Hello,

My name is Leroy and I am new to the forum. I just picked up my first new citrus, a satsuma mandarin, a bearss lime and a meyer lemon. Also have a mandarinquat 2-3 years old on the way. I have repotted my first three and they seem extremely happy after 1.5 weeks. Will put some pics soon.

I potted in a miracle grow moisture control and sand mix. about 60/40 respectively. I looked for coconut husk, but could not find it here.(Oregon, Pacific NW)

Wish me luck!

Excellent Leroy. Looking forward to your pics.

Cheers, Barrie.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your tree. I would suggest adding at least some pine bark chunks to create a faster draining media.

Cheers and welcome to the forum!!

Reptile Bark is a brand name product of fir bark that you can find at places like petsmart. It works pretty well for what Skeeter is suggesting. IMO, if you did the first re-pot gently enough, I would do it right now. If you wait until the tree gets more established and starts growing roots, you are just shocking it again later. If you feel you didn't do very well with the tree in the repot, and the roots dried out and the trees are starting decline, I would leave them be for a while until they do recover.

If you're in a zone in Oregon that is hotter in summer and very wet in winter (>20" rain), you could be just fine leaving the mix as-is. But your mix will become compacted, probably after your first winter or 2nd spring and you'll want to replace the entire soil out soon after.

Also, unless you used very large coarse sand (like #10 or greater, tiny rocks, smaller than pea pebbles, AKA Grit), not the typical #33 all-purpose sand (or even worse, Play Sand) you are doing the root zone injustice by adding so much at 40% to it. It will fill the smaller air pocket gaps between the potting soil, it will also compact easier. If you used coarse Grit this doesn't apply and is always beneficial to drainage.

Skeeter is probably suggesting mixingat least equally, 50% bark 50% of your existing mix. Many use much more, 75% or some 100% bark.

The Reptibark gets expensive in small quantities but you can't go wrong with it. Optionally, you can search nurseries for the right size bark (about the size of your thumbnail and it's the dark colored outer bark of the tree you want, not the inner woody material that's lighter in color). If you find the right kind (some find it fast, others never find the right stuff locally) it can come in 2CF packages for $6-10, which is much cheaper.

My point is, if you intend to purchase and add only a small amount (like 10-20% of your total mix) it's not worth the effort and shock to bare root the tree again. Your trees should do fine in the current mix for a short period, like a year. Especially if you add a wick during winter (shoe string, cut up towel, whatever) into the bottom drainage hole and let it hang down -- during your rainy period weather it will extract a lot of the moisture from the soil so it won't stay soggy.

Many on this forum would say skip the bark and order a giant bale of small CHC chips by calling The Crystal Company -- it costs $60, which includes shipping, but Millet swears by it as the best stuff since it's triple rinsed and pressed so you wet it and use it at a 4:1 ratio (chc/existing potting soil).

IMHO I dislike MG moisture control. It holds water way too long vs. the original MG potting soil, despite the bag's claims. But I have no proof of such, just my single experience and other's anecdotal statements.

My suggestion (since it's easy): Buy Reptibark and Perlite (available everywhere). Soak the bark in a bucket for a few minutes then drain it, then mix in perlite 3:1 ratio bark/perlite. After you pull the tree from the container, a lot of the excess soil will fall off, probably more than half of it. You don't have to 100% bare root, just get as much soil as you can without stressing the roots too much -- it should be easy to get 3/4th of your soil off while leaving most of the roots still protected.

In your bucket, add two scoops of the new mix and one scoop of your existing soil (2:1 ratio), mix it well. Repeat, until you have enough to replace the soil removed. Or if you bought a lot of the bark/perlite just mix it all together in one large batch. Either way, you should have plenty left over for your new 2-3 year old tree when it arrives, otherwise a mistake was made.

You haven't said what size containers you are using, but Bearrs is a very fast grower, next the Meyer, and lastly the Satsuma is the slowest. You might consider using the extra soil by buying the next size up container for the lime (or all of them) -- just don't jump up in container sizes too fast with this mix and your precipitation.

