Tamarillo Tree

margo191, Mar 28, 10:03pm
Planted a tamarillo tree orange variety a few months back. Has grown well and I have kept it well watered and fed with fertiliser. The red variety tamarillo I planted at the same time, does not have yellowing leaves. Anyone know why leaves turning yellow? Thanks.
venna2, Mar 28, 10:14pm
Which one has yellowing leaves - the orange variety? You're saying the red one does not have yellowing leaves. I'm a bit confused. Anyway, are they in a sunny and sheltered position? That seems to be important with tamarillo trees, along with frost protection if needed in winter.
margo191, Mar 29, 1:54am
x1
Thanks venna2 . I made a mess of that explanation didn't I?

It is the orange variety tamarillo which has yellowing leaves. I have now been to a garden centre and bought a more suitable fertiliser plus I was advised to spray with conqueror oil. The tamarillo leaves have ants crawling over them and apparently the ants suck up the residue left by some sort of other insect, leaching the goodness out of the leaves.
Both tamarillos are planted in sunny, sheltered positions and no frosts here in the BOP because absolute water front alongside the harbour.
venna2, Mar 29, 4:55am
Can you tell us what sort of fertiliser you bought? I'm in Wellington and there are definitely frosts here. But so far, I haven't seen any ants on the tamarillo tree. All I've given it has been horse manure once or twice. Maybe fertiliser is a good idea but I know nothing about it.
margo191, Mar 30, 12:52am
The fertiliser I bought as advised by the assistant at Palmers, is: Tui premium brand 'Novatec Premium' fertiliser. Apparently it is good for any plants in the garden. I applied it this morning when it was pelting down with rain, so got it washed into the soil. I sprayed the leaves yesterday afternoon and I'm now hoping to see an improvement.
fpress, Mar 30, 3:37am
Something is eating my Tamarillo leaves. Great big holes in them. :(
What can use on it people? Its covered in fruit.
les6, Mar 30, 4:54am
yours is looper caterpillars,derris dust etc,the other one could be phsyllids?
susieq9, Mar 31, 3:31am
Lift the leaves up and have a look for green caterpillars. If you see them just squash. They can eat quite a bit and usually it's the new fresh leaves.
kateley, Mar 31, 3:48am
how yellow are the leaves? I think that the yellow fruit variety does have a yellow tinge to it's leaves
nabbed, Mar 31, 7:32am
that new potato disease ,Zebra chip disease, which is passed on through a tiny psyllid can attack tamarillo trees. causes them to go yellow.look for a tiny psyllid
margo191, Feb 17, 10:48pm
The leaves are very yellow with patches of brown occurring in a few. The red variety tamarillo I planted at same time as the yellow, is now showing signs of some yellowing on a few leaves. However, I have sprayed the leaves and will see if there is improvement. What do the tiny psylid insects look like? What colour are they?