Are My Citrus Trees Suffering From Overwatering Or The High Alkalinity Of Their Water?

Question

When replacing a pool, I used some of the water to deep water my lemon, orange, and grapefruit trees. The water had no chlorine and the PH was 7.4 (similar to tap water), but the alkalinity was 200ml. The lemon has dropped most of it’s leaves, and the grapefruit is doing the same. The orange isn’t dropping an excessive amount (yet), but one branch has the leaves all curled (the branch also has many blossoms). My question is again – overwatering or high alkalinity? Also, what can I do to make it better for the trees? Thanks.

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Answer 1

Unfortunately, the damage is probably a little of both aspects. 7.4 is quite high for most plants, but for citrus this is very high.

Both, bringing down the pH and binding out some of that sodium is possible using citric acid to precipitate out much of that. It can be done with large amounts of water, but if you choose to do this instead- Be sure to allow it to dry out between flushing. If not, you risk rotting roots due to soil stagnation.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/raise-acid-level-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/what-is-fertilizer-burn.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/sodium-in-plants.htm

Answer 2

An interesting fact to complicate matters - our normal tap water is a ph ~7.8 and an alkalinity ~100. I always deep water and fertilize (Vigero Citrus) together. Should I be adding something else when I do that to overcome the ph/alkalinity of the water?