As usual, another wordy post from me.... hope it is helpful.

Thanks for the great information! I will follow your suggestion. It is good that you made the point about the mix and ratios. I will make sure to do it right.

I was hoping Skeeter might have chimed in by now....

Don't fret about the ratios, it doesn't have to be exact. Just commented that it isn't worth it if you don't add enough bark. You can do 1:1 ratio (new mix with our old mix) if you want to save some money. That will still be much better than the current mix.

If you can, I'd take several pics of during the bare root process. Helps with troubleshooting later or comparing how your soil is doing for you the next time you have to remove it from the pot.

Good luck to you...

Sorry, I was out of state --I agree with C4F on everything--good advice!

The main difference in most of the recommended media for citrus is it's durability. The fir shavings may not last as long as bark chunks or CHC, but as long as it is providing good fast drainage and air pockets, it will do fine. Most of these media will last at least one year before compacting--loosing the air pockets and drainage.

Skeeter and C4F,

Thanks so much for your suggestions, and I will follow them, as I know you two plus a couple of others are the resident experts here. My main goal is to have the trees healthy. The cash it costs is not such a huge issue for me, but I don't want to get ridiculous about that either.

I will take pictures, add wicks for the wet times, and make sure my media is very airy. What would you suggest between using citrus tine as fert, or the Osmocote controlled release? I have citrus tone now, but lean toward the Osmocote due to ease fo use...

After purchasing a couple bags of Miracle Grow moisture control potting soil, I must agree with C4F. I would not purchase it again. - Millet (945-)

Thanks Millet, for that feedback. I am in the process of remedying that issue this week.

I have so many threads and posts at different sites, I tend to lose track. Sorry took so long to respond.

In all honestly, I've avoid using the Organic routes for fert in container citrus. Some say it works, most say to avoid it. You could use both of your products now, if you'd like. But I wouldn't recommend only using Osmocote.

The normal Osmocote typically is missing some micronutrients citrus needs. is it Osmocote Plus? But the idea of slow release is excellent as baseline feeder through out the year, but the citrus is a heavy feeder and should be fed more during the growing season. I guess my point is, you can apply the Osmocote slow release at 75% of the label directions and still use the Citrus Tone at half the suggested ratio. Be sure to reduce the citrus tone well before winter hits.

I personally would use the Osmocote at 75% and would return the Citrus tone if possible. I'd contact Millet for purchasing a small amount of Peters 25-5-15 formula from him. Or alternatively, you can purchase a very good product that contains *all* the nutrients your tree needs called Foliage Pro 9-3-6. Many local hydroponic stores carry it or can order it. Or you can buy it mail order from various places (search google).

Foliage Pro 9-3-6 is very concentrated, so although a small 32oz bottle may be expensive, it lasts a very long time. I have yet to hear of any other product that contains all the nutrients a tree needs in one bottle (especially Calcium and Magnesium).

If you buy FP you can use it exclusively. Or better yet in conjunction with the slow release. If used with 75% Osmocote, use the labeled "maintenance dose" of 1/4 tsp per gallon every other week, or once a month, or really whenever you can. Even with 75% Osmocote, you could use this ratio of FP at *every watering* during the hot growing season, but most folks don't want to water from a can -- they want to use the hose or whatever so only apply it infrequently.

If you have the cash, another sister product of Foliage Pro is called Pro-tekt. It is 0-0-3 and contains Silicon. You could also use this at the same time as Foliage Pro (so no extra waterings needed, just another drop of liquid to your can). You should use the maintenance dose, too. Pro-tekt is not a FP replacement, it is a supplement.

If I haven't confused you yet, my personal recommendation is this: if you are tight on cash, keep what you have and use both. You may see some micro-nutrient deficiencies down-the-road, but not to worry they can be corrected later.

Otherwise, if you can afford it, use the Osmocote and buy FP and Pro-tekt. Use Osmocote at 75% label and use both FP and Pro-tekt at the same time, at 1/4tsp per gallon as infrequent as once a month or at every watering, depending on the growing season. You should not see any deficiencies with this approach.