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Magnesium is an essential part of chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green and absorbs the energy of the the sun.
Check for yellowing (chlorosis) lower older leaves with darker veins. Yellowing areas will start to brown off and die from the edges of the foliage.
Houseplants
Magnesium is needed to produce the chlorophyll pigment that gives leaves their green colour. When magnesium is deficient, leaves turn yellow between the veins and around the leaf edges. Other colours, such as purple, brown or red, may appear. Lower, older leaves turn first, and will die if they're not given any magnesium. Magnesium can be leached out of light, sandy, acidic soil by high rainfall. Too much potassium in the soil, may also cause deficiency as the plants absorb it instead of the magnesium.
The macro nutrients that plants need in relatively large quantities are nitrogen (N), sulphur (S), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). But plants also need trace elements in small quantities for healthy growth. Trace elements include; iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo) and humic acids.