Glad to hear that it's greening up. I've been using ES for several years but started using Cal-Mag Plus last year and really like it. I also started with a product called Protekt which is a silica based additive that helps strengthen the cell walls and make plants less susceptible to damage from sucking insects. When you see foliage like that suddenly appear during the growing season when the plant is fully leafed out and has been getting regular feedings then I would think a mosaic virus is more likely. A mosaic virus won't kill your plant but it's contagious and makes the foliage unsightly.

jeffrey_b, I do not know how it could be a cotyledon because it was a cutting or more accurately, a small 2-leaf branch that I thought broke off the mother jade plant that used to be in that pot. I left it in that pot when I transplanted the jade plant out, not knowing the little guy would survive, not even intending to grow it. I do not even know what a cotyledon is, but I know I have none (at least not on purpose) :-) Is it possible a cotyledon was growing in the soil and when it pop'ed up from the soil, I mistook it for a branck that fell from the jade? I also have a few mature flowering plums in that same area, and with the warm winter, bloom was early Feb. It is a favorite of lots of birds, epecially when the blooms turn into fruits. I wonder if the birds could have delivered a cutting while they were checking out their favorite plums? Now you got me thinking; hopefully in a few more months, we'll know for sure if it is a crassula? Is there any other way to confirm if it is a cotyledon?

sorry i'm so late responding......i only have roses from arbor gate and from antique rose emporium at independence i can't say either have done better than the other i've had only one to die and it was the most recent purchase and looked peaked from the start but it was the only sdlm i've seen in two years so i bought it anyway.... my previous garden was just south of Arbor Gate in Cypress, which is how i got acquainted with AG, about 17 years ago at any rate the soil in that garden was extremely sandy and i mean sand 4 ft down so i used lots and lots of the leaf mulch compost and some worm castings and the arbor gate blend "fertilizer" it was great gardening there except for the massive amounts of 4 o'clocks and trumpet vine and wisteria that already existed when we bought the place i only had roses from arbor gate and antique rose emporium there, i had many more roses and can't say where they came from made a difference there either regarding the two year old leaf mulch, i treat it almost as if it were mulch or any other compost and i've never come across any pieces of wood but i've always bought the finely screened leaf mulch and spreading any amount around the plants would be good i plant only in raised beds, so the entire plant root is in rose soil i do occasionally use medina hasta grow on my plants and i think it causes organic materials in the soil to hold more water as time goes on

Thanks everyone for all the additional info! Y'all have been great!! TETE-A-TETE ... No, I don't care if you don't shut up! I can use all the help I can get! I didn't know that if there is a dry spot on the root, in clay that it will always stay dry. And when I soak the plant, I take it out of the pot, right? I told family your suggestions and they thought y'all were saying to submerge the pot in the water. LAZY_GARDENS - Great tip about the drip tubing. Can this be found in one of those drip irrigation kits at Home Depot? KIMMQ - Love the idea of the drip ring about a tree - especially when I plant more trees in the fall! Also, your explanation about the water flow helped me understand why just amending the hole is not good. All this time I was thinking it was just the fear that the amendments would burn the roots to the plant if not well mixed. I am just finding out it had to do with drainage as much as anything! GREENMAN62 - Thanks for the tip on the banana ring! I liked your suggestion of putting it in the middle of trees! And about nitrogen producing trees, I heard that wax myrtles were like this, which happens to be what I'm planting. I originally purchased some knock outs for a flowerbed towards my curb but then right before I was going to plant, I realized it would probably be better to put some trees right there instead. Do you think the myrtles would shade it too much to plant roses too? It's been tricky because you will see some trees like wax myrtles that have tons of sun around them and others produce a ton of shade. I guess it's the angle of the sun and how much the tree has been pruned. My curb gets blasted by the sun so I didn't now if I could pull off some bushes in between or not. I've also heard the rumor that wax myrtles kill things around them and I've also heard that wax myrtles don't like certain plants around them but don't know if this is true. But, I wanted a row of small trees along my curb since my large tree was cut down and the sun beats in on my house and I have no privacy. But, I realize it's going to look really bland while those myrtles are growing. I had already carved out a beautiful flowerbed for roses and I think my neighbors were all excited I was going to plant some flowers there! It was a difficult choice and I'm still wondering if I could cheat and squeeze in a few between.