@scarediecats,. I found this on the web. I live in a neighboring state, Ohio, and thought I'd look up about my sister beautiful mimosa. (Bark is falling off) enjoy . Native to Iran and China, mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) was first introduced in the United States in the 1780s. Since then, the tree has spread throughout warm, mild regions. In fact, in some places, it is regarded as a weed because the seeds prolifically self-sow. Mimosa doesn't grow well in northern climates, but is well-adapted to mild coastal zones. Cold injuries, though not impossible, are rare here. Cold Injury Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9, mimosa can tolerate more cold than many trees growing in Mediterranean climates. In fact, cold injury is rare in these regions. However, a sudden, prolonged freeze can cause damage. Twigs and branches turn brown and die back. In extreme cases, the entire tree might die back. Occasionally, the trees' trunks develop cracks, caused by alternating periods of cold and warm temperatures. Sunscald occurs when the harsh winter sun damages the bark of young trees, causing brown or sunken patches on the trunk. These problems are rare in mimosas planted in mild climates. Prevention and Treatment Although you can't prevent frost damage in all cases, a few precautions can minimize the risk. Trees stressed by drought, poor soil or disease are more vulnerable to frost injury. Proper growing conditions can help trees weather cold temperatures. Growing trees in a protected area near a house or other trees can also help. Mimosa trees should never be fertilized in late summer. Fertilizing encourages new growth, prone to frost damage. If a tree does sustain injury, the best course is to prune back the branches to remove damage. Dead branches can be identified in one of two ways. Branches that fail to produce new growth in the spring are likely dead. Live branches will have soft, green material if you scrape away a bit of the bark. but dead branches are hard and brown. Make clean cuts one-quarter inch above an outward-facing bud to encourage new growth. Disease Frost damage is rare in coastal regions. Disease is the more likely culprit of injury or death to the mimosa tree. One disease, in particular, fusarium wilt, commonly infects mimosas. Yellowing leaves or early defoliation is the first symptom. As the disease progresses, the bark cracks and branches die back. Sometimes, the tree oozes a foul-smelling white or yellow foam. Eventually, the entire tree perishes. Unfortunately, no cure is available for this lethal disease, but prompt removal can prevent its spread. Distinguishing Between Disease and Cold Injury Because treatments vary, depending on the cause of the injury, it's important to distinguish between frost and disease damage. Frost damage occurs suddenly after a cold snap, while damage from disease usually progresses over several months or even years. Symptoms from frost damage occur primarily in the winter; disease damage is often most evident in the summer and fall.

The soil should be kept moist and consistently watered. If it's in a larger container that means more soil and root space, so the plant does not require being watered as frequently, and in general will be more robust/resilient. Does the plant have enough light, and are the temperatures it's subjected to too cold (even inside, temperatures can often get too cold for citrus during the Winter). If the plant is being heated inside, humidity is a concern, it can be easy for the leaves to dry out. Pretty much all those are the basics. Then you can move into issues like fertilizer. I will also point out that starting off with the right type of soil is important, specifically how that soil is going to deal with water. Will it retain moisture well? Cheap garden soil may just be finely ground lightweight mulch and not hold water well. But you may also want the soil to be able to drain.

My citrus have started the party out doors. Nagami kumquat in very bad shape but I believe it will live.. It is marked with the flying baseball cap. the crown marks my sweet lee tangerine tree. It was on its death bed then and is doing very well since planting there. The large tree below is my seed grown meiwa kumquat tree. In the process of moving it in and out I dropped it once and forgot to put in the spacer and burned the trunk with the light bulb. It has lost 1/3 of its leaves and shows no sign s of growth the smaller tree is a seed grown nagami kumquat. It is doing very well. 3 happy sweet lee tangerine trees from seed in bottomless gallon food tins. I had placed 3 sweetlee trees and a nagami kumquat tree in the community garden. Squirrels dug 3 sweetlee trees and the nagami up, one was replantable but died. the seed grown nagami was in critical damaged and was moved on to the roof as seen in the flying baseball cap. All four trees were very un happy not because the were grown from seed Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/Seed%20grown%20Meiwa%20kumquat%20tree

Hey everyone, the tree is starting to really look nice and green with about 30 micro blooms beginning to form all over. It almost makes me nervous with that many blooms popping out as it could be that last hurrah that occurs with trees acting in a desperate way to reproduce. Still cautious until i see some new foliage but honestly this is about the best turnaround I could've hoped for. I'll wait some time before taking pics next as it would be cool to get more of a dramatic time lapse as it changes for the better. This process has motivated me to purchase about 5 cubic feet of fir bark and plan on slowly moving my other trees over to the 511. Feel like I've seen enough to know what's better for the trees. Have also had an issue with leaf browning on my key lime that I'm suspecting may be due to soggy soil. Why not take that variable out of the equation? On the inorganic vs organic topic , really interesting stuff and makes you think. My philosophy has been to go inorganic on the non-edibles and organic on anything edible, but with a container garden that does complicate things a bit. Looking at the EB Stone Azalea's soil packaging, they do include "essential" microbes and mycorrhizae as a bit of a risk hedge for an full organic gardener. Not sure at the end of the day any of that matters and will keep an eye out for any issues. Dan