Hi, Linda - what is meant by "I have added stones so I am thinking the roots not showing is the problem, I scooped out excess dirt, hopefully this is the cure"? Something is amiss, but with more info from you, we can probably figure out what it is. Adding "stones" to the bottom of a pot might or might not be a bad idea. If the grow medium you're using supports a layer of 100% saturated soil that defies gravity by refusing to exit the pot (a perched water column/ table), stones used as ballast can be your plant's best friend, because the stones displace a volume of medium which would otherwise be saturated with water; however, stones used as a drainage layer serve only to elevate the perched water table's position in the pot. These pots are full of grow medium and the shaded part represents a perched water table (PWT). The maximum ht of the PWT in any given medium that supports PW is a constant, no matter the size or shape of the pot. In the case above, the PWT is 3" tall, and you can see it remains so in all 3 pots. In the middle pot, the water "perches" (like a bird on a wire) just above a 2" drainage layer of small stones, making the distance from the pot bottom to the top of the PWT 5" instead of 3". So this would be one of those EUREKA moments when you might be discovering you've shot yourself in the foot. Large stones would be no different than bricks or empty soda bottles (caps on) and would be considered as ballast as opposed to a drainage layer. Remembering that the ht of a PWT is a constant for a given medium, adding stones as ballast does not raise the ht of the PWT. It simply displaces a fraction of the medium equal to the volume of the item used as ballast, reducing the volume of soil capable of holding perched water. With a bit of planning, ballast can eliminate more than 90% of the medium capable of holding PW. It acts passively and only needs to be done once. In figure D below, an over-turned pot is employed as ballast, and my guess is it would eliminate about 80% of the medium capable of holding perched water in this example. But, back to the original issue. How long have you tended the plant? What do you do insofar as a fertilizer program? Have you ever repotted (includes bare-rooting, root pruning, and a change of soil) or potted up (to a slightly larger pot)? I would suggest you ditch the "moisture meter", which isn't very accurate at all, as it measures electrical conductivity, not moisture. Clean the probe and insert it into a cup of distilled water and watch it read "DRY". Using a wooden "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water does a much better job. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al

Casey, yep, I too notice citrus leaves are fragrant, especially after you hose them. I really notice this scent w/lemon. One time I sowed citrus from store-bought seeds..the tree grew fairly quick considering..Those leaves were super fragrant. If you rubbed a leaf w/finger and thumb, you could detect a hint of lemon. After finding out it would take 7-14 yrs before fruit or flowers, I gave the plant to a friend who had a lot more patience than I..LOL. This was Pre-computer days and the only citrus I could buy locaally were Calamondins. Casey, the Orthos and other plant books detail fairly adaquate information. I wouldn't say it'd be a great book for professional growers, but it's got more than basic data. I normally buy new books, but when I saw the used books on Ebay and Amazon, I couldn't pass them up. Some ppl buy books, decided they're not interested then want to rid them. I keep my books for reference. I wish I could help w/that brown spot, but I really don't know what it is. Sorry..Maybe someone else can ID it. How many leaves have these spots? I'd remove them from tree. What type of orchid did you buy? Wow, that's along wait..lol..I don't have the patience either..especially w/orchids. I only have a few orcids like Phals, dens, dancing lady, ludisa Jewel Orchid, vannilas bean, (don't know if that's an orchid or not) and one hanging type that bloom several times throughout the yr. I think that's it for orchids. The Phal flowers seem to last forever. Toni

Planting 'high' is now a pretty well accepted and recommended practice for ANY soil condition, poor drainage or not. There's a variety of reasons supporting this - settling (collapse of the soil surrounding the roots - common with containerized trees and shrubs), less chance of overwatering, improved drainage, minimizing soil interface issues between native soil/backfill and the rootball soil and to maximize soil oxygen levels (lowering risk of transplant shock). It has been established that trees planted with at least a quarter to a third of the rootball above grade establish faster than those planted at grade level. Feeder roots should not be present on the top of the rootball - that is not their 'normal' location on a healthy, well-grown young tree. If they are present, it is an indication that tree has been grown too deeply, either in the field (for B&B stock) or in a container. Larger, structural roots are not so much of an issue as they are a) a better indication of a proper planting depth and b) not inclined to dessication like feeder roots would be. Regardless - virtually any respected and current tree planting resource will advise you NOT to cover the top of the rootball with backfill soil. Mulch is quite different but even then, mulch very lightly over the top of the rootball (feather out to a greater depth further away from the tree) and avoid any mulch touching the trunk.

greenacresmama I absolutely agree with you that some things are better felt when one lives in the house already..thus can be considered better, chosen more wisely But. My experience..was it especially draining or just draining like everybody else's I can't judge(I am getting very exhausted easily lately that's true..disproportionally so) but after two years of re-building, I don't have it within myself to do anything significant. We have to do some hardscaping/landscaping yet..we looked at each other me and DH,,imagined going through something albeit much smaller even for a month or so..we told each other "next year"..we still have to install one closet..our guys didn't do it on time and we told them "we'll find somebody local"..6 month fast forward, still no closet.. no, I think-as hard as it was to imagine everything, plan everything, source everything, put everything together..be my own freaking designer..and lighting designer..:) (I'm the opposite..banned can lights from all spaces but utilitarian-kitchen, bath, corridor..but ceiling lights pendants and chandeliers are everywhere I could put them..that's how I grew up-we always had overhead lighting..and yes I have table lamps, sconces, floor lamps as well..love all lights, don't discriminate..except for poor can things..)..in short as hard as it was..it's past me. Mostly. I wouldn't have the stamina to go through things once again.. I'm happy to be at stage I'm agonizing over art placement..the rest is whatever. There's just a limit to that building/rebuilding/remodeling thing..I easily believe everybody has theirs, depending on age energy circumstances..I for now reached mine. I'm tired as hell-still. It's easier to be tired as hell in a house that is already what you envisioned it to be, more or less. But again. Putting my personal experience aside-there's wisdom in what you saying. One learns to know himself I suppose, and know his MO, and what will work for him. That's why I listed our previous place in the worst time possible..because I know my husband and his MO. We'd still be carrying that other house, caring for it trying to show it to sell or to rent it and handle the landlord thing..no. Just no. That would give us a bit more money. But it would do us in. Had to wrap this thing with handling two houses up. And my husband doesn't like wrapping things up. So I insisted. So we probably got 10-15 K less than if in spring market. But we kept at least some of our remaining sanity. (Of course judging by the sheer volume of this post it's hard to definitely tell lol)))