I would strongly encourage you to get involved with the bonsai group if you're feeling you're good with the commitment it requires. Even if you decide it's not for you, the group will be a storehouse of hort. knowledge. "Remove a ring of bark at least 1-1/2 X the trunk/branch diameter." This means that if the trunk/branch diameter is 1 inch, you should remove/peel all the bark (girdle) the tree entirely from between cuts that are longitudinally 1-1/2 inches apart - a 1/2 inch trunk calls for 3/4 inch between cuts, etc. Roots will mostly occur at the top cut. Surround this cut away area with damp sphagnum moss, wrap with plastic wrap & then something opaque to keep sunlight out. "Years down the road" Yes, I often smile at myself when I realize it's really not in the nature of most people who tend houseplants to think along the lines of long term goals for their woody charges. They're all usually perfectly willing to patiently wait for attractive plants, as long as they can have them now! ;o) Of course, there's nothing wrong with that - it's just the way it is. I'll wander here a bit now ........ In bonsai, you always have a few trees that are at their peak and spectacular looking, but they soon need to be pruned back & you start all over again to bring them to another peak a year or two down the road. I think the key here is to have enough plants to fuss over so you don't tend to overwork individual plants. They need to go through a recovery period after any major work and don't appreciate continual pinching & pruning. Thursday night, I'll be leading a discussion about the role of growth hormones in pruning and developing trees for bonsai, but just because it's a talk directed toward bonsai development, doesn't mean that it can't be applied to all plants - houseplants included. There are many ways to manipulate and direct energy in the plant to keep it healthier and more beautiful than if left to its own (indoor) growth habits. I often share some of the info/tips in these forums. I have soo many small plants like - several coleus varieties, snapdragon, artillery fern, geranium, calibrachoa, santolina, dwarf hibiscus, rosemary, rock rose, and many others - even Impatiens (repens), that I have trained to beautiful little trees. I find it personally very rewarding to have a kind of communion with my plants that goes beyond just tending them. It really is something of a symbiotic thing for me. I know one thing. I really feel a horrid loss when something unknown takes a plant that I've been working with for several years. It's not like I can just go out and replace it with an equal. For me, bonsai is an intimacy with plants that kind of defines or distills individual plant personalities from the rest of the species or cultivar. I like that aspect - lots! ;o) Al

its not good .... but i would let it deal with it itself.. rather than going in and drilling holes for drainage .. or any other thing you might dream up ... dont fix something that isnt broken .... other than the water ... you havent described any real problem with the tree .... if you are really concerned... discuss such with a Certified Arborist ... i might change my mind.. if you could post a picture .... ken

I haven't raised many cecropias, so others can give you better information, but I know all about luna moth cocoons! They scratch in the same spot on the inside of the cocoon for a little while (30 minutes?) all the while exuding a little (or a lot, sometimes) of an enzyme they use to break down the cocoon. All that scratching and exuding makes a hole in the cocoon, which they use to pop out of. They come out all body with pitiful little bitty wings. Magically, after the moth scurries to a support and hangs upside down, the wings grow hugely, the body shrinks, and, voila, you have a big moth! I never see any indicators that they're about to emerge, unless I just happen to hear scratching coming from their cage. Congratulations on your cecropias! Since we had such a long, cold winter, and they're once-a-year moths, it may be July or August before they make their appearance. Sherry

gardenfan, You're quite welcome and I hope someone else will comment on your tree as well. Sounds like your tree should eventually recover then--I certainly hope so. Be careful with checking the roots--you do want to allow them the become established and to grow lots of fine feeder roots. A layer of mulch around the dripline (but not too close to the basal flare) might help with water retention and to help keep the soil temps cooler. Keep us informed :) tanyag, In my typical talkative fashion I have a bit more to say so please forgive my longwindedness :)...In a nutshell you can remove the blooms and that may help--if your tree is quite stressed it prolly won't set fruit anyway or if it does manage to set a few, they won't be completely normal. But what really needs to be done is to correct the underlying problem and I think that can be different in a container as compared to gardenfan_1's situation above. I will also assume that it is pathologic stress on your tree...and I am certainly no expert, these are merely my opinions... There could be a few reasons why your tree is stressed as well: 1. You've had it only since last year but you repotted sometime since then, therefore it could be sulking from that and so see above. 2. the situation with the watering is also a little unclear--you weren't applying, but hard to know how much is getting to the actual roots. I have a potted Key lime that has kind of a wide mushroom-shaped canopy now and when it rains--even kinda hard rain--it doesnt really get that much water to the soil and so my neighbors must think I am nutts (skippy!) when I water just after or during a rain. Maybe your tree got too dry. 3. Even though you use Turface-substitute in a mix, the fact that you are mixing it with a good deal of potting soil may negate a lot of your efforts in using the fired-clay particle. The small particles will clog the larger pores and you may retain more water than you think. I've even been concerned about that using *straight* Turface right out of the bag but not screening it. Somewhat *uniform* particle size, as opposed to only the addition of chunky or inorganic material, is important in minimizing too much water retention. That's why fine sand as an additive to potting soils really doesnt do a whole lot to actually improve overall drainage. 4. Even tho covered, did it get freeze damage? I know Texas gets some real cold but you are z9b... As much as we are all wary of overwatering and water-logged soils and whatnot, citrus really doesnt like to be bone-dry either--ask my plants, they know that well, lol. I should grow only cacti and rocks but that's another story... You may wish to insert a probe as well to check for water or even slip the whole thing out of the container if you dont think that would make things worse(hard to do if the soil is new and still kinda crumbly). The other thing I like to do in smaller containers is just heft it--you can get a feel for how much water is in the soil by the weight. It is a surprisingly easy thing to do to get a rough idea. HTH. *SPDestroyer rocks*