Okay, applenut is correct, never amend your soil. You just create a hole the tree will love to live in, and the roots will be less inclined to venture out. Instead, you should dig a hole about 2 to 3 times as wide as the root ball to loosen up your native soil. Plant the tree at the same height it was in, in the pot. Create a nice large well around the tree, with the perimeter of the well lower than the height of the trunk (so water will drain away from the trunk, and to the feeder roots which are at the edge of the canopy and a little beyond. What is known as the "drip line".) Mulch 2 to 4" deep with compost, then top with wood chips to help maintain moisture. If you're on clay soil, you're much better off building raised beds (a whole different topic). Wait to fertilize for a couple of months, until the feeder roots are established, then fertilize about every 2 months from Feb/March through Oct/Nov with a good citrus fertilizer that also contains micronutrients (Grow More Citrus & Avocado food is an excellent product). Don't worry about adjusting the pH. Not necessary here in S. California. NEVER allow overhead sprinklers to water your citrus trees as you currently are doing. They do not like their trunks wet, and this is a sure way to kill a young citrus tree, fast. Instead, use microsprinklers or 2 to 4 drips to fill the well (with young trees, they only need one or two drips, but lay 4 and turn them on as your tree grows, as well as move them out and away from the trunk to follow the canopy edge). Water well enough so that the soil is moist for about 12 to 18" deep. The philosophy of deep watering has been revamped for citrus. Citrus are shallow rooted trees, so if you're watering 2 to 3 feet down, you're just wasting water. The easy way to know - use a rod (I use one of those cheap green plastic covered metal plant stakes you can get at Home Depot/Lowes). If you can easily insert the stake 12 to 18" down, your soil is moist enough. You may also need to apply a micronutrient foliar application, soil drench or micronutrient granular application in the early spring/late winter, as our S. California soils tend to get depleted, and our colder winter rains can lock out the absorption of micronutrients, which will cause your leaves to look chloritic. It's usually not iron deficiency for most folks in S. Calif, but manganese deficiency. You can use Grow Power Citrus Grower's Blend, which is a water-soluble micronutrient product that can be sprayed on the leaves or poured into the soil. Here is a good resource for you to manage your citrus. I agree with applenut, your trees may be too wet. Check the soil and see. If so, turn off your sprinklers, then pull them out, and set microsprinklers or drips. Once established, a once a week watering is probably fine except during our very hot days in the summer, when you'll need to check and make sure your trees don't get too dry. They first symptom of being too dry will be cupped leaves. This is actually how commercial growers know to water their orchards. And, bookmark this site: http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Citrus/ This is the UC Davis Backyard Orchard-Citrus page. Very helpful for us here in California. Lastly, you're probably better off posting this sort of question either on the Citrus Forum or on the California Gardening Forum. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: Four Winds Growers: How to Grow Citrus in the Ground

There should be no excuse for not eating your fresh fruits and veggies. With a market like this, one could shop 3 days a week and not really need a big refrigerator at home. Maybe a freezer for ice cream.

What Greg said (slip graft is that diagonal line you see - it's a very nice graft btw.) Thorns or no thorns will not always indicate rootstock growth versus scion growth, so don't go by that. Go by the leaves. If it's rootstock, you'll know because it will be "leaves of three", there will be NO doubt. Patty S.

Well I bought a Valencia Pride tree today from my local nursery here in East Central Florida. I had pre-ordered an Alphonso mango in a 30 gallon container and a Phoenix mango in a 7 gallon container. As it happens they had received a huge delivery of mangoes that also included my order. So in addition to the previously mentioned mangoes I also purchased a second Alphonso in a 15 gal container and a Valencia Pride in a 15 gallon container. I ignored the Haden mango tree next to it because I thought that tree gets too big. I had been thinking about getting a Valencia Pride for a long time. I didn't realize they got so big though. No matter I have an empty spot in my front yard where my old Aberquina Olive tree used to be. That tree died earlier this year and there isn't much around it so that is where I will plant it. Normally I don't like to put mango trees in parts of my yard which are not fenced because my past experience in South Florida tells me the fruit is likely to be stolen by random strangers who live near by. They seem to think that if the tree is accessible then it's ok to steal the fruit from it. I think in East Central Florida where I live now though things might be different. For one thing there are fewer people here and second there are no sidewalks in my neighborhood so few people take leisurely strolls around the neighborhood. But most important of all though the paved street in front of my property can serve as a heat source during cold (such as it is in Florida) winter nights. The sun will bake the asphalt during the day and the asphalt will radiate that heat out during the night. That will hopefully keep the air temperature a little higher around the tree and prevent limb damage or the death of flowers. All things considered I am happy I purchased the Valencia Pride. I grew up in South Florida and we always had mango trees in our property. One of my favorite varieties from when I was a boy is the Kent mango which makes a really big piece of fruit. By all accounts the VP makes a similar large fruit. That's good because I have also have Glenn mango trees right now in my property which makes rather small fruit. It is nice to have a mix it up a bit and get a tree like VP that will make a big piece of fruit. Unlike the Kent which has more roundish fruit the VP fruit is sigmoidal. Some people think that looks pretty but I don't care that much about the shape of the fruit. I just care about what it taste like.