Hi Mike, What else can I explain to you because you seem to understand. I think the concept need's to be taken within reason. Total number of nodes or perhaps total number of contiguous nodes which would amount to a certain vegetative size or mass likely has to be fulfilled too. I think that idea of contiguous branching is the missing element in pushing a juvenile into fruiting. That could explain why some seedling citrus become vegetative giants in a tropical greenhouse without going mature. They have many contiguous nodes from unstressed growth but little contiguous branching from unstressed growth. Start stressing a highly vegetative tropical greehouse juvenile with some repeated droughts and it will often go fruiting. The drought stress kills the tip and new growth will be contiguous branching which seem's to follow a idea of contiguous branching being a factor. All I have ever read on the subject is that abstract which I found in a Google search several years ago. However it made perfect sense and my first trial a contiguous branching pruning seemed to work. I welcome you to buy that article and read it.

We mean that you may need to change out your potting soil if it is contaminated with whatever fertilizer product you used. Hard to know for sure if the damage was simply topical from the spray (which is what I suspect), or if you're going to instill further damage from whatever you sprinkled on the soil. You want a well-draining potting mix that will prevent water from accumulating around the roots. I don't think you have a current root problem - your tree to me looks to be severely burned - but I still think repotting is a good idea, since you don't know what you put on the soil. The roots should be nice and white, and the soil should smell earthy and good, not rancid or rotten (a sign of poor drainage, and anaerobic bacterial growth). And what will drop will drop. You can't make it "stick". Those leaves are already gone, they just haven't fallen off your tree. Citrus are amazingly resilient. Get it repotted. I would try purchasing a potting mix formulated for cactus or succulents. Carefully remove the upper soil. You can try to keep the rest of the rootball intact, carefully rinsing off most of the soil around the roots. Put the potting mix in your pot with enough in the pot to reach the bottom of the roots. Spread them out, then carefully add the potting mix around the roots. Don't cover the trunk any further with soil than the previous soil line. Water thoroughly. You'll probably need to water about every 2 or 3 days - test the soil with your finger all the way down into the soil. If it's still moist, don't water. If it starts to feel dry, water. Wait about a month then fertilize with a good water soluble fertilizer formulated for citrus, or with a similiar ratio as the Foliage Pro. It also must contain micronutrients as well as the 3 macronutrients (NPK). The leaves will drop. maybe all of them, but watch for a new flush of leaves pushing out. Be patient, it might take a bit. Patty S.

I feel a list coming on (they are all in the ground): Citrus: Blood Orange - from seed to 2ft in three years, no complaints Meyer Lemon - one gallon gift has yielded lemons all three years, thriving Palms: Canary Island Date Palm - from three gallon to monster, if you have the room this is your palm Silver Date Palm - Seedling is adjusting but putting out new fronds, so far so good Bismarkia nobilis - Seedling is sulking, I hope that it is establishing its roots and puts out some growth this summer or I think that winter will kill it Chinese Fan Palm - Establishing itself, so far so good Foxtail Palm - Seedling in sun scorched to death, seedling in shade putting out new growth, three gallon in semi-sun recovering nicely from a nursery- induced spider mite infestation Pygmy Date Palm - growing as fast as these little guys do Mexican Fan Palm - Until Tropical Storm Cindy this was a big success, now it is looking really stressed, I think the roots were disturbed by the wind Queen Palms - Coming along a little more slowly than I expected, next year will tell Sabal Palm - This was a gift of a bird to the yard and is probably ten years old, it is finally developing some trunk Gingers: five species all thriving (except for the ones that the yard guy weed eats) Cassias: alata and one other whose name escapes me, too successful, want some? Cannas: at least five cultivars, Wyoming looks the best, all have leaf roller issues Alocasia: thriving in shade and sun Colocasia: sulking, too much shade, not enough water Bananas: ornata, rojo, and one that I rustled from a construction site are all thriving, they are a maintenance chore, but when kept in check nothing beats them Firespike: perfect for deep shade Tree Fern: I would not trade my Australian Tree Ferns for anything, one has more than three feet of trunk, this is the first year for the Tasmanian Tree Fern, they are all planted under trees to protect from radiational cooling Rice Paper Plant: thriving, which is both good (they resemble gunnera which we can't grow here) and bad (they pop up everywhere) Root Beer Plant: piper auretum (or something like that), it is thriving, Cindy's winds made me cut it way back, it runs like bamboo, sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, to do over I would have put it in an area that I could control better, it has a great leaf shape if you are into that sort of thing Cuphias: I have five species of these "cigar" plants, beetles have really chewed them up this year and I have tried unsuccessfully to control them, it is an off year Castor Bean: I grow it, but not with much enthusiasm, they grow tall quickly and flop over just as quickly Clerendum uganese: An off year, I suspect some root rot Bottle brush: If you don't have one you should, great screening plant that attracts hummers, blooms heavily in spring and sporatically during the rest of the year (like now), from ten inch plant to small tree in six years Nigh blooming jasmine: you either love it or hate it Brugmansia: I don't know what cultivar it is, it was sold to me as a "white" one, but it is more of a "salmon/peach", I grow it in part sun rather than full sun, I think you get a better canopy of leaves this way, this is the best smelling flower that I have ever encountered, it can freeze to the ground and become a small tree in one season Lantana: I grow an orange and a white one, they come from an era when I wanted bulletproof plants, overrated as butterfly plants Justicas: I grow shrimp (red bracts), flamingo (pink) and hummingbird (orange) plants, these are somewhat too successful Morning Glory Tree: I don't know what to do with this because of it unusual form, it blooms when nothing else does, however, it is an awkward plant (to 20ft high) I know that I am forgetting a few like the monkey face and a few tender salvias, but it is a start.

The coffee plants have lovely leaves, and the persimmon tree looks beautiful with all of that ripened fruit on the tree. I have been looking into getting one and doing some research on different varieties and what would do well in a container but my space is limited . Tropic, what a lovely jackfruit plant. I hope you had a lovely time in India. I currently have figs, bananas, olives and pomegranate growing in containers. A few years ago, I had a couple of lovely coffee plants growing in containers under the shade of my tall banana trees in the gh, but they eventually struggled due to neglect on my part. Shhh..Don't tell my pomegranate that they are supposed to be deciduous.. They have kept most of their leaves throughout the winter and shed just a small percentage. The dwarf variety had set a few buds and blooms briefly during the middle winter months and last summer they did produce small fruit..