I just picked up a nice looking 3 gal sized Eureka lemon the other night and this time around I think I'd like to try potting it up in straight CHCs (1/4-1/2" size) and coir with the usual amendments. All of my other trees are in four parts CHCs and one part spagnum peat with a bit of lime and slow release fertilizer as per the recipe that Millet gave some time ago. Except for the depredations of citrus leaf miners and grasshoppers they've been doing fine.

Anyone have any of their container citrus in pure coconut fiber? How has it been working out for you? I'm wondering if maybe I should cut back on the amount of lime when I mix it all up.

.....Alan.

A followup to an old post that didn't draw any replies at the time.

Pure coconut fiber works very well. I ended up mixing the media at about four parts 1/2" chips to one and a half parts coir as I didn't like the looks of the mix at only 4:1. I mixed them dry, rinsed thoroughly, then treated with the magnesium sulfate and calcium nitrate cation exchange solution.

I could not find a local source of STEM so I used a minor-element blend from Southern Ag Chemicals, dolmite, and some slow release citrus/avacado fertilizer (the brand name escapes me). The pots are the terra-cotta colored plastic that Lowes and Home Depot carry. They keep the media cooler than the black plastic that the nurseries sell in.

The trees have grown well. The only drawback that I've seen so far is that the all coconut media is even lighter than the coconut/peat blends so if the trees have any height to them at all they're going to need to have their pots staked or the wind will blow them over.

Haven't had any watering problems since I started using coconut. Nearly lost the Buddha Hand citron I'd bought because I forgot that the nursery media it was in didn't hold moisture as well as the coconut and it dried out pretty bad. It's been repotted and is blossoming now and will hopefully put on a new flush of leaves soon.

.....Alan.

Alan, I have some citrus growing in 4 parts CHC and 1 part Coir for over a year now. Their doing fine. Concerning dolomite, or the addition of lime to the growth medium of a container grown tree, I have come to the realization (after reading Dr. Whitcomb's research) that they should only be added to the growth medium if your regular irrigation water contains less than 40 PPM Calcium. If your water supply contains 40 PPM Ca or more, than do not add additional calcium supplements to the medium. If the ground soil in your area has good drainage, you can use the pot-in-pot application to keep your tree from blowing over in the wind. Dig a hole in the ground and insert a container into the hole that is the next size larger then the container that your tree is presently growing in. Then set your containerized tree into the master container. If your soil does not have good drainage, you will have to remove the tree after a heavy rain to avoid drowning the trees root system. Good luck. It is VERY NICE seeing you posting again. Take Care. - Millet

I'm not sure what the lime content of my well water is, but seeing as how Florida sits on a limestone bedrock it's probably pretty high. This batch of media I just did the cation exchange on I'll leave out the lime and see what happens. I've been getting good growth in the previous batches that I used the lime in so it must not be causing any serious problems.

I like the pot in a pot in a hole in the ground idea. It would make some things much easier. I'm going to try it with my worst blow-over trees.

Going to have to make another trip down to Orlando before long to get more coconut chips.

.....Alan.

This week I planted two 4-ft. palm trees (Spindle palm and Majesty palm) into a 100 percent CHC medium, using a blend of 1/4 & 1/2 inch chips with all the usual amendments. No coir or peat moss added. Time will tell how they do. - Millet

Straight chips with nothing to fill the intersitial spaces? You don't think it will dry out too fast?

.....Alan.