Ill mango trees :'(

[Nazmi]

I just did rempot the little mango (... to be honest I just changed the dirt because the pot fits well to this plant), I saw the beginning of the roots and the seed which has got smaller and darker than ever, but even if the original dirt was dry, too dry I think, I saw nothing suspect.
On the big mango tree, the big pot (too big) was full of almost damp dirt with little centipedes and clusters of mycelium, in the center was the root system which seemed to be healthy, I transplanted in a much smaller pot, put some new soil (no coco peat nor horse manure) just regular potting soil with perlite.

We'll see how they go in the future

PS: I forgot the photos
the small one after transplant

the big one:

as you see, it looks very sad, there was even a bit of white mycelium on the place where the stem comes out of the soil

also, I belive I have some problems with gardening so I'll start a thread where I'll ask about how to do things well:
-I have a lot of used potting soil, I'm hesitant about reusing it (with some nutrients added and sterilization of course)
-I grew a lot of things this year and I got a lot of problems (aphids, fungus gnats, fungis, rotting, soil dryness or dampness, ...)
eg: those used to be pepper plants holding fruits, but all died

and those used to be sugar canes that grew pretty nice but also dried and died

 

[Sheal]

Nazmi, I think you are over-potting all your plants which is why you are losing them. If there is to much soil young plants can't cope with the water content and will slowly rot and die. The roots should be allowed to almost fill the pot before planting them on into something bigger and I think the pots currently being used are to big to start them off.

@Chuck, I believe I have an apology to make to you. Now I've seen the pictures I'm inclined to agree with you, to much water.

 

[Nazmi]

Thanks to everyone, it has to be that

Well, you're right, I belive I do this because I always thought the bigger, the better in pots (bigger volume for the plant to grow like in plain ground).

So for the coming year, I'll try everything again with smaller pots (maybe I'll make those soil blocks, I started the peppers with blocks I made with some PVC tubing and they grew amazingly fast (I'll post pictures tomorrow) and also it will enable me to see the roots coming out of the soil.

So, about my mangoes, what should I do now ? I did transplant the one which was in the big pot in a smaller one, the other one which is as tall stayed in it's pot but with new soil (the one that was present before was rock dry).
some pic of the old mango tree:

Also, I belive I have some problems with watering:

when I was a child, I visited this greenhouse where I saw a lot of plants (tropicals, swampland's, desert's, ...) and I liked the scent of the humus that was everywhere, so when I plant something in a pot I like to have a wet soil that smells well and either it will get damp or it will get dry and become a dust block, do you know a reason ? how should I water my plants (because there is to be something wrong) ?

I did some cleaning today in the balcony where I grow my plants to prepare the next year, I have a lot of discarded soil, do you think I can reuse it next year (after having sterilized it and added some nutrients to it).

Thanks in advance

 

[Chuck]

Just remember to water thoroughly when you water and from the bottom up. You probably won't have to water but about every 12-15 days. The best moisture meter is your finger and make sure you have proper drainage holes in the bottom of your pots.

 

[Nazmi]

ok, the new pot has enough holes (the precedent big pot only had one I drilled and now I see that it was far too small ø8mm) usually I use a water bottle and moist all around the pot every week or so, I'll space up the watering and check the moisture.

do you think there are odds that my mangoes may survive ?

Do watering from the bottom mean that I should water from the plate under the pot ?
because I always did it by puting water on the top of the dirt and letting it soak through the pot

Thanks in advance

 

[Chuck]

It is easier to put your plant, pot and all, into the bath tub or a wheelbarrow or something deep enough to submerge about 1/2 of the pot. Doing it from the plate takes forever but if that is the only means available its fine.

 

[gata montes]

Sorry to put a spanner in the works here Nazmi - but as Mango trees are renowned for being extremely sensitive to soil salinity as well as highly susceptible to fertilizer burn and yours are showing the classic symptoms of leaf burn caused by either - I'm more inclined to think that this is the more likely cause of what is ailing your young trees.

Simply because - both excess fertilizer and high salinity results in the exact same symptoms - the burnt tips and sides of leaves - identical to the ones shown in your photos.

