Thank you Greg and Vladimir. My only hesitation is the size of the bag. I wish another citrus lover lived closer so that we could split the bag. I may wait till Spring to order it since I will likely not need much fertilizer for winter. Vladimir, any trips to D.C.in your future?? LOL

Laura, unfortunately no trips planned although I would very much love to meet you.

Someday!! It would be great fun to meet all of you guys (and gals)!

Hi Brian, can I please ask for further clarification? You said "I fertilize with miracle gro twice a week in spring and summer I just sprinkle a small amount on the top of the potting mix then water." For the spring 2x week application, is this the liquid fertilizer? Or granular watered down? Also, for the summer, the sprinkle that you mentioned, is that granular version? If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, I would love to see your bottles/packaging. I'd like to read further about Miracle Gro fertilizers. My mom swears by them. Her latest citrus is a NZL that she received as a gift about two years ago. It was very little when she got it, but it is about 5 feet tall now and it has many little lemons on it right now.

Mike, thank you, and I hope that you mother is doing better. On that same note, I was actually just thinking of you all and your weather, especially the ones close to the east coast!! I'm sure many of you guys have been getting lots of rain. Hoping everyone and their trees are safe.

Brian, I am with Figs..I know I have asked you before for those of us that would like ti use something other than the 5.1.1 and gritty mixes and having your expertise would be fantastic buddy.........

If you could give us more detail that would be so kind of you!

How do know when to water? What size pots do you use in comparison to root ball size? How often do you freshen up your mix or completely do a re pot? How do you prevent salt build up or do you ever have that issue? How much sunlight? Where do you store them? What exactly is your mix? What is your winter regemin? Do you spray for pests even if you don't see any? Fertilizera nd how often.....Etc..Love you bud..Hugs

By the way, I'll bet the SUN plays a huge role, like frosting on a cake.)))The more sun in a greenhouse setting the more success and the the peace of mind that comes with that, is well. Yahoo..lol

I am going to Book Mark this one buddy!

Yes Brian! Spill the beans please!! You have incredible trees!

Yes, once I saw Brian's pics of his big, successful trees in containers, I said, ok... THAT'S who we need to be getting our advice from! All the advice: medium, fertilizing, potting up, etc! Those trees don't get like that by *not* having a regimen down : )

That's great info Brian. Thanks for taking the time to type it all out. One question...what is "pro mix"? I've never heard the term. Is it similar to 5-1-1? Does it come in a bag? I ran out of FP just today and ordered a new jug of it and the peters fertilizer mentioned above. I'm going to start off with it light and still give them FP...maybe alternate between the two. I am going through FP like crazy and it would be nice to have a cheaper alternative.

Premier Horticulture 713425 HP-CC Mycorrhizae Pro-Mix, 3.8 cu ft. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SKHSHG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VId.xbDMSCEVN

Brian, is this what you use?

Yes, Brian, I was just getting ready to ask what the pro mix is. Also, when you say that you sprinkle the fertilizer on top and then water, would you guesstimate about a teaspoon, maybe a tablespoon each time? Thank you so much for the response. Sorry we put you on the spot. Your trees are just so large, beautiful, and productive, so clearly you're doing something right and we want specifics!! You know what they say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Congrats on your new house, your new greenhouse, your tiki bar, and all of your citrus glory!!

Premier Horticulture 3.8-CF Pro Mix HP High Porosity with Mycorise https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GRADNDS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ERd.xbTMNW22N

Or this one? Sorry Brian...I second what Figs said!

Hi Laura and Figs your both very kind!!! . Laura it's not exactly that one it is the one without the Mycorise it has black rapping and much cheaper we pay $27.00 at the garden center here .

Figs I would say a tablespoon try it twice a week just place right on top of the soil then water but water thoroughly till water drains out the bottom of the pot . I fertilize in the spring and winter Hawaii is so different summer there all the time . Is there such a thing as winter there where plants take a break ?

Brian

Typo on the rapping lol . Wrapping or packaging . Laura and Figs I love your tree's they are soooooo beautiful sometimes you don't try to fix what's not broken if that makes sense .

