Damp-off of very young seedlings has never been that much of a problem for me, but I think the reason for that may be how I germinate them to begin with. It's a cue I took from my mother, which is basically to put the seeds in the same pot (around the edges of the pot) with an adult plant then water the adult plant the way I normally would. It means I don't use bottom heat and whatnot, so things sprout when it naturally becomes warm enough for them, but pretty much I don't worry as much about damp-off because there are older roots using the same water in the same pot. It's when I take the babies out that I experience problems. As I mentioned, I actually put some young Calamondins back with their Rangpur Lime host plant to recover after this winter. The other thing I practice quite a lot is the theory that it's not dead until it's dead and even if I'm sure its dead, it's worth a shot. You wouldn't believe the number of citrus seedlings and cutting grown figs I had come back to life after the moving issue the spring before last. I actually use the much maligned self watering pots, but not as self watering pots. The designers would say I'm using them totally backwards. I'll go down my line of trees and tip them to dump the water if I notice water actually standing in any of the reservoirs. (I can't imagine using them to "self water" because what that really does is create a high water table for root rot.) If you've ever taken a moment to look at one of those things empty, the bottom of the pot that sits inside the reservoir is like a pasta strainer. So long as the reservoir is always empty, drainage isn't a problem.

Hi MIKE!!! yeah, I do realize this is not the exact gritty mix, but I have to make due with it since that bark is the only one I have on hand. I know!!! This tree is super big. I got a little citrus from logees too....that is BEFORE i found out there is four winds (I should have done more research!!!). However, it is still a expensive for a poor college student (but I have to have some "splurging" on my hobby occasionally? I study study study in med school, gotto have a hobby to relax!). Do you think my citrus, from the sound of it so far, will survive what I did to it (even with the bigger bark pieces)? I bet there is going to be a lot of leaf drop...sadness...I will post pictures every couple of days and let everyone keep an eye on it? So we can rescue at the first sign I am doing something wrong? I did cut off the little fruit, and all the little flower buds to conserve energy...hopefully it won't take too long to recover. I DO usually fertilize with foliage pro (have been reading Al's thread since 2 years ago when I switched to gritty mix), so I don't use calcium/gypsum/epsom salt. I water everything (not this citrus yet of course) every single time with half the recommended concentration of FP (plus about a tablespoon of vinegar every other time just b/c I live in an area with hard water). I will keep posting progress. Please help me watch this plant! Thank you so much! Ruby p.s I do water it every other day right now even if the soil is moist right? since it is a newly transplanted/barerooted plant?

I have been calling around/visiting several plant nurseries near where I live in search for pine bark fines for the 5-1-1 mix. So far, no luck. The nurseries all tell me that they have pine bark mulch and/or a potting bark mixture. Would an alternative for pine bark fines work with the 5-1-1 mix, and if so, what should I look for? From what I have read, I need to let the mix sit for roughly 2 weeks prior to planting my tree to let the lime do its thing. I have obviously been able to fine pine bark fines online around $10 per quart, but wanted to find something and make my mix right away before the season changes. Would this just be the better option? Also, how long should I keep my tree barerooted for?

I placed my kumquat seeds between to pieces of damp paper towels in a zipper food bag and placed over my heater duct outlet. Others I planted in potting soil wit a lid over the container and placed inside one of my heating ducts. Both ways took about a week. My last set of 80 meiwa seeds all rotted. Meiwa kumquats are very hard to start. Today I ate my last 2 Meiwa kumquats and saved 10 seed to through outside in the 20F snow. I am not wasting any more time sprouting Meiwa seeds. Its a lot of work. Steve