blooming plants...grape vines...until I got hurt I worked in my yards for a few hours a day...I have windows full of exotic plants in my house...I LOVE PLANTS....lol
Wait...but do you like or love plants? Hard to tell!
Donutsgranny
Member
I have a rose of sharon though not in my tortoise enclosure, yellow leaves can be from over watering, poor drainage, nutrient deficiency or bugs. I had trouble with mine in the beginning but now its like 6 ft tall and every year I trim it back. It is in the ground and not in a pot. I think it will do better in the ground, though the tor will likely kill it if you don't have a barrier round it. If putting it in the ground is not possible I would one clean it with dawn dish detergent, just put some in a spray bottle mix with water and spray the leaves both side, I'd replant it into a big pot, drainage rocks on botton of pot and fill around the plant with fresh potting soil. Also before you put it in add some Osmocote fertilizer to the botton and after you place it in a bit more around the sides. Likely you will lose those leaves but will save the plant. I'm by no means a plant expert but that is what I would try.
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LasTortugasNinja
Guest
My wife LIVES in the garden during the spring and summer. She can't wait for the weekends so she can put on old shorts and shirt and get elbows deep in dirt. She now has a friend that loves digging ALMOST as much as she does. She takes the tort out and talks to him in his outdoor pen while she works in the garden.
Me, I avoid the nasty green things. I have severe allergies, skin cancer is VERY common in my genetics, and overall hate anything to do with the evils of the flora.
leoturt
Active Member
Would fish pond water with fish poop be a good fertilizer? That's what I've used, maybe it's not working? It has worked extremely well for our veggie garden.
Also, won't it die in the winter from freezing if I plant it in the ground?
It's still in its nursery pot. I've been meaning to replant it in a pot but been lazy. Never done that before since I'm new to plants.
Reason I said iron deficiency is other than the color the leaves are robust and healthy looking.
Matt Fidelibus
Member
Iron is not a bad guess but I don't think that's it as iron is not very mobile in the plant so deficiency symptoms would be expected to be seen first in young leaves, but to me it looks like the youngest leaves are greener than the older leaves. If that's right then it's probably not iron. Nitrogen is much more mobile so deficiencies are usually seen first on older leaves. Either way it could be corrected with a complete fertilizer, as long as it's not due to excess water, pH or pest issues. I would probably not use aquarium water until the issue has been corrected in case the chemistry of that water could be a factor.
If spider mites were the cause then there should be webbing on the leaves and I didn't notice any in the pictures but the original poster could check. Spider mites like heat and dryness.
If spider mites were the cause then there should be webbing on the leaves and I didn't notice any in the pictures but the original poster could check. Spider mites like heat and dryness.
leoturt
Active Member
Stupid question..if I replant my rose of Sharon into the ground, do I need to put my own soil or can I just use what I dug up from the ground as soil?
Sue Ann
Well-Known Member
Too much water ? put in sun and let it dry out completely. Also repot in organic soil so you are not feeding your tort chemicals
Depends on how your native soil is! If it's reasonably friable and has decent organic matter you might get away with that, but then mulch it with something good.
I have terrible mountaintop clay with sandstone, so i dug up an area (meaning, i pulled out the large rocks to make a hole) and worked some compost and maybe peat moss in with some native soil to fill the wide shallow "bowl".
Then i never fertilize except occasionally with a bit of urine, but i mulch occasionally with lawn clippings or wood chips. Once it's established it will not be so delicate, but keep a bit moist the first year or 2.
Also sometimes in the summer I water with an aerobic weed brew.
These plants do not need a bunch of super rich soil and nutrients, just a moderate amount. My leaves are very dark and the plants are healthy. I eat some of the flowers in the summer.
We have some extremely talented (and/or experienced) plant people on the TFO. 
However, IF you ever find yourself going a little bit crazy trying to sort through a sometimes... overwhelming... amount of plant-related experience and advice... Consider contacting your county cooperative extension office. They will be familiar with your local conditions, vendors, products, etc. Depending on current local COVID protocols, these are the plant people you might be able to get to examine your plant (or a sample of it, or the soil, or whatever) in person.
