Thanks Evan and Patty for the compliments and suggestions. I'll definately paint the trunks white to avoid sunburn. Satsuma and Goldnugget are on my wishlist, and I'll likely get them in the Spring from Costco who supplies the Willits and Newcomb (my Page and Kishu came from them). I had my 1st Gold Nugget fruit at a farmers market in Santa Barbara last year .... amazing! I actually intially planted my eureka and kumquats in the ground, but I couldn't seem to get the soil conditions/drainage right and they kept loosing leaves and looked sickly. Both the kumquat and eureka are semi-dwarf so I figured they would be ok for now in pots. After transplanting, these plants stablized quickly as so I left them in the potted soil. If you guys have any tips on how to prepare the ground soil, please let me know as I'd love to have a few citrus in the ground. I might just replant the potted ones, unless you all would recommend against it. The cinder block wall has generally served the plants well, but the dang wind still gets to them :(. I'm still trying to figure out ways to get around these wind issues. Well thanks again! Zach

So how did this work out for you?

dRahme - My sister just wants a low maintenance and drought tolerant garden. She doesn't like gardening at all. Since I plan on putting a small lawn and gas BBQ near the guest house, I'll likely put the shrubs and trees on the perimter. I'll definitely check out your site to get some ideas, though. In her neighborhood, most people have the usual rock garden with a few drought resistant shrubs and daisies. I can't imagine her running outside to water when the temps start to get over 100 degrees (when it needs it the most!). And I understand that if plants are in the ground, the automatic sprinklers can only run for a few minutes on Satuday. In containers, though, there is no restriction on length of watering. Thanks for your thoughts Bill

Forget twice a week, water when the plant is dry. That might be every day. 50% shade cloth would help with the desert sun altho I don't know where to get a small piece, just the big rolls are at any greenhouse supply. Try total shade during the hottest hours, full sun morning and evening.