Hi--

I posted this question on the main forum regarding my ailing clusia but received no replies; I was told to try here on the Florida-specific forum...

My experience with clusias has been that they are essentially bulletproof. We live on an island off the Gulf side of Florida where the "soil" is virtually all sand; there are long, hot droughts in the summer; and the area is prone to flooding with brackish water. The clusia has proven impervious to all of these.

We recently planted a row of 15-gallon clusias along the property line in the back, and apart from slight yellowing of the leaves due to possible transplant shock, all look great save for one. The one in question shows badly-wilted leaves that I assumed were due to sun/heat stress, and though I have been watering it as soon as the soil is dry, it does not improve. What's strange is that it has neither improved nor gotten worse over the past 3 weeks or so. The leaves do not seem to be dropping: they just remain in this wilted state (see photo).

Hoping someone may have advice as to how I may revive this clusia. Should I in fact pull off the leaves that are wilted--which is virtually all of them? Is this one too far gone? I'm hoping it isn't.

Thank you...

Leaves are still green, so they're alive and doing some work for the plant. Pulling them off will guarantee the plant will die.

I would rig up something to shade that plant for a week or two, and water it deeply every morning. Plants that are newly planted in sandy soil need water every day until you start to see new growth. That's the sign that they are putting out new roots and have recovered from transplant shock. These are not houseplants that can be overwatered. They're out in the heat night and day, trying to survive with a relatively small root ball, until they can get some new roots going.

Sometimes a plant you buy in a pot may have been in the pot too long, and the soil is depleted of it's organic elements which allows the soil to compact. When it does this, it becomes hydrophobic - water is not absorbed, just flows right through. So unless you really broke up the root ball before you planted, that plant was probably already in distress. Soak it, then water daily until the leaves perk up and it starts to grow. A top dressing around it of some really good compost may also help matters. Definitely mulch thickly around the plants with wood chips, leaves or pine needles to help keep the soil cooler as well.

Thank you Dyzzypyxxy for your most informed answer.

I did speak with a nursery in Bradenton yesterday afternoon and she asked me to email a photo to her; much like you are opining, she too feels the problem is that the watering I've done has been insufficient. Now I have built a circular ring of soil around the clusia in question to retain the water, and I put the hose on it for a solid 10 minutes to ensure that the root ball is getting completely drenched. Combined with the heavy rain we received last night, I am curious to see if I note any difference in the morning. My plan is to follow your suggestion and deep-water it every morning. Are you of a mind that this particular clusia should still bounce back?

Even though the others are not wilting, all are showing yellowed leaves. Though it will be time-consuming--and I expect my water bill to be high this month--I intend to deep-water all of these new clusias as well. Is water in fact the best remedy to return the yellowing leaves to a healthy green color?

Thank you once again.

Yes, I think that wilted plant will come back if you can re-hydrate it, just because the leaves are still green. If it doesn't respond to the deep watering, I would be inclined to dig it up and get a look at the root ball - it may be still compacted, so maybe you can break it up and incorporate some good, moisture-retentive soil around it when you re-plant it. Wash out the old depleted soil with the hose if you do that, so the new stuff can get in around the roots. (I'd do it in the evening, so the plant doesn't get too shocked by heat and sun etc.)

Once leaves turn yellow it's fairly rare for them to green up again unless you can fertilize. Don't know about Manatee, but down here in Sarasota County we are on fert restriction until September 30th. So they may lose those yellow leaves, but they will probably survive, especially if it rains more often now. Even just more clouds in the afternoons will help our plants to survive this brutal summer weather. You could buy a bag of alfalfa pellets from your local feed store and use it for a soil amendment around the new plants - it's a mild slow-release nitrogen boost that's allowed since it's not soluble chemical fert.

I'm so jealous of your heavy rain yesterday - we got just the very tail end of that storm down here, about a 10min. shower was it. I've re-named this Saharasota County.

Hi, and thanks again for going above & beyond the call of duty with your comprehensive response.

After the deep watering and the monsoon we had last night, I was surprised to see the clusia is still quite wilted and essentially unchanged today. (You're right--there has been little rain thus far this season.) The ground is still wet so I will likely wait to do another 10-minute watering tomorrow. How long would you guess it should be before I see signs of this one reviving?

Not going to speculate on that, it really depends a lot on the weather, so

Since it didn't recover from last night's rain, I would dig it up tonight, myself. Carefully, to preserve the roots! Lay it on a tarp or piece of cardboard so you can gently crush the root ball. There may even be a void or hole in the soil near the root zone that's allowing the water to flow away from this plant.

Hello again and thanks once more for your generous advice!

Sadly, my clusias appear to be moving in the wrong direction, and this is after the heavy rains from last night.

Of the 14 I planted, most do appear to show signs of leaf growth. However, the five at the western end of the yard--or the end that yields the most unobstructed sunlight all day--show yellowing leaves, and three of those are now exhibiting signs of wilting; the main one in question is no better at all.

I deep-watered all of them today, and about an hour ago, I decided to dig up the very bad one. I saw right away that this one evidently did not pull out of the 15 gal container cleanly when it was planted, as it was just the primary root ball (about the size of a volleyball) with none of the smaller capillary roots attached. There is no question that the small root ball is getting soaked with water, but it looks to be a very limited root system. By contrast, all of the others have an extended root system in the funnel-like shape of the 15 gal container.

Oddly enough, the clusias that appear to be doing the best are the ones that are root-bound, where I can see the roots had circled around the inside of the container. Weird.

Do you have any advice at this juncture, or should I continue to deep-water regularly and accept the fact that I may lose two or three? Thank you...

Yes, Clusia are very resilient, and if you can get them growing roots out into the soil, they will respond. The days are getting shorter, the sun is getting weaker (wish it would hurry up) and your plants will have an easier time as summer wanes. Keep up the deep watering, on the days it doesn't rain.

I think the best advice I can give you is to mulch the soil thickly with wood chips or leaves on top of the root areas, to keep the soil cooler, and get a piece of shade cloth to drape over them, to shade them from the brutal sun.

If our more "normal" weather pattern would only show up, we'd have more clouds in the afternoons and the plants would get relief from that, too. You chose a really tough time to be planting these, and shame on the nursery for selling them to you at this time of year and not advising you to wait. Fall or early spring are both much better times to plant. Even winter would be preferable.