This past winter I estimated 800 Utah model chilling hrs in 7 wks. Easiest fruit to grow is the citrus, grapes, apricots, blueberries in pots, plums and the plum x apricot crosses "pluots". Harder to grow are sweet cherries, nectarines, and peaches. But all of the fruit has been the best I've grown and equal to the best I could find in California. Far better than most fruit sold at roadside stands in CA or anywhere else I've found it. The Fruitnut

so having moved up from California we needed an orange tree so we bought an orange navel and put it in a pot that we can wheel into the house for the winter. I planted in Miracle gro potting soil then discovered that it may not be good for the tree. At the bottom quarter of the pot I put rocks so that the water drains well. Can I ammend the soil by adding some sand?? or should I pull the tree out and start all over again before it dies?? help will be apreciated.

"But Floral you need to adjust your ideas on why people grow crops in greenhouses. " Barrie, you do me an injustice. I am well aware of poly tunnel production. It is widely used here, given our unpredictable weather. Notice I said "I know people grow these things in big commercial set ups where the environment is controlled but I've never come across anyone doing it in a domestic setting." You say yourself you are growing for the market, so to me that is a commercial set up and you also emphasise the importance of a sizeable hoop house. The greenhouse in the photo is exactly the type and size I had pictured from the OP's description. I just wanted confirmation. In my view it is not a good place to try and grow hardy fruit like Blackcurrants. In the picture I would say that the currant is already showing signs of etiolation due to the reinforced plastic cutting down the light. The shoots should not be so pale nor the leaf joints so far apart. The apple also looks pale to me. If you need to open both ends the bird deterrent effect is lost so I see no advantages. The original question was" Are fruit trees OK in plastic greenhouse?" Given the type of greenhouse, my answer is still 'No' for hardy tree and bush fruits. But only the OP will know the answer in the long term.

I took the plant completely out of the plastic (very large) pot and examined the roots. The medium had no compaction and was not wet....only slightly damp. Inside, I had been watering only when the top 3 inches felt dry. Maybe I was under watering...but still can't see how that had such a dramatic impact on the tree. There were a lot of roots that were yellowish tan and looked healthy. The roots still had plenty of room. If it were the medium I would think I would have seen stress on the plant prior to bringing it inside. The plant was growing new shoots and had blooms and some small oranges while outside. It was almost instantaneous that it started losing it's leaves once I brought it in. I have racked my brain trying to figure this out. I thought maybe the leaves would show some clues as to why it's dying (which is why I included photos). It was near a large window that received indirect sunlight while inside. Humidity inside is around 52% to 56% depending on the day. I have been so excited at the growth of this orange tree...it breaks my heart to watch it die. Since I made the original post I have taken the tree outside and cut all the dead limbs off and watered thoroughly and put it in a small greenhouse inside my barn directly in front of a south window. It gets direct sunlight now (filtered through the plastic greenhouse sheeting and glass window). It will get sun for most of the entire day....however the temperature will be colder than inside. I didn't feel like I had anything to lose at this point and couldn't possibly make things any worse for the tree. If you have any thoughts or advice, I would appreciate them. Thank you.