Garret, the mix you speak of using is not appropiate for your tree if it is the one that I think it is that holds water far too long and break down only after a few weeks.. I have used it and killed a many plants with it, especially citrus. Just a heads up. I would use a mix that contains very few fine particles and that is very porous. Even one part of that mix to 2- 5 parts of perlite would be better. You know your area more than any of us and you would be able to judge whether your mix is drying out in a timely manner and whether or not that same mix is allowing the roots to breathe by good gas exchange every time you water. One that allows you to water more frequently without fear of root rot and salt deposit build up which is likely the demise of your tree. The root rot caused from too much moisture for too long and the salt deposits that is. A mix that will not compact and suffocate your roots causing you to have to start all over again and possibly loose another tree. Right now, your tree is VERY weak. You take your chance in using a wick in the hopes of that your mix will drain better and dry out more rapidly. OR, you can always risk repotting it, sort of a 911 thing and hope it perks up right away and that it does not shock your tree after what it's going through. I mean a full bareroot into a much better mix. You live down south like that? You have the advantage of much nicer weather and warmer days than me. Your sun also works much harder than mine. Why would you need supplemental lighting? Your sunny days in that tent, which I assume is very bright should be sufficient enough. Mike:-) This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 15:49

This may be helpful-it has been used for about 3 years now. VOLE DETERRENT This recipe comes from NEHS member Shirley Davis of R&S Hostas in Brooklyn (near Danielson), CT. She has used it for several years with good results, and has allowed me to share it with NEHS members . (And now the Hosta Forum) Castor Oil Recipe. It is: 4 ounces of Castor Oil, l cup of a cheap dishwashing liquid, and 1/2 cup of human urine. Put it all into a large jar, shake the devil out of it to form a creamy emulsion, then place the whole thing into a hose end sprayer and dial up 1 TBSP. per gallon (I actually use the 4 tsp. measure as I figure a little extra won't hurt but don't want to waste it) and then drench the ground around my lilies and whatever hosta I want to protect. I can't stress how important it is to do this atleast four times a year as once just won't cut it. I do my final drench in October after I have put everything to bed for the winter. I leave the emulsion in the sprayer all the time so it is easy to attach it and spray without any preparations. It also holds well over the winter,so just mark the sprayer Castor Oil and keep it handy. So far, my lilies are still thriving, and the hosta I have sprayed when I see any sign of vole damage are still living. We do have voles for I have seen signs of them, but we do not have a major infestation so far. Remember, at least four times a year, spring, summer and fall. Drench the ground until you can smell the soap aroma and see the sudsiness forming. It will leach into the ground gradually and the rains will pull it down also, but you want the stuff to go to a depth of a foot or so, that is the reason for the multiple spray times. The voles don't like to get the Castor Oil on their fur and so move to another spot. I can't guarantee that you will never suffer any losses at all, but it sure will diminish the losses by quite a bit.

Lynxe, good for you! You're not rubbing it in at all, glad your faux pas' worked out like they did!! I had one hosta in a pot and forgot about it, I had laid it on the North side of the garage, under the eave and it looks fabulous. Go figure. I found another loss last night, 'Fort Knox'. That one kind of made me feel bad, it was the "friendliest" hosta I owned. The leaves would catch the breeze and out of the corner of my eye it would look like someone was waving. A very bright and cheerful hosta. I'll probably buy this one again, but the others I won't. I'm sorry others had winter losses as well, but Deb is right, that makes room for more hostas. I guess the snow theory is bogus, huh Pat? We had scant amounts of snow here, but it got very cold. I can tell, because the buds of all my hydrangeas were frozen, that only happens at around 0 degrees. I don't know if cold is a hosta factor. Donna

Well I can empathize with everyone's losses. This was one of the harshest winters here even though we had good snow cover most of the time . I can't really figure out what did it but I am guessing it was more related to spring weather than the winter weather . Too many rounds of freeze /thaw and rain forming puddles on top of the ground which would then freeze the leaves that had started to grow.. Most of what I lost were only planted last season and many were southern plants. I have had to dig up and treat at least 9 cultivars so far with peroxide for crown rot . So far I have been able to rescue 4 of the nine with number 5 beginning to show signs of life. I lost Bullfrogs and Butterflies , for certain but was able to rescue Xylophone Jazz. So disappointing as I am sure I wont see bloom this season and who knows if it will survive another winter here.