How to tell if leaves are chlorotic in not-green trees?

ShadyStump

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I'll use my golden vicary privet as my example, but in general, when a tree has foliage that's a color other than green, how can you tell if it's chlorotic or suffering other similar deficiencies?

On my privet I mentioned, as the leaves first bud out they are a pale green, and transition to their characteristic golden yellow hew as they mature.
However I'm looking at the in-between stage right now, and if I didn't know the color was supposed to change, I'd swear it was horribly chlorotic.
IMG_20230524_194407_717.jpg

But again, in general for trees with not-green foliage, how can tell if you're still not experienced with it enough to just know?
 

Paradox

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If the leaves are normally yellow colored, it might be hard to tell. Maybe if they look more yellow than normal?
 

ShadyStump

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If the leaves are normally yellow colored, it might be hard to tell. Maybe if they look more yellow than normal?
In this case, maybe.
Or just compare overall health of the leaf and tree. That's my primary indicator here that it's NOT chlorotic.

But if my Canada red choke cherry was chlorotic, how would I know when the leaves are supposed to be red during the summer?

Overall health - leaf shape, turgidity, etc. - is the only thing I can really think of at my current level of experience with these two. It's my first spring with both.
But that's not enough on it's own. I have a bunch of dying gardenias that at one point were all so chlorotic they were almost white, but otherwise they looked alright.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips they've picked up, or if someone can share an experience where this issue got the better of them.
 

AJL

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This link might help you. https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/nutrient-deficiencies.
If your interested you could try observing and learning from how healthy plants look when growing naturally in the ground, or in pots at garden centres as a baseline for comparison then you will develop an eye for anything abnormal! There are masses of cultivated variegated plant varieties which can be confusing till you learn to recognise the different cultivars.
If you are re-potting and feeding your bonsai routinely then nutrient deficiencies shouldnt normally be a big issue!
 

Paradox

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Only experience I've had with it is a Japanese white pine and it's needles turned yellow. After I gave it some chelated iron for a few weeks, the needles turned green again
 
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