That batch of young oaks I planted all had the same curl in their leaves

Turns out it was a zinc deficiency in the soil. A bit of fertilizer sorted it out.

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait, zinc shows up in the newest leaves first? That seems backwards, I would've guessed the old ones went bad first. Why does it work like that?

gracehernandez1mo ago

Did my friend's lemon tree have the same issue last spring? The newest growth came in all twisted and pale yellow, and her local nursery said it was classic zinc shortage. She actually saw @lucashart's comment and it clicked why the old leaves looked fine. They explained that zinc doesn't move easily in the plant, so the young parts get starved first.

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lucashart1mo ago

Read somewhere that zinc problems usually show up in the newest leaves first. Makes sense with young trees.