What to Do When Carnation Leaves Turn Yellow? Causes and Solutions

Flowers & Gardening Jan 1, 1970 0 views

A friend of mine bought a flower nearly a month ago. He waters it once every few days and has fertilized it twice so far. Normally he keeps it on the balcony and brings it into the living room at night. But recently it has been raining every day for a week with no sun, and yet the leaves suddenly turned yellow. Today, let's use this problem as an example to look at what to do when a carnation turns yellow.

I. Causes of Yellowing

1. Improper Watering

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, it has been raining every day for the past week, and this flower enthusiast still moved his flower outside, so the pot would sit in standing water for a long time, and the flower's roots very likely rotted.

2. Alkaline Nutrients

It likes slightly acidic soil. If you regularly water it with water containing alkaline substances, or the soil used for planting also contains alkali, the leaves will naturally be harmed.

3. No Repotting or Soil Change for a Long Time

The friend mentioned at the beginning of the article only bought his flower a month ago, so this situation should not apply to him. But if you have had your flower for a long time without changing the pot or soil, and the leaves have turned yellow, then this is very likely the cause. A flower grown this way cannot get enough nutrition, there are no longer many nutrients for the roots to absorb, and the leaves will lack nutrients.

4. Improper Light and Temperature

When the temperature is above 30°C, the leaves dry out easily and turn yellow. If there is not enough light, the leaves cannot carry out respiration and photosynthesis, and they will turn yellow.

The above causes sometimes occur individually, and often occur at the same time. You need to analyze the specific condition of the leaves to determine what the actual cause is.

II. Solutions

1. If the problem is improper watering, you can move the pot to a shaded area, stop fertilizing, and carefully control watering. If the pot is not dry, be sure not to water it. Loosen the soil frequently to let the roots breathe.

2. If the leaves of this flower turn yellow during the growing period, alkaline nutrients are more likely the cause. You can add 0.2 percent alum fertilizer water, and the leaves will turn green again before long. If yellowing occurs during normal growth, it may be that too much watering has caused the roots to rot.

3. The suitable temperature for this flower's growth is 13 to 25°C, and it needs 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day. Loving light is its characteristic. No matter which area of the room you put it in, you must make sure the sun can reach it, so that it will grow well.

4. If you want to prune after the leaves turn yellow, wait until it has recovered. For now, you only need to clean up the yellow leaves at the bottom. Be sure not to prune in a way that damages the roots.