Damp-off of very young seedlings has never been that much of a problem for me, but I think the reason for that may be how I germinate them to begin with. It's a cue I took from my mother, which is basically to put the seeds in the same pot (around the edges of the pot) with an adult plant then water the adult plant the way I normally would. It means I don't use bottom heat and whatnot, so things sprout when it naturally becomes warm enough for them, but pretty much I don't worry as much about damp-off because there are older roots using the same water in the same pot. It's when I take the babies out that I experience problems. As I mentioned, I actually put some young Calamondins back with their Rangpur Lime host plant to recover after this winter. The other thing I practice quite a lot is the theory that it's not dead until it's dead and even if I'm sure its dead, it's worth a shot. You wouldn't believe the number of citrus seedlings and cutting grown figs I had come back to life after the moving issue the spring before last. I actually use the much maligned self watering pots, but not as self watering pots. The designers would say I'm using them totally backwards. I'll go down my line of trees and tip them to dump the water if I notice water actually standing in any of the reservoirs. (I can't imagine using them to "self water" because what that really does is create a high water table for root rot.) If you've ever taken a moment to look at one of those things empty, the bottom of the pot that sits inside the reservoir is like a pasta strainer. So long as the reservoir is always empty, drainage isn't a problem.

well, I got the response from her fairly quickly. Anyway, here it is: >>+ Is there a difference between Santa Teresa Lemon and >>Femminello Lemon? Santa Teresa is a selection of the variety of Femminello and Willits and Newcomb may have one that is called just Femminello lemon, these would just be different selections of an original Femminello cultivar. So there are a bunch of Femminello selections such as Femminello Ovale, Femminello Santa Teresa, Femminello Sfusato and others. They will be similar with slight differences. See link below. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter4.html#acid >>+ We were told that the difference is the region of Italy >>each of these varieties come from. Can you please tell us >>what region of Italy specifically Santa Teresa variety >>comes from along with other varieties as >>well? I can't remember for sure, but I think they were named based on the region thew were found, but it doesn't mean they can't be grown other places or that they aren't grown other places in Italy.

Wow thanks everyone! Ashleysf, $22 is GREAT! I figured potted trees would range from 50 to 100 for me. Well, I'll start looking into Lowes and HD to see what they have. What is OSH? Variegated pink lemon and Buhhda's hand citron? I've never heard of these types before, they sound wonderful! Should I wait until Spirng to buy one? tsmith, you've given me hope that I'll find my beloved blood orange tree at a local store. Mike, I think that citrus can be shipped here but the plants can't have any bugs or anything harmful to TX. I'm still a little confused on how this works. Do companies that sell citrus trees look out for things like this and make it easy to ship? Or is my best bet to buy from a local store? Oh goodness, global warming is on no ones side! Haha! :) Iceage fault line in Missouri? Wha? John, thanks for the help. I'll probably buy a grafted one to make things earsier on me but I will eventually try from seed for the gradification of growing my own citrus tree ;) Know of any other tree that might be good for indoors? Grapefruit, lime, etc...? Thanks a bunch! Ashley

Moccasin, you really "get" me. My little tree hosta garden IS my jewel box. The only hosta there which might be big enough to divide are the Aureo marg. and Blue Cadet, which were gifts from a colleague at school. I would never have paid money for them. They are OK, but they don't thrill my heart like my beloved "Little Treasure". I'm hoping my "Cherish", which I planted last year, will give me more of a show this year, ditto "Raspberry Sundae" and "Teeny Weeny Bikini". So, I don't think I can save money by dividing what I already have. My tree hosta garden is already very carefully thought out, like an artist's canvas, and I don't want to disrupt that and replant them in the new plot. The shape of the plot (round vs. a strip) would not be amenable to my tree garden's hostas, most of which are minis or very small hostas. They are visible to admire over their 6" fencing because they are near the sidewalk, whereas the neighbor's plot is only a few feet from the front of the building. To admire minis planted there, you'd have to trespass on the lawn, which would not be good. That's why I'm looking at the smallish medium hostas, which you can clearly see at a distance. So, in summary: Don't use first year TC's. Try the mentioned hosta sources. THANKS, GUYS! Of COURSE I will take pics when it's done and post them.