D - is the tree now largely defoliated, other than the newly emerged small branching shown above - can we get a look at the rest of the canopy? Where do you live? I'm looking for some reference to a large city near you or something that will indicate what your weather patterns are likely to be for the next 2 months. You're probably going to have to unpot and inspect the roots. I can say that if the tree is already largely defoliated, I'd strongly encourage you to get after the roots and reset the clock back to the point where your tree again has at least the opportunity to grow at near it's genetic potential. If you leave the plant/roots to their own devices, you actually ensure a slow and steady decline. It's important to realize that the growth and vitality of plants are negatively affected by root congestion at about the point where the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact. Once the planting has reached that stage, potting up has less and less rejuvenating effect on the plant. Here is a copy/paste job that uses a sliding scale to illustrate the difference between what happens to trees/plants left to their own devices (no root work - only potting-up) vs trees where root maintenance is a regular part of the maintenance program. You can read the full thread here, but here is the part I referred to: In plants that are potted-up, rootage becomes entangled. As root diameters increase, portions of roots constrict flow of water and nutrients through other roots, much the same as in the case of girdling or encircling roots on trees grown in-ground. The ratio of fine, feeder roots to more lignified and perennial roots becomes skewed to favor the larger, (practically speaking) useless roots. Initial symptoms of poor root conditions are progressive diminishing of branch extension and reduced vitality. As rootage becomes continually compressed and restricted, branch extension stops and individual branches might die as water/nutrient translocation is further compromised. Foliage quality may not (important to understand) indicate the tree is struggling until the condition is severe, but if you observe your trees carefully, you will find them increasingly unable to cope with stressful conditions - too much/little water, heat, sun, etc. Trees that are operating under conditions of stress that has progressed to strain, will usually be diagnosed in the end as suffering from attack by insects or other bio-agents while the underlying cause goes unnoticed. I want to mention that I draw distinct delineation between simply potting up and repotting. Potting up temporarily offers room for fine rootage to grow and do the necessary work of water/nutrient uptake, but these new roots soon lignify, while rootage in the old root mass continues to grow and become increasingly restrictive. The larger and larger containers required for potting-up & the difficulty in handling them also makes us increasingly reluctant to undertake even potting-up, let alone undertake the task of repotting/root-pruning which grows increasingly difficult with each up-potting. So we are clear on terminology, potting up simply involves moving the plant with its root mass and soil intact, or nearly so, to a larger container and filling in around the root/soil mass with additional soil. Repotting, on the other hand, includes the removal of all or part of the soil and the pruning of roots, with an eye to removing the largest roots, as well as those that would be considered defective. Examples are roots that are dead, those growing back toward the center of the root mass, encircling, girdling or j-hooked roots, and otherwise damaged roots. I often explain the effects of repotting vs potting up like this: Let's rate growth/vitality potential on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. We're going to say that trees in containers can only achieve a growth/vitality rating of 9, due to the somewhat limiting effects of container culture. Lets also imagine that for every year a tree goes w/o repotting or potting up, its measure of growth/vitality slips by 1 number, That is to say you pot a tree and the first year it grows at a level of 9, the next year, an 8, the next year a 7. Lets also imagine we're going to go 3 years between repotting or potting up. Here's what happens to the tree you repot/root prune: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 repot year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 You can see that a full repotting and root pruning returns the plant to its full potential within the limits of other cultural influences for as long as you care to repot/root prune. Looking now at how woody plants respond to only potting up: year 1: 9 year 2: 8 year 3: 7 pot up year 1: 8 year 2: 7 year 3: 6 pot up year 1: 7 year 2: 6 year 3: 5 pot up year 1: 6 year 2: 5 year 3: 4 pot up year 1: 5 year 2: 4 year 3: 3 pot up year 1: 4 year 2: 3 year 3: 2 pot up year 1: 3 year 2: 2 year 3: 1 This is a fairly accurate illustration of the influence tight roots have on a woody plant's growth/vitality. You might think of it for a moment in the context of the longevity of bonsai trees vs the life expectancy of most trees grown as houseplants, the difference between 4 years and 400 years, lying primarily in how the roots are treated. There is also a thread on this forum that addresses the care and cultural preferences of Ficus trees in containers that you may or may not have seen. I hope you find it helpful and that you reply with additional questions or concerns in addition to the info I inquired about. Thank you for the kind words, Karen. Al

Joan - you are so sweet!!! I can only hope to come close to that title, you are too kind Jen, I will bring the big genie bottle with me! Kidding, but I am looking forward to seeing your plumies! Honestly, I have just a few tips on what I personally would do for seedlings, but of course I wish I knew the true secret. moonie - aww, thank you so much!!! I was hoping the symmetry of the petal size would clean up but I do actually like the ruffled edges, so in that respect, I hope that stays. I really appreciate your really nice comments about the color too. I can't sell her just yet but I do thank you for the offer! Here are some updated shots.- It still stays very cupped so the flower starts out very saturated and rich and then fades. They also look very different at different stages. This is one of the blooms at it's finest in symmetry of petal size: 2 blooms: As it fades:

Bananafan2... Actually, my husband is the one with the green finger, for some reason, anything he touches or plants always does REALLY well... anything I plant either dies really quickly or dies slow and painfully.... LOL! Also, I have 2 dogs that poops all over the back yard... people used to tell me that dog poop isn't so good and actually kills the plant and the grass but that theory has also proven to be UNTRUE as well... I'm asian and a really common asian belief is that it also depends on the temperament of the person planting makes a huge difference... that might be a little true in a way because I certainly don't have the patience that my husband does FOR SURE... maybe it's the "mojo" of the person planting? I guess? My husband says that ANY fruit tree left to grow in a container will either fruit very little or won't fruit at all and also takes a VERY VERY long time to grow (if they remain in the pots, like how you have them in your picture) he says that he knows the plant is ready to go into the ground once the stem is no longer green and has grown bark on them, even as small as they are (but that theory may only apply to tropical fruit trees that are grown in tropical climate... like Florida), it might be different if you are growing them in a state that snows during winter... here are a few pictures of my Longan tree as of this week, my mango tree as of last month and some pictures of my Guava trees from last year Close up of my Longan tree with fruit only a few days ago Lychee tree from my balcony view just last week Lychee Tree... only starting to fruit for this year's harvest... you can see a piece of lake in the back on this pic Mango tree, you can see my 2nd story balcony to give you an idea of how fast it grows (1 year in the ground) More Mangos Mango tree last month Some of Last year's Guava and Longans harvest Guava tree Logan Tree... I caught a corner pic of the roof of my house in this picture (2 story home) so this should give you an idea of how tall this tree actually is

Debbie - Grunner is adorable! Jean - it's blue and underline because it thinks it's a link. Links are automatically blue & underlined. Carol - the puppies are adoroable! Sharon, that vacation looks so inviting. Next time I'll need to go too! ;) Marea - what's the purple daylily??? I neeed to have that one! Dawn oh my gosh - what a cutie!!! Here's some pics of my DD on her first day of first grade. I'm pretty happy that I was able to show how beautiful she is. Here's a pic of the creek running through my property although this is not a spot on my property, it's downstream a bit. DH found an antique seller with an old sign for my creek. I just HAD to have it. How often do you find that? The real mystery is whether the name of the creek is Wickechoeke or Wickecheoke. State documents show the 2nd way and any old signs seem to point to the first way. Since my farm is named Wickechoeke Creek Farm I really need to figure out a way to do this. Finally.. here is the newest addition to our farm. I named her Petunia. She is adorable and has to be bottlefed. Gosh I wish she could be house trained. I love having her around.