No New Growth In 1 Year Old Moringa Plant

Question

I bought my Moringa plant from a local store late last summer. It was 1 ft tall and inside a 1 gallon container when I bought it. I re-potted the Moringa right away in a large 25 gallon pot. The plant grew to around 5 ft tall by fall. I harvested most leaves. The plant has been sitting outdoor in the same container since then. It is in a spot that gets sun from sunrise to sunset. This year, there is not a single new growth on the Moringa even thought it’s July now. I saw a few videos online where they suggest trimming the tree down after there is some new growth. But there is absolutely nothing on my tree. I have been keeping the soil moist but not too soggy. When I scratch the stem of the plan, I see green wood right away. So the plant is alive but no new growth. Any idea what could be the reason? So far it’s just one long stick in the 25 gallon pot. Around 10 days back I also cut top 1 ft of the plant to see if that encourages any new growth. But nothing so far. I saw a few folks online saying that Moringa only grows in soil. Another comment was that Moringa does not like if you re-pot to a lot larger size. You should step up gradually. Could that be the reason? The plant was very happy last year so what can be the problem now? I am in zone 9B so I was expecting late growth but it’s already July so at this point I am not sure if I need to change something to make the plant grow. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Answer 1

Potting up too large, and too quick, can issues. The amount of uncolonized soil that remains wet will start to get bacterial. When this happens, the tree can suffer.

Generally, when potting up, you will go up just an inch or two in container size. This should be an inch or so larger round and deeper. Anything larger than this can allow infections from wet soils that have no roots to absorb the moisture, deeper down.

You may want to hold off on watering until there is no moisture down to about half way into the pot. This will ensure that the soil dries out enough to allow the roots' processes to carry out.

This article will help you to care for the tree:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/moringa/about-moringa-trees.htm