Plant Nutrient Diagnostics

What is the plant telling you?

Deficiency symptoms aren't random — where they show up on the plant is the first clue. Mobile nutrients get pulled from old leaves to feed new growth, so deficiencies show up low first. Immobile nutrients can't relocate, so deficiencies show up in the newest growth instead. Start by pointing to where the symptom is.

Newest growth Oldest growth

Click the part of the plant that matches what you're seeing.

New growth

Which pattern matches?

Field guide, not a lab test — soil or tissue analysis is the only way to confirm a deficiency with certainty. Several deficiencies also overlap in appearance, and more than one can occur at once.

Each result includes an original illustration of the symptom. Want to swap any of them for a real photo instead — your own plants, or a properly licensed image — drop a file in the images/ folder with the matching name (see README-images.txt in this download).