Brian

Thanks Brian! You are right about the last statement...but I am always happy to experiment and perhaps there are improvements to be made. There may also be financial benefits...meaning if I can get the same result from the pro mix (to use as an example), then why spend a fortune on reptibark? I'm always looking to learn and Brian, your trees are exceptional. Good night!

I will take a pic for you Figs I will post it this week sometime . Sorry to hear about your problems with the pests . I've had problems in the past with scale I had them in the spring when I brought them out believe me I haven't seen one scale on any of my tree's since I brought them back in and I neglected my tree's this yr I don't understand. It must be a huge problem for you with the pests have you tried hitting them with water when watering your tree's . When I water my tree's I usually check for bugs then if there are some I hit them with the flat setting on the water nozzle clears them clean . If they are unhappy and not growing its probably the mix I would try a new mix then start fertilizing also have they out grown their pot ?

Brian

Sometimes Figs problems can occur if the root ball is no sitting right in the mix eg not enough soil around the sides or huge air pockets at the bottom . You might want to inspect the roots and pull it out of the pot . Pests will attack a very unhappy tree more than a happy one .

Brian

Good night Laura Happy Birthday . Just don't try it on your new birthday present I would fill so bad if anything happened to it . lol

Brian

Hello Figs . Poor you not a very nice way to start a new hobby your interest in citrus . If the Kishu does well in the potting mix then I guess the problem will be with the dark soil on your property . Is your mom's soil similar to yours are they in the ground or in pots ? If one of my tree's looked very sick I would pull it out of the pot and check the root ball making sure there is no rot . I would place the tree in a new potting mix rot or not . I usually know after a couple of watering after a repotting whether I like the mix or not I really watch how fast the water drains through the mix . Also iif you can roll a ball with your soil after a watering it's no good After the first watering with any new mix I will pick some of the mix up and I will roll it in my fingers and if it feels light and airy and still be moist then I am one happy camper . Can it be that your 511 mix is drying out to fast ? One way I test to see if any of my tree's need water I will tilt there pot back if it still feels heavy I might wait another day or so in the summer I don't usually do this the heat usually dries them out in a couple of days but in the winter I do this all the time . I as your mom love MG it has not given me any kind of grief and my tree's seem to be very healthy , I feel very comfortable using it . Figs looks like the mix I use the packaging is a little different probably because I live in Canada .

Brian

Figs one quick question does your mom use all purpose MG ? I will take a pic of the pro mix packaging on the weekend we are at our old home painting and cleaning getting it ready for sale in the next couple of weeks. We are so exhausted lol.

Brian

Great pointers Brian! Thank you! Good luck with the painting!

I tried the Peter's fertilizer today. It arrived this afternoon. I put it in my spray feeder at 1 tsp/gallon rate...we shall see how they respond. I also received my FP, but will try to use that a little less often to see how this other fertilizer works out, although since I will not fertilize much during winter, I may have to wait till Spring to see the results.

What is a spray feeder? How are you actually applying it? Most people with container trees simply dissolve the correct amount in a common watering can and pour it upon the surface of the medium. BTW, there is no such thing as a "guinea pig" when using Peters fertilizers. It is used by millions of professional growers the entire world over for the last 40 + years. - Silica

I have a number of watering cans, but I just use clean, empty gallon milk jugs with a lid to fertilize . Simple, cheap, recycled and easy to measure with..

There are a number of people on this forum that use the Peters fertilizer. .

Figs, I am well aware of that thread.. I am well aware that a number of people use FP , and , or Peters... :) ( I don't use either)

Geez...I go to bed and this occurs. I take no offense with anything said. Silica, Figs said it correctly in that it is new to me. I think because if the debate about the urea and potential excess N, a few here were a bit concerned. Al also commented that Peters was a tad bit light on a couple of elements. I trust your opinion enough to buy that 25 lb bag. I applied it using a spray feeder (only applied to the roots) that allows me to control the flow concentration - I set it to 1 tsp/gallon as you recommended.

