Mike, Thanks for the link. I did saw this thread while back and also read some other thread said the wick should be pushed into root zone, and some people use multi wickers. Conflict information is the reason of my question. Just want to clarify before I start repotting. To answer your question. The plants mix is original peat based nursary mix ( two years )which is due to be replaced. Plants have been growing reasonalbe well, not as green as yours, or bear as many fruits as yours, but they grow new leave, bloom, and fruits. However, I did see that it takes long for soil to be dry. I was planning to change soil into either 511/gritty/ mix or regular soil this coming winter but this storm forced me to do it now. I have some amount of 511, and gritty mix mixed. Just don't have enough for all the plants that fell to the ground. I, in a very limited base, moved some plants into either gritty or 511 mix just to see what works and what doesn't. I moved a Bougainvilla into gritty mix 4 weeks ago, it is thriving so far. I moved a brugmainsia into 511 mix ,but did not see much better result than in regular soil. On the contrary, the leaves seem getting smaller. This may be the ph or fertilizer issue, not the soil air exchange issue. In a word, I am experimenting, not a lot, both mixes in very small scale and in a very slow pace. You ask my objective. It is simple, less work, more flowers and leaves. I like the 511 or gritty mixes' porous, breathable feature, but I do not like it has to supply water/fertilizer often. I am on the lazy side, my ideal potting soil includes all the goodness of gritty mix plus mother nature's way... Have all the minerals in the soil and plants take it whenever plants need it. Not when we fertilize it. let plants decide when they want what. Regular soil has all the minerals but is not as porous/breathable as 511/gritty mix. The major reason I ask if I can use compose is trying to avoid using peat and add some mineral into the soil. My current 511 mix is on the porous side because the pine barks I bought are mostly on the large side, close to 3/8. The perlit is corse perlit I bought from orchid nursary. When I mix more 511, I will watch out not to add too much compose. Thank you very much, Mike, for your help here.

I'm baaack! Never lost power, but did lose phone/DSL until tonight. Some burlap blew off the berries/garden but everything else intact. Lost 1 birch and 2 hemlocks, haven't checked the orchard since I have to walk through woods to get there and was alone. Apple trees really old and need severe pruning, might be better just to plant new anyway (though I understand they don't grow well in old orchards so maybe graft?). Shoreline damage extensive here - I have a fellow woman farmer who runs a nonprofit urban farm in New Haven, haven't heard from her, afraid it might be really bad. I know there are vineyards in Stonington CT, farms along the shore (again, women farmers network, people I know) I'm afraid might be hard hit but no power or communications capability there so it might be a while b4 we know anything. Inland CT was hit much harder last year both with flooding from Irene and building collapses during Oct snowstorm, I think except for shoreline we'll find farms made out OK in Sandy. Residential/commercial property all along the coast (Long Island Sound) damages are easily several million though. About 1/3 of the state still w/o power. But CT didn't get hit nearly as hard as NJ (and NYC) did.

amberlin, I suggest you repost your thread to the Fragrant Plants forum. You'll receive lots more replies there as 'Michelia Alba' is considered one of the 'benchmarks' of fragrance in the 'Fragrant Plants' forum. Anyway, to answer your question, rapid and widespread falling and yellowing of mature leaves especially when it starts at the bottom of the plant and upwards, is a sure sign of overwatering and root rot. Did you do anything to the plant like transplanting it? If you transplanted it, make sure the rootball is at the SAME or HIGHER level in the soil as in the original pot/container. Burying the rootball deep into the soil CAN kill it especially when overwatered. I can tell you now that based from my experience, once ALL of the mature leaves of 'Michelia Alba' turn yellow and SAG or DROOP, DEATH is almost as SURE AS THE SUN RISES. Any emergency procedures you do now will be of little help. In case however, you have that 'fighting spirit' to try to save the plant, (there is 30% probability that it could still 'survive'), you should dry the SOIL to the 'CORRECT' moisture level within 24 hours before the 'exponential' root rotting and decay becomes irreversible. If you can't dry the soil to the 'CORRECT' moisture level within 24 hours, better repot or transfer the plant into DRY SOIL and water VERY LIGHTLY afterwards. (DO NOT soak the soil especially soil near the rootball area). DO NOT fertilize a stressed plant like this. If you do decide to TRANSPLANT or REPOT, do take note of the proper way to position the rootball as I mentioned above. Avoid putting the stressed plant in FULL SUN while it is still in critical condition. (Especially avoid the NOON or EARLY AFTERNOON sun). Michelias are *VERY SENSITIVE* to OVERWATERING and are very succeptible to root rot. Good SOIL DRAINAGE and good WATERING HABITS are of PARAMOUNT importance. I hope you save your Michelia Alba. It hurts to lose such an excellent fragrant plant. tropical

Just over 60 days now. These pics are from a couple days ago. Mowing about every 4 days. I'm applying urea at .5 lb N / 1000 sq ft weekly. I also put alfalfa on it last night. I had it in my head that 10 lbs / 1000 sq ft was the prescribed dosage, but then read an alfalfa post by dchall saying that 20, 30, even 40 lbs per 1000 sq ft is good. So I'll grab a couple more bags this week and throw them down. I'm pretty happy with it at this point. There will be work to be done in the spring, but it's 100% better than what I had when I started.