Someone recently lamented: “I’m tired of ‘tired blood,’” referring, of course, to the well-known commercial directed at anemic humans. I’ll go one step further: “I’m tired of plants suffering from ‘tired blood.’
Sounds crazy? I’m not, and neither is my statement. Plants can suffer from a condition closely paralleling human anemia.
In their case, it is called “iron chlorosis” and is characterized by yellow leaves and loss of growth—that tired look.
Importance of Iron
Thanks to advertising, even non-gardeners have a speaking acquaintance with chlorophyll—that marvelous stuff that makes plants and toothpaste green.
Iron is necessary for the formation of chlorophyll. Therefore, a lack of it results in iron chlorosis and, eventually, the plant’s death.
This “iron-deficiency anemia” is a widespread plague, attacking plants growing in any type of soil, sandy, loam or clay, acid or alkaline. Such favorites as roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, and holly are extremely susceptible.
I’m tired of it because it is an unnecessary condition. The cure is so simple, effective, and economical. To correct iron chlorosis, there are iron chelates (pronounced key-lates).
Report on Successful Experiment
Early information on chelated iron appeared in a report on the successful experiments Dr. Philip J. Westgate of the Central Florida Experiment Station conducted.
Since then, a good deal of progress has been made. Now iron chelates are available to the gardening public in the form of a water-soluble powder or incorporated in fertilizer mixes.
The powder is packaged conveniently in amounts ranging from 4-oz. envelopes to 5-lb. bags or can be bought in bulk. When present in fertilizers, the name or the chemical symbol, Fe, identifies it.
Be sure to buy the iron chelates best suited to your soil. There are two types—one for acid and one for alkaline or slightly acidic soil.
44659 by Duke Sloan