It could help. A small, soft natural fiber, paint brush works well. just go gently from flower to flower and you can be the bee.

I hear what you're saying, Mike. I understand :-) I'm a Master Gardener. And yes, where I live is pretty much ideal for citrus and avocadoes (which is why I'm surrounded by 100's of acres of both, that haven't been mowed down by subdivisions, that is.) I live in the "land of citrus and avocado orchards". Everyone has a citrus tree in their yard out here, or 2 or 3 or 20 :-) A few will put them in a pot on their patio as a novelty, or if they live in a condo. I live just a few miles south of Fallbrook, California, where they have more avocado orchards than anywhere else in the United States. And, where avocs can grow, so can citrus, their requirements are nearly the same. And, replacing my thinner DG soil with compost isn't really necessary, as long as I do some minor amending when I plant the hole for initial root establishment, and then top dress with compost once a year. We also use mulch here for water retention, so between compost in the well, and 3 to 4" of bark mulch, that's all we need as far as organic soil components. And by limiting the hole to 1/2 amended soil or less, you will prevent the "container-syndrome" you can get, if you replace ALL the native soil with something not native (like 100% potting soil or compost). What it does is allow the soil to hold a wee bit more moisture so the roots can get established, but not so overly attractive that is causes the roots to just want to grow in the hole. It is the recommended method in my specific area of S. California, N. San Diego county for folks on DG. We have many different soil strata here, almost as many as our infamous California microclimates :-) Here's what Dave Wilson recommends for fruit tree planting, and Tom Spellman, their S. California salesman, who is highly respected in S. California, especially for citrus, says about how to plant a fruit tree, see link below. And, every citrus nursery in my area recommends 1/2 amendment to our DG soil as well. So, I feel pretty confident about our planting regime, and have had excellent results with this, living in S. California for 55 years (except the 13 years I spent in N. Indiana and Maryland). Haven't had a single tree become root-bound using this method. And, as far as coffee grounds go, the jury is still out on that. Probably won't hurt anything, but studies still have not supported the benefit of coffee grounds. Here's a good article to read about that, written by Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University Exension Urban Horticulturalist. Her CV is longer than my arm, so I feel pretty comfortable with her "myth busters" articles. She is fun to read, and her advice is helpful for us gardening on the West Coast: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Coffee%20grounds.pdf Here's a peek at most of my citrus. I have most planted up on the top of this north side of my back yard. It's kind of hard to tell by the perspective, but this area holds 13 different citrus trees and 3 different fig trees. The slope now has 6 different pomagranates, as well. In the center is my Meyer Improved lemon, which despite some neglect, has survived, has significantly improved, and is now full of about 100 very ripe and gorgeous lemons: And the backyard continuing south (the abandoned orange orchard is directly behind my back fence in the far background): And a shot of the backyard just to the north of the first photo, where I have a row of around 8 to 10 producing olive trees along the top of the slope: And a closer look at the citrus up on this slope. I am getting ready to re-mulch, as you can see my very active Aussie has worn a "trail" across the top of my slope, as he "patrols" for coyotes. So, we're just going to lay down some flagstone along the path he's created, which is how we walk between the trees anyway. You can see some of my drip lines, as well as the phermone traps for our lovely CLM, which is plaguing us out here in S. California: Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: Dave Wilson Nursery: How to Plant a Tree

Hey going2bbotanist, I would be curious myself to know how bibg this tree is as well. Also, like citrus boy said, check the moisture level down about3 3" or more to see how moist the ground is at that depth. I would also check the meter as you go down in the soil at 1", 2", even 4" if it goes that far. BTW, cheap moisture level meters can be had for under $10.00 easy and would be a good investement if you don't have one. YOu also may want to check for moisture at vatious points of the tree to make sure you are watering evenly. I would also suggest that you check at least every other day the moisture levels until the problem gets resolved (maybe even every day since you are in AZ). If you can snap a picture and post it on the fortum here as well that would be helpfull too. Just my 2 cents :) VTY -Mark

Hi all, I just read the responses...talk about being late...thanks for the advice. The Oro Blanco is still in it's pot, and I'm trying to find the sunniest spot for it (Oak trees and a large fir tree block a lot of sunlight...some judicious pruning is in progress). tc, I've been collecting oak leaves but I read that they take forever to breakdown so I'm trying to shred them with a shovel. I'm glad to hear that they are good for mulch, I have 3 large oaks and lots of leaves. In Malibu I always grew tomatoes and green peppers through the winter, so I'm trying same up here. Also bananas, plumeria(they'll come inside), cherimoya, and will be trying a Sir Prize avocado soon. jc