That guy kind of looks and delivers like John Malkovich. Minus the Malkovich accent. Okay so I will cut back the scaffolding limbs with a lower bud at the tip. But I am still a tad unclear about "during growing season you'd pinch back all but the straightest growing bud immediately behind the stub cut. Note I said pinch back and not pinch off." 1. Flavor King: After cutting my scaffold limbs half way, shouldn't I just let all the new branches and leaves growing from the buds far away from the stub cut go wild this first year to really help have a lot of leaves to get energy to establish a root system? I was thinking about doing that, then cutting them all off except main scaffolds 9 months from now in the winter. 2. Flavor King: Leaves are coming out of the buds already, is it too late to cut if half way along the scaffolding branches? 3. On the last picture, the semi dwarf elberta, I see buds that I didn't notice on the main trunk starting to put out some green lower then the lowest current branch. Can I go ahead and cut off the top to the 2 feet mark leaving these 4 nubs left or is that gambling too much and I should wait and see what the 4 green nubs do. Is it too late since buds have growth growing out? Texas A&M and other youtube videos make their cuts at around 2 feet. Below: Picture of the green nubs on the elberta Peach: Elberta

I just feel like it drags on the ground and needs some space under. ??? ==>> actually ... given a big enough garden.. many conifer collectors specifically collect trees the 'skirt' ... that is.. grow to the ground and spread out ... but then.. i have 5 acres ... and space for such ... besides... once you lift the canopy.. you have to weed and mulch in the bare ground you created .. all that said ... its your plants.. do whatever you want with them .. make yourself happy ... and who cares what the rest of us say .. or think ... ken btw:.. a horticulturist walks into a bar and sees a biologist .. and says to himself.. who cares ..lol ... and his friend says.. but hes a professor ... and the horticulturist says... so what ... well this is an epic fail...lol: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=conifer+skirts&iax=images&ia=images somewhat better: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pendulous+conifer+that+grow+to+the+ground+and+create+skirts&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images do whatever you want to your trees ... ken

I don't think you have anything to worry about or to correct. You can chalk it all up to the tree still being pretty young. Valencias are generally good about not needing any pruning and setting the proper amount of fruit that it can bear. The oranges will sweeten up if you let them sit longer on the tree.

Mr. Dubai - I live in the desert outside Los Angeles and probably have similar soil to you, and climate. Super hot (108-110 F in summers) and mostly quite dry. And YES - straw and hay - they are GREAT for mulching and can double as a mix when you make your compost from kitchen waste, if you do that kind of thing. Put it on real thick - 6 inches is not too much. And YES also to the Alkaline soil - I have it too. I believe all sandy soil comes from once being the bottom of the ocean or a body or water. I think my soil is quite salty as well. It does not have many nutrients to it at all. Everything has to be added. Upon further reading of your last post, it looks like you are doing a lot of good things already and seeing results in the texture and feel of your soil. Way to go! Micronutrients may be needed at some point. I understand they might affect flavor of the fruits. I have a MahaChinook that tastes really not that good here, and it is a top tier mango on many people's tastebuds in Florida and in the Los Angeles are. I just don't know how much you'll get of them from mulches, manures and what have you....Looks like you might have to order that stuff on line and have it shipped. Be careful if you use foliar sprays on your plants. They do burn the plant when it's put on when the temps top 100. Better to hand water fertilizer to the base of the plant at your hottest time of the year. Once is cools down a bit, these foliar sprays really do trigger growth for me! I've still got to wait another couple weeks till we start averaging temps in the lower 90's before I try foliar sprays again.....And remember - Mango trees can burn with fertilizer. I try to use a weaker strength-ed mix and use it every couple weeks. But maybe your manure additive is working good for you - just watch out for leaf burn from it - that could mean it's too strong. Oh, I just looked at your weather averages. Your summers are very similar to mine, but your winters, January to be specific, look like you average about 75 as a high and 60 as a low. Mine are more like 70 as a high and 45 as a low. And it looks like you rarely if ever get frosts, so that's great! Lucky you. One last question - do your mango leaves get some summer burn on the hottest days? Mine do.... GOOD LUCK - MyADog