My potted things (some roses, lilies, lemon tree, etc.) are mostly in the largest black nursery pots I could find. Those things have huge drainage holes - some on the side only, some on the bottom only, some a combination. Those large holes do allow soil to leak out. It occurred to me one time when I had run out of pot bits with which to block the holes from leaking soil out so easily, years ago (5 +, if I recall correctly) that used up dryer sheets (non woven fabric softener sheets) would make an excellent soil blocker over the holes while allowing water to drain out easily. And I use dryer sheets in my laundry, so I have instant access to dozens of the things... The only time I've had trouble with the sheets is when I've been lazy about repotting and happy, enthusiastic rooters have grown through the sheets. Those times I generally cut the sheets off, but usually, they're still sitting there just a little tangled, but easy to remove during the 'replace the dirt' process. The one time this hasn't worked well has been with my lemon tree, when something small went IN the drainage holes, tore up the dryer sheets and left bits of them all over the cement slab. Now every time I water the trees, some soil comes out with the water. I don't know if something is living inside the pot, but the lemon tree isn't doing terribly well - but it isn't the fault of the dryer sheets...

Ive read here that 55F or so is "absolute zero" for citrus roots. They wont die, but they dont suck up water or nutrients. When bringing in for the winter, it should be before this temp, or they should be brought into a coolish, really humid environment (or misted a lot) If the roots got too cold to work, and theyre brought into warmpth, the leaves keep trying to work, and because they get too dry, they fall off. I understand its not fatal if you DO warm the roots up (or they come up to temp), and misting or leaving out a bowl of water for humidity should help. Also, IMHO, keeping them away from lights/drawing the windowshade for a few stress-free days might help (hopefully its dropped all its going to drop) good luck! and may you harves more fruits!

Annie, I think we are only the tiniest bit hotter, but y'all are probably usually more humid. (On some days, I'd think the higher humidity would feel great, but on other days it would push the heat index into the stratosphere!) We have limited protection from south and north winds, but not so much from the west, and none from the east. Our clay holds too much moisture when it rains and not enough any other time, but it is great when well amended. We have one narrow band of sandy soil between the house and garden and that is where the guinea coop and chicken coop are, there under the shade of the big pecan tree. I have cannas and 4 o'clocks and rough-leaf dogwood under that pecan to help shelter the poultry from the predatory birds that like to eat them. Unfortunately, the soil amending has to be ongoing....year around, year in, year out. I am "only" 49, but wonder how many years I'll be able to garden at the current pace. Already, the heat bothers me so much more than it did 5 or 10 years ago. The garden gets a little shadier as the trees on three sides of it get larger, but I have to worry about their roots encroaching too. Our soil leans towards being neutral, around 6.8 to 7.2, as long as I keep it well-amended. I had alkaline soil (around 8.0) in Texas, and it was a struggle to lower it any at all. Unfortunately, our place here was once a farm where cotton was one of the crops raised, and there is cotton root rot in the soil. That gave me a lot of trouble in the early days, and there really is no "cure" for it, but I find that the more I amend and improve the soil, the less trouble I have with cotton root rot. Unfortunately, two or three thousand plants are susceptible to it, so I have to watch what I plant. I don't garden on most the land we have because the clay is like red concrete. Only about a acre or acre-and-a-half of it is tamed, about 3 acres are pastures where the wildflowers and grasses nurture the wildlife, and a little over 10 acres is forested and full of deer, bobcats, foxes, ringtailed cats, ferrets, snakes, snakes, snakes, and tons of other stuff, including possums, armadillos and skunks. We do mow 10' wide paths through the pastures so we can walk through there without stepping on copperheads (been there, done that, didn't care for the experience, but didn't get bitten either). I love, love, love living and gardening here, but I miss the longer growing season we had in Fort Worth, where the last spring freeze was often in mid to late-February and the first one often didn't hit until mid- to late-November. Still, I do like Oklahoma better even if it took me 39 years to get here! I envy the rainfall y'all get up there....in a GREAT year here, we'll have 30 to 34" inches and we'll be astounded that we got so much! I can't imagine routinely getting 35" or 40" or more. I'd sure like to try it for a year or two though! Most years since we've been here, it's been more like 26" or 28" or maybe 30" of rain, but one year it was 21" and another it was 24". In a year like that, it gets to where all you can do is water enough to keep the foundation from cracking. So, in a "good year" we STILL have drought here, and in a bad year it is unspeakably bad. I guess it is probably pretty much the same all over Oklahoma....is there ever really enough rainfall in June, July or August (well, maybe at Scott's! LOL). Our 17 keats have survived their first month and we've only had to kill two black snakes that were after them, although our predator-snake problem is usually the worst in July and August. DH keeps wanting to let the keats out of the brooder cages, but the last two times we did that when they were this old, something got them all, so they are staying in the brooder a while longer. I think the guinea coops is about 95% snake proof, but I am not convinced it is 100% snake proof. Our bunnies are disappearing, but I haven't heard the coyotes howling at night yet, so think they are still denned up with their young. A neighbor says a friend of his is seeing a cougar occasionally, but I haven't seen any signs of one near us for a couple of years, I think. Maybe it is the bobcats getting the rabbits. It has been such a great rabbit year, but I know it doesn't last long. The turtle eggs laid in the shrub bed (clay highly amended with compost) have hatched and we have little baby turtles everywhere, and we've had a huge population explosion in the hummingbird gang this year--ruby-throated, black-chinned, and rufous. Life is good! (Hot, but good.) I am very careful about exposure to the heat and sun. I don't wear sunscreen as often as I should (but I'm better than I used to be), but I always wear hats and, more often than not, I wear long-sleeved cotton shirts in the summertime. All the ranchers and farmers here do that to protect their skin, so at least I don't look like an oddball. (Being an organic gardener in a pretty non-organic county makes me enough of an oddball as it is! Not that I care. I wear my oddballness proudly!) Dawn

Thanks for all of your help, everyone! I finally got all of the ingredients together to put my tree in a pot. I spoke to a man at a local garden center and he recommended a pot with a diameter just 2 inches wider than what the tree was currently in. He said this would help with maintaining the appropriate moisture level. Only time will tell at this point I suppose. I used slightly less peat moss and subbed in slightly more perlite. Hopefully this keeps things from getting too soggy. Fingers crossed!