WOW. cool ones. I got some seeds (bought them) took a while to germinate (only some did) but all i got was the first 2 leaves and then nothing and even died. then learned this is all they do in the first year. was just about to throw away the pot but then just scooped all and planted in a hole dug in the garden. marked it to see if they come back next spring. wish i could buy bigger plants but not available here. :(

NO! Do not do a rejuvenation to any Viburnum!! Michael Dirr, who wrote the book on them and who has developed many of them, recommends infrequent and light pruning of Viburnums, if any at all. This is my favorite shrub. I have at least two dozen and about 8 different cultivars. I believe the one you have is a Burkwood, but it could also be Judd. Either way, it's gorgeous, pretty much pest- and maintence free, and you should definitely NOT coppice it. You do that to a Rose of Sharon or a lilac, but never to a Viburnum. Here is a link that might be useful: Michael Dirr's Viburnum for American Gardens

Agreed. Looks like micronutrients are in order, Trojan. This is a pretty common sight here in our neck of the woods (Orange County, San Diego County, Calif.) due to our long, chilly and wet winter and spring. Many of my citrus looked this way. I spoke with Vince Lazaneo, the Home Horticultural Advisor for the San Diego Master Gardeners about a couple of my citrus, and he also suspected micronutrient deficiency. I use Grow More Citrus Growers Blend, which is an excellent product that provides micronutrients in the correct percentages and concentrations for citrus. I have applied it twice, now to my affected citrus. First time as a foliar spray, and then about 4 weeks later, to the soil, diluted in 2 gallons of water, and then followed up with an additional 2 gallons of acidified water (I use plain old white vinegar, and acidify to 4.5-5.0, use a pH meter, they can be found at any better garden center, and they're cheap insurane). The acidified water will help the tree take up and absorb the micronutrients. And, for your new trees, you will want to fertilize twice a month during the growing season (for us that's about April through November) with a good citrus fertilizer that has micronutrients. Vigoro Citrus & Avocado fertilizer with micronutrients is decent. You really want to find one with a high sulfur micronutrient content, as this will help to acidify our somewhat alkaline soils. You can also use soil sulfur once or twice a year as a top dressing to help out our pH issue. If we we a lot of cold weather, and a lot of rain, that, along with our somewhat alkaline soils will cause a locking out of micronutrients, and your citrus will look like what you're seeing right now. And, as far as amending your soil - I don't recommend that. You're going to create this yummy "hole" that your citrus roots are not going to want to leave. You're better off just digging a hole twice as large as your root ball and backfilling with your native soil. Loosen up the soil, and make sure you don't create slick sides in the hole from your shovel. Fill that hole up with water. Wait 24 hours. If the hole has not drained by then, you have a drainage issue, and in that case, you WILL want to amend with some gypsum. Otherwise, you're good to plant. Backfill with native soil, taking care to water in well to remove any air pockets. Keep the rootball at soil level (unless you're in clay, and then elevate the top of the rootball a few inches). Create a nice large well that extends to at least the drip line (tree canopy). You'll want to extend this well as your canopy grows. Set your drips to drip in the drip line of your well. Then, fill with about 1 to 2" of worm castings, another layer of compost, then top with bark mulch. Be sure to keep all clear of the trunk by a few inches all the way around. Water in well. Then, sprinkle your fertilizer around the well ring at the drip line, and water than in. Paint your trunk and exposed branches with indoor water soluble flat latex house paint diluted in half with water to protect the trunk and branches from sunscald. That's how to plant a fruit tree here in S. California :-) Deep water during the hot summer months 2 times a week, then cut back to once a week in the winter, or no watering at all if we're getting rains. Top dress with soil sulfur once or twice a year. I usually will top dress at the beginning of the growing season in April, when I start fertilizing, and then again, around June or so, when our weather starts to heat up. Remember, NEVER fertilize or apply sulfur to dry trees. Okay, probably more than you wanted to know, but certainly I hope will help your little kumquat green up :-) Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis: The California Backyard Orchard: Citrus

I hope you don't mind if I clear up a few points in this discussion. ;) First, Of course the fruit won't set if there is nothing to pollinate it. Tomatoes are self-fertile, the blooms contain both parts needed so they pollinate themselves. Bees and other insects are not required nor relevant. Humans cannot pollinate tomato plants effectively when the air temps fall into the Blossom Drop range. Dead pollen. Second, Blossom Drop - what you all are encountering (there is a FAQ on it here by the way and I linked it below) is a well-documented, well-researched, and normal part of growing tomatoes. It is primarily caused by air temps. If the air temps consistently exceed 90 in the day or fall below 55 or above 75 at night (+/- 5 degrees either way), the pollen in the bloom becomes tacky, clumps, and non-viable. You can hop on one foot and whistle Dixie while the moon turns to green cheese but it will make no difference. ;) Third, as the FAQ here points out, hormone sprays such as Blossom Set and other names MAY be of some help when it is cool temps that are the cause but the resulting fruit are often quite deformed. But hormone sprays will not work when heat is the problem. Sorry but that is well documented too. Fourth, blossom drop is not a problem of heirlooms. It is a natural response of all tomato varieties. However, some hybrid varieties have need created that are more tolerant of the heat and will set fruit under somewhat difficult conditions. Heatwave, Sunfire, Sun Tropic, Sun Master, (note the catchy names) are such varieties and if you do a search here you'll find several discussions on heat-tolerant tomatoes you may want to consider next year. Fifth, many varieties of both heirlooms and hybrids are mid-season or late season varieties. They naturally grow quite a bit first and only begin to bloom and set fruit later in the season. You shouldn't expect all varieties to set fruit at the same time regardless of the weather. Know your varieties and it genetic traits rather than imposing unrealistic expectations on them. ;) Mr. Stripey is an excellent example. It has always been notorious for poor fruit set or often NO fruit set. And it is an indeterminate so it can't rightfully be expected to set fruit at the same time a determinate Roma will. So the best you can do is be patient and while you wait for the weather to cooperate learn what to expect from the varieties you are growing, stabilize and control the moisture levels in your soil as much as possible, mulch the plants heavily to keep the roots cooler and the soil moisture from evaporating, avoid over-feeding and especially avoid over-feeding high nitrogen ferts as they only make the problem worse. Use protection for the plants on cool nights and provide sunscreen shade for them in the hottest part of the day. Plan to plant earlier if possible to get some fruit set prior to the usual onset of your high heat and keep the plants healthy until the heat passes and they can again set fruit. Or plant later to avoid the late spring coolies. I hope this is of help. If you wish to read more about Blossom Drop a search of this forum using that term will pull up hundreds of discussions about it for you. Good luck with your tomatoes everyone! ;) Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Blossom Drop FAQ