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.

Well, I can't find the recipe I was thinking about, but I found these online and they are similar. Grapefruit Granita 2 cups Florida pink grapefruit juice 1/4 cup sugar 4 mint leaves 4 fresh Florida pink grapefruit slices In saucepan, combine grapefruit juice and sugar. Bruise mint leaves between fingers and add to saucepan. Bring mixture to just boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes. Remove mint leaves. Pour grapefruit mixture into ice cube trays; freeze. Just before serving, place a single layer of frozen cubes in food processor fitted with steel blade. Pulse 12 times or until no large chunks of ice remain. Spoon granita into stemmed glasses. Garnish with grapefruit slice. Repeat with remaining cubes. Serve immediately. Serves 4. Grapefruit Granita A web\-exclusive recipe from Italian Cooking and Living 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup water 2 1/2 cups red or pink grapefruit juice, bottled or fresh squeezed 2 tsp. lemon juice, preferably fresh squeezed Sprig of mint to garnish In a medium saucepan, add the water and the sugar and stir to combine; make sure to put the stirring spoon aside. Heat the mixture over medium high heat without stirring until mixture reaches a boil. Again, without stirring, cook mixture for about 5 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool, add the grapefruit and lemon juice and stir with a clean spoon. Pour the mixture into a 9x12" or other large, flat dish so that the mixture doesn't come up too high along the sides of the pan\-you will need room for stirring. Place the pan in the freezer, making sure it is level, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, carefully remove pan and place it on a steady surface. Use a fork to stir the mixture thoroughly, making sure to break up any ice crystals that have formed along the side or bottom of container. Return the pan to the freezer and repeat the stirring every 30 minutes, making sure you break up any large chunks that form, for 3 to 4 hours or until mixture is thoroughly frozen. Fluff with a fork and spoon into small coffee cups or ice cream dishes. Garnish with mint. Serve immediately or return to the freezer in serving dishes for up to 4 days. Serves 6 Champagne Grapefruit Sorbet 3 cups good quality Champagne 1 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups water 1 cup pink grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed 1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed Pop cork from champagne bottle 1 to 2 hours before using. Gradually pour champagne, allowing for foaming, into a 2-quart container; set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water. Stir until mixture comes to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand approximately 10 minutes or until cool. To champagne, add sugar syrup, grapefruit juice, and lemon juice (do not strain pulp from juices); stir until thoroughly blended. Ice Cream Maker - Transfer mixture to ice cream maker, process according to manufacturer's instructions. Freezer Method - Pour into container, cover, and place mixture in the freezer. When it is semi-solid, mash it up with a fork and refreeze again. When frozen, place in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Cover and refreeze until serving time. NOTE: Can be prepared 3 days in advance. Cover and keep frozen. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Linda

There was a considerable amount of thought that went into making a concept manifest in the gritty mix. The size of the ingredients is very important. While the notation that you can increase water retention by reducing the size of the grit is technically correct, it's also technically correct that you can pound a nail into a pine board with your forehead, but ........ Putting the idea of a reduction in grit size to work in practical application eliminates or significantly diminishes the very reason you would choose to use the gritty mix. Why introduce a perched water table in a soil that is designed to eliminate same? You might as well just grab a bag of whatever off the shelf and hope that the gods on high smile down on you. The best way to increase or decrease water retention is by varying the ratio of screened Turface to screened grit, while limiting the organic fraction of screened ingredients to no more than 1/3 of the whole, by volume. Those who carp about the gritty mix not holding enough water (or too much) lack an understanding of the concept behind the soil. It can be adjusted for water retention over a wide range. Example: For more water retention, use: 3 parts screened pine/fir bark 4 parts screened Turface 2 parts screened grit For less water retention, use: 3 parts screened pine/fir bark 2 parts screened Turface 4 parts screened grit This increases or decreases water retention w/o sacrificing aeration, drainage, or introducing a perched water table your plants will be forced to suffer the effects of. Newster - how you fertilize containerized plants has a LOT to do with how you water and your choice of soils. NO ONE can offer meaningful advice about fertilizer solution strengths and intervals between applications w/o at least a reasonably good understanding of both those influences - unless they provide a tome full of qualifications that cover all the eventualities you'll encounter that influence your nutritional supplementation regimen. Also, how you fertilize trees (in containers) changes with the season, especially in the heat of summer. While CRFs like Osmocote, Dynamite, et al, can be used very effectively, they're not universally accepted as a 'go to practice'. For instance, in most cases you wouldn't want to apply a CRF designed to release over 6 months or longer in the summer if your trees over-winter under protection. Also, since temperature is the primary driver of release rates in CRFs, when summer heat is highest and you should be pulling back on fertilizing, CRFs are just getting in high gear, releasing the most when you need it least. Soil choice is a critical factor in how proficient you're likely to be at actually maintaining something like control over your supplementation program. If you can flush the soil with regularity w/o worrying that the soil will stay wet so long it affects root health and function, I can teach you to fertilize efficiently in 10-15 minutes. If you are in a constant battle with your soggy soil over control of your plants' vitality, it turns things into pretty much a crap shoot. Al

first .. understand that seeds grown from a pretty store orange.. may not end up being that pretty store orange ... the question is ... will it come true from seed .. second understand.. they are trees ... growing trees indoors is not easy ... and understand that the usual houseplant media that stays rather moist.. may not be best for a tree .. who would prefer a sip of water.. and then near total drainage of all excess .. third ... it will probably take 5 to 7 years to get it large enough to flower .. and possibly produce a fruit .... and by that time.. its not going to be a cute little house plant .. sooner or later it will have to go outside .. and therein lies the rub ... if you dont live where oranges grow outside .. you know.. winter and all ... 4th ... to produce crops most trees need full direct sun ... there is a reason they grow in FL and it is called the sunshine state ... even if you can grow it indoors.. under lights ... its still not the same as sunshine ... soooo .. understand all that.. just give it a go.. whats to lose?? .. no matter what happens.. you will learn something .. life is boring.. if you arent always learning something ... yes.. there are tiny houseplant type orange trees ... but i bet those arent what you have ... once you learn how to grow trees indoors ... you can then learn about bonsai .. how to miniaturize trees by constant root pruning.. but you need to learn how to grow them first ... good luck ken