New purchases & changes & fav. fertilizer & solutions to pests
strawchicago z5
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
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Are You Going To Try A New Fertilizer This Season?
Comments (48)When I lived in TN I used mainly Mills Magic Mix (which was "local") and sometimes Rose Tone. Ingredient for ingredient they are much the same. I favored the MMM - I think it did a better job in the clay soil (for which it was designed), but that is an opinion, nothing scientific. Also, Rose Tone changed its formulation the third year I had roses to make it much closer to the MMM forumulation. The contents of MMM was much under discussion here on the forums during that time and I compared lables on everything in the market. Here, in NC, with no ready, relative inexpensive supply of MMM, a strong, willing DH and a nearby Southern States, I do it myself, much like rjlinva. I buy the bags of alfalfa meal, cottenseed meal, fish meal etc. and feed from my own "mix". We can get compost $20 for a ton and have a trailer that will haul 3 or 4 yards (depending upon how wet it is). The first roses went in the ground here in August 2005 and I've been adding new beds a couple each calendar year, so I'm doing a lot of soil amending. I have been adding the compost to the 'established' beds once a season, the newer beds are getting it twice to help get the soil turned around. I thought I knew clay, but NC clay is different than TN clay. I'm sooo grateful for the ready and inexpensive supply of compost. I also use epsom salts in the spring. If I think a rose needs a pickmeup, I'll go with the liquid Ironnite or something like that. There are several brands of liquid food that do that well. I also keep a bottle of fish emulsion handy for that purpose. I have a couple of roses that seem to require a little more iron than the rest of the crowd - its easy to spot them when they get needy....See MoreWhat's your fav Hippi photo??
Comments (39)Urgs, I just saw how huge the image was, sorry for that! @lily: I have no idea. Haweha commented my pictures on the german forum and wrote that he too had no idea who the ancestors could have been, the broad stakes are a trade of an big flowering cultivar. So perhaps they crossed a trumpet shaped specie with dutch cultivar? You might be able to find who crossed it. @Alana: Yes, I received seeds from Amputo x Sydney and Sydney x Amputo. I had so many flowers, there where 2 stakes with 3 blooms and 2 from one bulb with 4 each! I used this one for my crosses (even though it might just be a stronger clone from tissue cultivation), but I should have pollinated the other ones just to check what workes. I think I'll try to save pollen and try as much as possible. Ok, any suggestions ... finally: Amputo seems to be a Tetraploid regardless of it's fragrant looks. So it's a perfect candidate for a cross with a big-flowerig dutch hybrid. You should be able to preserve some of the colour scemes of the other parent. White flowers are often connected to a genetic defect where the plant's gene that transcribes pigments can't be read. So the other parent should be able to bring in some colours. What I'd like to try would be Grandeur, if anyone has pollen of these ... perhaps I should ask in another thread. ;)...See MoreWhat is your fav place to get citrus???
Comments (46)Hello Everyone, After reading through it, I couldnÂt resist posting on this thread. I agree with Toni and otherÂs good opinion of Brite LeafÂs trees. I have 4  2 in pots and 2 in the ground. They are 2-3 year olds now, and all want to be big. The lime is doing the best, fruiting for the first time this year, with plenty of fruit, if they all hold. Last I checked Brite LeafÂs site was working, but they hadnÂt restocked yet. They also have many new varieties, including some more expensive versions on flying dragon rootstock. I want to add an endorsement for Stan McKenzie at McKenzie-farms in Scranton, SC. He does cold hardy citrus on trifoliate rootstock. I have 4 from him also with 2 in the ground and 2 in pots. My observation is they will stay smaller. He has some great varieties, and I may not be done buying from him yet. At 17 trees, most would say IÂm at my limit, but Toni has introduced me to Harris, so who knows Sorry I canÂt share pics, but I also bought a BuddhaÂs hand this year. WeÂll have to start a subgroup within citrus forum for folks with young BH trees. I bought mine from Four Winds, the first tree IÂve gotten from them, because I wanted a dwarf and found no other online source for one. My other trees stay out over the winter, but of course the BH canÂt do that. I couldnÂt imagine getting a mature BH tree in the house every winter. I have limited sunny space and may need some of it for other plants, so it has to be a dwarf. I bought a 2-year old because thatÂs all they had in the BH, and paid more for it than I ever have for a tree. ItÂs been doing well since I got it in May and has plenty of new growth. It came with 2 tiny fruit, but they didnÂt hold on. Maybe the adjustment going from one coast to the other was too much for the tree to hang onto fruit this year. IÂll be curious how all of your BH trees do in the coming years. Any growing tips would be appreciated. IÂve been a citrus hobbiest for less than 3 years and still have much to learn. Marj...See MoreQuarantine 101 - For Any New Purchases
Comments (11)It's been my experience that there are people who buy & have NO idea that the plant is infested with anything. They just aren't that observant or don't know what to look for. There's also that thing where people expect plants they purchase to be healthy & pest free, so they never check. Then of course, there are those who don't really care. If and when the plant fails to thrive, they believe they killed it somehow by over or under watering. This is usually the case when people have one or two plants. However, when you have a collection of 6 or more, and ALL of them seem to be going downhill, dropping leaves etc. and upon closer examination, you see something is amiss. You check the Google & find you've got house guests. The product I use is Bonide brand. Click link for a picture of the product. Also, it's worth noting that the life cycle varies from species to species of MB. If you're lucky enough to eradicate all adults, and miss some eggs, BAM!...just like that, you've got 'em again. This is why I chose to break the cycle through chemical means. Technically, I should re-treat every 3 months, but I choose to only do so as needed, so twice a year it is. I used to (upon bringing new succulents home) remove all old soil & re-pot in preferred mix. However, some of them didn't appreciate having to acclimate to a new home as well as new soil. Now I bring them home & let them sit for a bit while I hunt down a suitable pot. I usually re-pot after about a month. Some folks have good results with Neem oil. I did not =/ But I admit to being somewhat of a type 'A' person, I hail from NY, soooo, there's that 8D Some folks have also had good results with simply removing old soil & rinsing roots in insecticidal soap solution, again, I did not. Different approaches yield varying results, some quite satisfactory. It's just too variable to predict with certainty, unless using a product with imidacloprid. The seller I was most happy with on Ebay is ricklogeesrareplants (clickable link) and coastaltil1. Be warned, not the cheapest option out there. However, I don't sweat where I get my plants anymore, now that I've found a reliable way to eradicate these pests. There's a large greenhouse near me and they have a great selection of mature plants, but ALLLLLL are infested with mealies. Despite this, I choose plants according to what pleases me & I treat liberally with imidacloprid before adding to my collection....See Morestrawchicago z5
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