Hi Figs I checked the packing on the pro mix and it is the same . Thank your son for me on the Tiki Tiki bar I love it that he thought it was beautiful . We have so many construction workers coming in and out here and they just love it and the greenhouse they are all taking all kinds of pics . One construction work asked us if he could go in the greenhouse and we said of course he loved it in there he said that it reminded him of were he grew up the country he came from he was floored . Thankyou so much for the information on what your mom uses sounds like she really has it working for her . Sounds like she is the perfect person to help you through this you know we should always listen to mom , her tree's must look so beautiful. Take care Figs .

Small ps very small not directed at anyone . Let's keep the forum informative and a fun place to come to . The forum is just a group of people talking about what works for them or what doesn't there is no right or wrong here . I have learned so muc from so many , tried things I would never have thought of . To me the more opinions the better.

Brian

Hi Jinnylea please please that was not intended for you or any one person it was just in general. I absolutely love your posts and I am crazy about your setup jealous. I am sure that who ever upset you did not do so intentionally and nor did you intentionally it happens to the best of us . There are other threads here to where this is happening. . It was just a general let's keep things fun airy and ligh just t like our potting mix's . Again Jinnylea trust me it was not intended for any one person and definitely not intended towards you I happen to really like you and the things you bring here to the forum .

Cheers

Brian

Brian, sweetie, I know you have a great heart and your post was not directed at me.. your post was said from the heart..♡ My post was about someone else (figs) whom was directly taking aim at me for no reason.. It is sad..

You are a wonderful person.. You my friend have a wonderful setup and some beautiful citrus and I love when you share a part of it.. Hugs..

Giant hug to you Jinnylea! !!

Brian

Guys, I am sorry this has happened. I like ALL of you and hope that we will all continue to help each other on this great forum. I would like to delete this entire thread so that it will just go away and not spark any more debates. Is that possible? I will report about the Peters fertilizer in a new thread.

Come on girls...Let's have fun. I can tell from reading both of your posts you both are trying to understand each other and make up..I personally love you both just as Brian does...

I have had fare share of misunderstandings on this forums and in life, and yet some of those very ones have become my closest friends...

Then I have had my run in and disagreements.I started a thread about Miracle Grow Garden SOIL because I could not see any benefit to it and sincerely do not understand why anyone would encourage others to use it here. It was me that suggested not to use anything other than foliage pro, and it was me who said to use a nose end sprayer..I could easily think one here is trying to push an agenda against me help ing those in using the 5.1.1 and gritty mixes, contradicting a lot of what I have to offer, for some reason or another, and yet I still have no hard feelings with that one even at the expense of others treating me badly, agreeing with him after all the help I have given here for years, not standing behind me, or not liking what I said ,or my intentions..It's ok.

No matter what, in the end we are here to help each other and if there is a troll or one that deliberately wants to do the opposite, they get exposed eventually..In fact, they leave and come back just to start issues again...Not dedicated to sticking around or getting to know others here, hell, they won't even tell us their personal name.. I could easily take offense and I still tried to be as kind and respectful as possible even though .

To me, the most important thing is that we help each other to be successful and it is up to us to determine whether someone is truly genuine in our success..

Brian, Brian, Brian,............

it's not an understatement that you have a good heart. I too am proud to call you my good friend even though we don't grow our trees the same or encourage others to grow the way you do..Hugs to you buddy.

Figs, I really do think the world of all of you! In light of not being able to delete the whole thread, I think it would be best if any argumentative ones are removed so that they do not stir anything else up. Ultimately, it is up to you guys, but that would be my vote. Peace and hugs to all!

Figs, I have been so tired I missed that thread...Please link me and if I forgot where it was, my bad..I think I am brain dead...Your a peach! You are also right!

A+++++ to jinneylea and Figs for talking to one another a huge start thanks guy's . You guy's will come around because your both super people . Mikey Figs is so right your definitely the most kind cuddly person here not to forget your knowledge and humor. Hugs buddy

Brian

Whew!! I am glad that was all cleared up. I have been away and just clicked on this thread, read half way down and thought I had lost my mind or something because I didn't remember any derogatory comments.

