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

Hi Fotograf, I am glad to see your sucessfull grafting techniques. I am going to try grafting this summer. I too have a large Meyer tree and I am going to root some cuttings and sell them on Craig's List. I also planned on doing some grafting myself. I just need to call my dad and have him come over and teach me. So you say the key is too graft when the tree is going to go thru a flush right? Does the root stock need to be flushing also? What kind of grafting have you had the most sucess with? How about soil. This is a huge debate here. I found that my dwarf key lime is not finicky at all. It seems to thrive in the Miracle Grow cactus and citrus soil. It cracks me up that the Miracle Grow company actually bags up this mix and claims that it is great for citrus. I repotted my Oro and found that Al's gritty mix is very effective in keeping the water away from the roots but it gives them t he necessary moisture they require. I have taken some horticultural classes but I focused more in landscaping when I wish I had focused more in horticulture. I loved botany but hated the technical end of the landscaping. So much I actually ended up dropping out. That was when I went to Longwood gardens. Spring is such a great time to visit. I would like to go back someday. What do you feed your trees? Wow..to have so many citrus you must have a huge greenhouse. That is my plan someday. I would love to move to Florida but I wont go until this citrus ban ends. There is no way in hell I would leave my trees behind or be forced to have them erradicated!! I love my citrus too much. Just like Mike I fell in love with the fragrance of the flowers and also the allure of watching my very own fruit grow and ripen. My first experience with a grafted tree was with a Calomondin. I loved watching that little tree grow but Iwas very dissapointed to pop one of those tiny oranges in my mouth and expect something sweet only to get a lemon flavor! Thanks for the pics and inspiring us to try grafting! Andrew

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

Ok, thank you. That is probably not a tree for me then!! I am so jealous of all you guys that live where citrus can be planted outdoors. I grew up in South Florida and Cuba, so I remember. I planted a Glen mango years ago at my parents house that is now a huge tree. I barely got to taste the mangos before we moved away. Whenever I visit S.Florida I drive by their old house to see "my" tree. Oh well....I guess potted is better than nothing!