So bearing in mind that

Mango trees do not require much fertilization and more importantly - they should never be given fertilizer until they are at least 2 years old

but also

As using manure or adding fertilizer to the soil increases soil salinity and even more so in the case of poorly drained soils - which prevent the water from carrying the excess salt out of the soil.

It has me thinking - although the initial cause may well have been an excessively rich potting medium or additional fertilizer - that the problem now - may well be a combination of the two.

Oh and I would just add - regarding watering - although Mango trees need to be kept on the dry side and preferably allowed to dry out in between each watering for the most part - they require very little water over the winter months.

 

[Sheal]

Before putting soil in the pots cover the holes with either some stones, gravel or pieces of broken pot, this will stop the holes from clogging up with soil and will help drainage. Another tip is to feel the weight of the pot with dry soil in it and then with wet soil. This will give you an idea of when it needs watering. I water at the top of the pot because I'm unable to lift them and find it doesn't make a lot of difference to the well being of the plant. I also let the soil dry out almost completely between watering, for all my plants.

With a different routine to the watering and given a few weeks to settle into their pots, then there's no reason why they shouldn't survive. Give them as much light as possible too, but this goes for all plants particularly at this time of year when light levels are low.

 

[Nazmi]

ok, I have a tub (it's more a big plastic crate (50liters or so)) on my balcony, I'll water my plants this way now, it will also encourage me to use smaller pots if I don't want some back-pain

about the horse manure, I used it everywhere but the mangoes (which I water with bottled water because I read they don't like the chlorine dissolved in tap-water), however I put (maybe too much) coco coir in the mangoes's pots, I don't know if it's good or not...
ok for the over watering issue, now the soil is like on the last pictures of the first page: brand new potting soil, not too moist, I'll leave them alone until it dries a bit.

about the drainage, I put broken clay pots or clay balls, thanks for the gravel/stone tip, it'll be free as opposed to the clay balls which cost a lot. ok about the pots-weighing and I'll put the mangoes under a led lamp,
about light, my lamp seem pretty bright but I read only 3000-4000lux on the luxmeter (at 30cm), but I saw videos where peoples (growing Cannabis sativa) have values up to 20'000 lux at 1meter (like outdoor with full sun), I know lux rate means not that much because it's aligned on the eye perception and not on the effective-spectrum of plants but maybe my lamp is not powerful enough, it's built out of very bright cold white led strips and consumes around 10watts (homemade), also about lighting, what cycle should I use (12/12, 14/10, ...) ?

 

[Corzhens]

Oh, I'm sorry to see that your mango seedling is dying. Mangoes thrive in tropical countries and if you are in the temperate zone, I guess the mango seedling is weak due to the cold climate. But if you are near the equator, that problem is caused by parasites. Perhaps it's too late for treatment but you can try spraying your ill mango with a mixture of liquid dishwashing soap in water.

 

[Nazmi]

Yes, it's cold around there, but I grow them indoors (with weak light until today because I put a lamp on them to add light so they will have better odds to survive), I also rempotted them, but I dont see any parasite (apart maybe the centipedes and mushrooms in the old potting mix that might have disturbed the roots, but I changed it).
From now, they have a good soil (at least I think they have) and good light (14Hours a day) and I'll keep an eye on them, and I hope everything is gonna be alright from now , here is a pic of the setup(since : I moved the little mango tree more under the light) :

 

[Sheal]

I've never grown anything under lights Nazmi so can't give you any help with those, sorry.

 

[Nazmi]

I guess it's going to be fine because they grew well under a weaker light on their first week (last year in january).
I'll keep you updated ont how they evoluate.

 

[Nazmi]

It's been about a week since last watering, the potting soil is dry from the base to the top, should I water now ?

The big mango tree looks sad, the leaves are heavily damaged and there are no buds coming out of the top:

The little one has a little bud, I hope it won't die as the others did, it's leaves are also a bit dry:

 

[Nazmi]

What do you think about the dry leaves ? They also feel like sugar coated, do you think I should shower them to remove the dust and all the nasty stuff ? and what about watering now ?

Thanks in advance