However, IF you ever find yourself going a little bit crazy trying to sort through a sometimes... overwhelming... amount of plant-related experience and advice... Consider contacting your county cooperative extension office. They will be familiar with your local conditions, vendors, products, etc. Depending on current local COVID protocols, these are the plant people you might be able to get to examine your plant (or a sample of it, or the soil, or whatever) in person.
Okay, slight "miss" on my part. As in, I missed the country the original poster lives in. Would any Canadian resident like to weigh in on whether there's a counterpart to our U.S. Cooperative Extension Service, north of the border?
This one looks almost like a variegated variety
leoturt
Active Member
I repotted all my rose of Sharon and hibiscus with organic soil mixed with some other stuff and small amount of horse manuer, and I sprayed the leaves several days before with diluted dish soap.
I'm thinking of cutting off like half the leaves of the yellowing rose of Sharon as an extra step. Would it be too much stress for the plant? And I would cut them off after dawn so it has the cool night to slowly recover. It seems like spider mites might be the cause. It doesn't look like iron deficiency as the leaf veins are not visible in yellow leaves. Can't think of any other cause aside from maybe incorrect pH level or watering. I've slowed down on the water and water less.
I'm thinking of cutting off like half the leaves of the yellowing rose of Sharon as an extra step. Would it be too much stress for the plant? And I would cut them off after dawn so it has the cool night to slowly recover. It seems like spider mites might be the cause. It doesn't look like iron deficiency as the leaf veins are not visible in yellow leaves. Can't think of any other cause aside from maybe incorrect pH level or watering. I've slowed down on the water and water less.
Matt Fidelibus
Member
Did the roots appear to be healthy when you reported it?
How moist was the original soil when you removed it from the pot?
If the roots were healthy (and not root-bound) and the soil not soggy, then you probably did not need to repot it and you probably weren't over-watering.
If the roots were unhealthy I probably would have just discarded the plant. If it was root-bound, I would have reported it in a slightly bigger pot. If the soil was soggy, then you probably were over watering.
If you had spider mites you should have noticed webbing on the under surface of the leaves. Sometimes you need a hand lens or zoom in with your phone camera for close inspection. I doubt it was spider mites, however, because 1) they leave tell-tale signs (webbing as I mentioned) and their feeding injury cause a speckled or mottled chlorosis, not uniform yellowing like in your picture.
Horse manure is not a great fertilizer for potted plants. It's salty and you don't have good control over the amount of nitrogen you are adding, and it may be lacking in other nutrients that are needed.
A high quality hibiscus fertilizer would probably work a lot better and there isn't anything inherently bad about conventional fertilizers in terms of imparting some kind of toxicity to your plant. Obviously you don't want your tortoise to directly ingest any fertilizer particles or leaves that were sprayed with a foliar fertilizer (or Dawn for that matter), but application of an appropriate fertilizer, following the recommended rate (or less, as you wish) should be safe.
I wouldn't trim the plant at this point, or under water it. Water it appropriately and see what happens. Don't apply anymore Dawn unless you know you have insects.
Good luck,
Matt
In Western Canada, I would keep my ROS in a nice large pot, fertilize well and once it starts to get cold/(before frost) i would bring inside to a location with SUNSHINE and keep it growing through Winter. You can pick & feed leaves throughout Winter. (Thats what i do with our Hibiscus here in MD)
I think the standard guidance is not to remove more than a third of the leaves when you prune a plant. The plant is already under plenty of stress from the changes so far. It might be time to hold back and see how the plant handles its current round of changes, before adding more adjustments into the mix.
leoturt
Active Member
Oh good point about the stress it's already facing. Didn't think of that! I won't prune any thenI think the standard guidance is not to remove more than a third of the leaves when you prune a plant. The plant is already under plenty of stress from the changes so far. It might be time to hold back and see how the plant handles its current round of changes, before adding more adjustments into the mix.