Kudos to you both for deleting your comments

Thank you Figs for removing the posts :-)

I must reiterate that we have a GREAT bunch of people here..Please let's keep these boards moving and active as much as we can. I'd miss you all if anyone disappeared! Love you all

Laura, have you been using the Peters fertilizer and how has it been working for you?

Hi Vladimir! I've been using it but alternating with FP. It is more concentrated, so I've barely made a dent in it. It appears to work great - just like FP. It is a fraction of the cost, so i intend to use it. Because it contains slightly lower levels of a few trace elements, i may give them FP periodically...just to be extra careful. I will keeep using it and report again in a month or two.

Laura, that sounds very promising! I appreciate all the feed back and your updates. You are a true gem around here...If your trees do well with that system, I am going your route too!

Laura, I am tempted to switch to Peters, also, but would not want to use FP periodically because it would be too much of a bother. I would just want to keep things simple.

I know that a lot of folks (Millet, Silica, etc.) on the Tropical Fruit forum use Peters and apparently do not have problems with deficiencies of micro nutrients, which makes me wonder whether using FP is really necessary. (Although Al Talpa recommends FP for all container plants. )

Also, I get the feeling that micro nutritional deficiencies are rare in container grown citrus and much more common in in-ground trees. My point is that perhaps we do not need to worry about micro nutritional deficiencies in container citrus.

It's a good point Vladimir. Only time will tell I guess, but I think it's great so far....definitely no ill effects. Frankly the only reason I'm using FP now is bc i worry about fertilizer buildup and Peters has more N in the form of urea. I can tell you that a foliar spray of Peters on that deficient kumquat seemed to green it up almost overnight - but that is totally an unscientific observation ;-)

Oh dear, oh dear! I just read this thread, and I realize I have used up my entire bag of Jacks in less than 6 months!! The trees seem to like the feeding, but I must have been using way too much!! I came online to buy some more, and thought I'd see if that was still a good one to go with, and found this thread and I am now confused all over again! Granted my trees are in ground, but i have also been giving them AS and Foliage Pro, and am totally out of any fertilizer in the house!

KC

In-ground vs. in-pot >>> totally different environments. Follow the recommendations with the fertilizer and / or area Ag suggestions ....and adjust for your specific location / planting areas (for me it is soil, slope, neighboring plants/roots, past fruit production, irrigation reliability/hydration, and current green-ness / condition).

Just yesterday, I threw down ~ 2 lbs of 13-5-8 per in-ground tree... the trees are hungry and the fruit is growing quickly this time of the year! - George

Thanks, George! I'm going to keep up with the amounts (about a tablespoon a gallon, 5 gallons at a time to each tree, once a week) because they have only benefitted from it, and I think they could even use more!

KC

I use a fertilizer with no calsium in it, but I apply one or two dried and ground eggshells on a monthly basis. Is that necessary or is it too small amount?

I bought marmalade made from Seville oranges, and we'll try that on finnish pancake. Here's the recipe if you are curious enough to try it:

'Pannukakku'

8dl whole milk

4dl wheat flour

2dl sugar

1teaspoon salt

1teaspoon baking powder

150g butter

A hinch of vanilla extract/vanilla sugar

1. Combine the dry ingredients.

2. Add milk and eggs, whisk for smooth consistency.

3. Melt the butter and let cool down before adding it to the doe.

4. Warm up the oven to 200c - 225c.

5. Heat a empty pan in oven and melt a teaspoon of butter on it, pour on the doe and bake for 25-30minutes until golden brown. Enjoy with whippd cream and marmalade of any kind, but I prefer it with Vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy the taste of my childhood, it brings back so many good memories! :)

Edit. Forgot to put in the amount of eggs, so it is 2 eggs to this batch!

Thank you for the recipe Jontte! I would love to make those for my kids sometime! Can I ask what dl measurement is?

Decilitre, it is 0,42 US cups :) And it's 2 eggs for one batch, forgot to mention that!