Here are some suggestions I have learned from John Panzarella who has over 140 varieties of citrus in containers. Plant mandarins (loose skin types) for best fruit in containers since they have less problems when temperatures soar and water in the container goes through large swings. Tight skin fruit tends to split a lot worse. Do not re-pot into a much larger size pot. Keep the plant a little confined. Go up only one size. 5 gal --> 7 gal otherwise the tree may want to not fruit and just give vegetative growth. John lives about fifty miles south of Houston. I would not re-pot now unless you are growing them indoors. I would avoid using perlite except maybe less than 10% and make sure it is coarse. It holds too much water. Be certain the potting mix drains well. You should see drainage in 30 to 45 seconds or less after watering. Always double pot, unless the pots are shaded, or they will get root damage. Fertilizer should be applied at half rates and twice as often as the package recommends unless it is slow release. Avoid citrus that normally mature after the end of January as they tend to become alternate bearing. Examples: Murcott (Florida honey) and Valencia. It must be the temperature swings. It was 81 today, and Wed AM it is supposed to be 31. Two weeks ago it was in the 20's. They do OK in deep South Texas. Also remember; citrus roots like it less than 85 deg F. Half the year they will be way outside their comfort range in a container on a patio in Florida. If you have hard (alkaline) water you will have additional problems. We can deal with that too. Citrus does not do well when fertilized like veggies because it does not tolerate the high phosphorus feeding. Trees on standard trifoliate rootstock tend take the swings of lack of water better than others I have tried. Avoid all lemon rootstocks for good eating fruit. Please do not take any citrus out of Florida to any citrus growing state. It is very illegal and it is possible to spread several deadly citrus diseases.

I would leave them in their pots, as they are. Helleborus prefer a well drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil and the soil mix in your pot has likely been conditioned for them. You could place the pot inside a decorative pot, for appearances, if you wish. When preparing the soil for planting, drainage is important, as you noted. Select a location with some morning sun, dappled sun/shade or bright shade. They do not bloom well. if at all, in deep, evergreen shade. Mix a generous amount of compost, ground composted coniferous bark and coarse washed sand or grit with the clay to promote drainage. Do not use fine or play sand alone to amend clay, as you could wind up with adobe brick! I usually incorporate about one cup of Dolomitic Lime into the mix to raise the soil pH. You could also use crushed concrete or sea shells to provide Calcium/Lime. Avoid disturbing the roots, if possible, when transplanting, as they resent that and will sulk, by collapsing onto the ground, for days or weeks afterward. It's difficult to predict the age at which they will begin to set bloom buds, but it is not unreasonable to expect a 2 year old nursery grown plant to produce some blooms. BTW, the correct botanical name is Helleborus x hybridus. H. orientalis is a green flowered species and was used as one of the parents to produce the multicolored hybrids we grow today. Some nurseries incorrectly label x hybridus as orientalis. Enjoy! :Rb

Hi there and welcome aboard! When will they flower seems to be the most asked question:-) Compacta Is a Carnosa variety and could take YEARS to bloom depending on the growing conditions and the size of pot you grow them in and how old the plant is! They do seem to need to be root bound.... Hoya's are members of the milk weed family. When the are cut or broken they bleed white sap. This is normal. (some varieties have clear sap) Yes, most (but not all) Hoyas are treated like you would treat a succulent. They need an airy light mix. I use regular potting soil to which I add 1/2 perilite and a handfull of orchid bark. They do not like wet feet and will rot if left sitting in water or soil stays wet too long!! Regular soil is NOT ok!! Repot with a lighter mix as soon as you can and try not to overwater them now or after you repot! I hope I have been of some help to you:-) Diane

Nice example but actually there are much bigger ones around. I prefer to keep house plants indoors all of the time, apart from them having to cope with sudden changes in light exposure, humidity and temperature when they are moved from one environment to the other the Great Outdoors is full of bugs and slugs. As indoor plants Schlumbergera need a comparatively coarse, cactus style (yet high organic content) potting mix, bright yet indirect light, moderate watering and humidity plus fertilization (per label directions) with products packaged for use on flowering house plants during summer, with a dry period right after flowering. I find the Thanksgiving types to be very forgiving but the Christmas cactus type like you have may need to be protected from nighttime illumination during the pre Christmas budding period to flower well - or flower on schedule, anyway (a friend has one in bloom right now). Also these are prone to dropping of flower buds if allowed to become too dry after they have been set. The wild parental species grow on trees or rocks in tropical rain forest of SE Brazil, you need to give your plant less light and more humidity than a desert cactus would need. Growing as epiphytes puts them up out of the gloom of the forest floor, but still not where they are likely to be hit by hours of direct sun - in combination with low humidity, at any rate.