Usually, PLs are divided instead of repotted, but either can be done. First, your tree is not going to die if you can purge your thought process of the idea wilting means the plant needs more water. Have faith in the idea that plants in a damp/moist medium will always be able to take up water more efficiently than plants in a wet/soggy medium. The recovery will take 1 of 3 paths. 1) New growth will stop and the leaves will remain in a wilted condition for a period of time until enough new roots are generated to meet the top's moisture needs, Soon after the plant regains turgidity (stops wilting) it will resume growth. 2) Many leaves will die due to the fact a lesser volume of roots isn't going to be able to meet the moisture demands of the pot, which will cause the plant to literally wall off the leaves to prevent further moisture loss, or 3) you could remove at least half of the existing leaves to easy the o/a demand for water. If you do that, concentrate on removing the oldest leaves. If you look very carefully. You'll see the younger leaves are attached to the crown above or closer to the center than attachment point of older leaves. Resume fertilizing when you see the plant pushing new growth. Al

My humblest apologies for my long posts. The firmness of the roots is a good thing. Be wary of disturbing the actual root mass unnecessarily--it just may cause more damage. I know someone who bare-roots her trees every time there may be a problem, and I've been doing my best to discourage this process (ahem. you know who you are ;) Ultimately and ideally, in a potted tree, you do want lots of fine roots for nutrient uptake as opposed to woody lignified roots taking up space, but if the roots are so fragile they are breaking off essentially spontaneously, then they are not viable anyway. pH does seem to be one of those topics that sets some people off for an unclear reason, but I now fall into to the camp of I-don't-really-care-about-it. pH management in *containerized* soils is different from the earth and the reason it is a PIA IMHO is b/c it is extremely dynamic. (Out of curiosity, what is your method for checking--is it pH paper or a meter?) Having said that, citrus do prefer a *slightly* acidififed soil, but they are not blueberries. Most tap water is going to be basic to some degree to keep contaminants from precipitating out, but since you've used bagged soil, there is a very high likelihood that there is a good portion of peat moss in your mix and therefore you've already got a slightly acidified soil. I'd leave that alone for now. Otherwise, you can add a light dose of slow-release fertilizer that is nitrogen-dominant, and since many sources of nitrogen are acidifying on their own that may help. Also, I've seen a brand of those slow-release granules that also has sulfur in it, and that might help over time. When you do fertilize otherwise, you can choose an acidifying formula that way too (I use Miracid for the most part). No, thorns do not *precede* growth. They *accompany* it and you should be seeing something besides just thorns if you really do have some sort of growth. Other possibilities are thorns that you missed previously since there were more leaves to cover then, actual new vegetative growth forming (doubtful if you're still seeing signs of decline like continued leaf loss), or the beginnings of massive pathologic stress-bloom. You're going to have to wait awhile before you see results--I had a tree in CHCs (stupidly) for over a year before I pulled that sucker out and rehabbed it, and it was easily 5 mos or so before I felt like I had made any progress with it whatsoever. The tree's stored energy is eseentially depleted and it has to have time to build that back up. Which is hard when it doesn't have many funtional roots and reduced leaf surface area. Something some speak of, but I don't do, is to prune it back significantly and reduce the canopy mass when you have had major root damage. The main reason I find this difficult is that often leaves will drop first from the inside of the canopy in this situation (older leaves), and then if you prune it back you're cutting off the rest of the leaves--shooting self in the foot while you're at it, lol. The tree needs maximal photosythetic area. Personally, I think citrus is hard to kill if you've got the basics down. It's easy for them to get into trouble, but I don't think they actually die that easily from stuff like this. So it's reasonable to keep trying with this tree. Branch dieback will be your guide, but even if the graft goes, the rootstock can survive--and then in a little while you have someplace where you can do your own grafting. How appropriate--lemonade out of lemons. Literally. Please keep us updated on your progress. Hopefully someone else will comment--where is tapla, bencelest, eyeckr, jackpines, citrusboy? Surely you gents can help us out here...oh wait, I know where they are--they're sick of my longwinded posts :)

The mango won't worry whether you're 16 or 160, it'll still be the same. The advantage is you wouldn't be too old by the time a seed grown tree produced fruit. But yes, prices on trees do vary a lot depending on where you live. The difficulty though with seed grown trees is they take so long to mature and then you could easily end up with fruit you don't like. There is however another option and that's grafting a tree yourself. Not the easiest thing to do but there's a lot of advice available on the internet. You can start off with a seed grown tree, doesn't need to be very old, and you get a piece from an older tree of a variety you like. The piece from the older tree is called "scion wood". The scion is as old as the parent tree and so is able to produce fruit very early, and it's identical to the parent tree fruit. You can get scion wood by asking around on forums, there's always people who are willing to share a piece of their mature trees. There are also places that sell scion wood but try freebies first. For germinating seeds, the husk isn't a problem. The important thing is to keep up the warmth and to not let them dry out, that's what convinces the seed to start germinating - the tropical conditions you create. The big 'but' here is that you have viable seed. If you can't be sure the fruit hasn't been chilled or had something done that kills the seed then ask if someone can send you some seed. I would but I'm not in the US so quarantine would confiscate it before it got to you. You've started on the path already, and there's a bit of a way to go yet. But it's very doable. Just keep asking questions along the way.

Sylvia, it will be their loss as you tried your best to care for the plant. You have to understand that not all cacti and succulents make ideal houseplants. Such plants thrive in extreme conditions in arid environments such as deserts and barren mountain cliffs. It would be insane to replicate such conditions within our living room. Having said that, we can always try to mimic the settings or at least provide the basic needs of such plants -- maximum light, minimum water/moisture and air flow. Light Grow light would definitely help supplement during the winter days when light is low and temps are freezing outdoors. I'm not sure what you mean by the real deal? Grow lights have to be at the right temperature and outputs setting in order for the plant to make use of it. If you shine a regular bedroom lamp towards the plant, it will not be beneficial whatsoever. If you have just a mini plant, you can try those table grow lamps, they are not space obstructive, but can only shower a few plants at a time. http://www.amazon.com/Lights-America-1147-Watt-Sunlight/dp/B003DRBOJ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448981299&sr=8-1&keywords=table+grow+lamp Moisture/Water This is still a hard skill to master even for the most proficient and experienced growers -- controlling the right amount of water your plant needs. Depending on watering techniques, growers here modify the soil to be drier/grittier so the plant won't drown in water when watering them. Airflow I know this sounds silly, but I have lost plants to excess heat from my grow lights and stale air before. I think about it, if you tied your pet dog under a roasting lamp with the windows shut tight and no ventilation whatsoever, The poor animal is set to be tortured and probably will die if you leave it on for a full day. Plants are also living things, and people tend to neglect that assuming they can tolerate whatever conditions you throw at them. True these plants can withstand harsh conditions, but moving air is very important to any plants' growth. So do not underestimate a mini fan beside your plant, because it can go a very long way for your plant's health.