Myrtle Communis in a pot
Joy Elisabeth
Posts: 32
I have a myrtle communis growing in a fairly large pot. I find conflicting advise online about watering and feeding. However, whenever I water a number of leaves turn yellow and drop off. Can you please advise the best way to care for this plant ....
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This needs Mediteranean conditions. I have just been given one for my birthday which will come out of its pot and into a sheltered place in the garden , south facing, in moist but free draining soil. I hope to get a tree from it. In a pot it needs loam based compost. Yellow leaves does sound as if the plant is lacking nourishment, probably from overwatering if the pot is free draining.
Thank you Verdun and happymarion!
This is a mature plant but I have only just started looking after it. At first I gave it very little water, then I read somewhere to try once a week ... big leaf loss. Even when I rarely give it a dribble now leaves turn yellow.
It has been in the pot some years now and my guess is that it was potted in multi-purpose compost. The pot is 64cm diameter, the plant is 160cm diameter ... I will really struggle to repot!
Does it also need feed? though I might be too late for that this year...
Try taking off the top layer of soil as much as you can and replace with good loam based compost or even better JI no3 and if no improvement try foliar feeding. It would be so much better planted out in the garden I think.
Thank you happymarion. I will try your suggestions, though I fear you are right. Mum thought of planting in the garden a few years back but it never happened. Now its so big I just don't know where we'd put it. Its currently on a north facing wall getting sun morning and afternoon. Would it be ok south facing?Thank you for your advice
Yes I think it would prefer to be south facing. Such a pity we cannot ask the plants but you never know - latest research seems to have shown plants have intelligence! Thank you for the compliment Verdun - you flatterer, you, but I must say having seen how beautiful my friend's one was i researched the species. Now I have one of my own I aim to have it looking as good as his in a few years time. He has had to lift the canopy of his!