I'm doing okay - dealing with a family tragedy with my sister-in-law and her family right now, so we've been better, but we're a strong family and we'll get through it. My trees are doing very well. Nearly everything has come back after some issues with phytophthora, all but two. Had my first Vaniglia Sanguigno orange this Sunday. It was very interesting. This is a sub-acid orange, and maybe not for everyone, but I surprisingly liked it. It has a nice, intense orange flavor, but no acid. And, it is pigmented, so it's pink inside, pretty cool. And, feel free to ask about the Osmocote Plus. I bought the 8-9 month slow release forumation off of Amazon.com.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon.com: Osmocote Plus 15-9-12 with Minors

Patty, I'm so sorry to hear of what's going on with your family. I will get in touch with you very soon.

It's good to hear your trees are doing ok. I'mm so glad for you in that respects.
It stinks having to deal with a disease but I am so happy they are making a comeback. That orange sounds great. Where do I get one? You know us.

As for the Osmocote...Check the backing label ingredients. I almost bought a bag of the very same stuff locally and in fact drove it all the way home just to find out it has NO calcium in it like the bottles they sell do. Even the seller was unaware and taken back that it was not the same exact formula.

If not, you may want to think of incorporating gypsum into your mixes over time for Ca. Just wanted to make you aware of this since you paid a hefty price. The only reason I use the stuff is because it has Ca, So I ended up going back to the small bottle. My intent was to return these and get my money back. NOw I will keep the little bottles.

I'll be in touch:-)
Have a great day Patty.

Mike

Thanks for the head's up, Mike, I'll go out and check the back. Drat. I bought a BIG bag of that. I can add a little gypsum, or Citrus Grower's Blend, which is all micros.

The Vaniglia Sanguigno, I believe I purchased it as a special order through either Armstrong Nursery or Walter Andersen Nursery from a great grower here in California, Monterey Bay Nursery. But, pretty sure Logee's carries them, too, so that would be the best option for those outside of California.

Patty S.

Patty, we are all sending good vibes/thoughts/prayers out to you and yours.

David Karp says that Vaniglia Sanguigno tastes a bit like an orange creamsicle. That sounds like some thing to look for at the local farmers market.

Thank you mrclint, I really appreciate your kind words. It has been a terrible, terrible couple of weeks. We're struggling as a family to deal with this loss.

And, I think that's a good description for Vaniglia Sanguigno. I know not everyone will like it, since it really has no citrus acid at all. But, unlike the Palestine Lime, it has an intense orange flavor, not watered down at all. I think it would be great in salads, and I ate one out of hand and liked it. It will stay in my collection for sure :-)

Patty S.

Hi hoosierquilt ( Patty),

I am so sorry to hear of your loss...

Sending my prayers to you and your family.

Take care,

Laura

Thank you Laura, I appreciate your prayers and kind words.

Patty S.

Patty...You are in our prayers here..

Still at work but I will send you an e-mail soon.

The Orange you speak of is one that I just may be able to eat! Thank you, always introducing me to new varieties:-)
Now, too get one.

Hello Laura and others! So good to see you stop by.

They are talking about us getting a super storm here Friday. About 30 inches or more. Oh well, there goes my day off for the orchid show.

Patty, wishing you well and I hope that bag has Ca.

Mike

You're right Mike, no Ca. I had a long chat with one of the very experienced growers on the Citrus Growers Forum. He uses Osmocote Classic 18-3-9, 8 to 9 month sustained release with no micros, and adds Peters S.T.E.M. for micros. We know him here as silica, and he is very knowledgeable. So, I am going to go to my local vineyard and orchard supply store, and anty up for a bag of STEM and Osmocote Classic 18-3-9. Then, just mix my own mixture. This combination is great for starting seedlings as well as sustaining container citrus as well. For just container citrus, I would think the regular Osmocote Plus we can buy at retail outlets will also work very well. Just for seedlings, this combination has a lot of research behind it, and I struggle with seedlings, so a lot of very experienced folks had offered up some very expert advice for me over there, and thought I'd share that with good forum folks here as well.

Patty S.

Patty, really?

Where does one buy S.T.E.M? It sounds like a great plan. I have never seen it around here. I just may have to ask you to send me a small bottle and pay you if you can get it locally if you don't mind.
I would also like to know how to use it.

I have bag loads of Osmocote without minors I could use up if I can get my hands on the S.T.E.M.
Thanks for sharing!

Can you hook me up with that forum so I can see what the buzz is about?

Thanks a bunch:-)

Mike

If you have more than a few trees, there's a lot to be said about proprietary mixes. For my field Meyers I use a specially blended 18-6-12 with 2% CA and MG and 1% FE and ZN. 3 pounds per producing tree per year, combined with an "insurance policy" application of chelated minerals in July, makes my trees look almost as good and as healthy as Meyer Mike's trees.

I agree, John. Having over 100 citrus trees makes this worthwhile for me. Mike, S.T.E.M. is by Peters. it comes in huge bags, and you only need a very small amount. I may buy a large bag, and I can then send you a smaller amount. It would be really nice to be able to put fertilizer down once a year. Joh, do you use a sustained release product in your orchard, or are you doing multiple applications?

Patty S.

I fertilize my trees 3 times per year, in January, May, and September. Chelated minerals in July, Bayer Silvacur tank mixed with Bayer Leverage at the beginning of the rain (about mid April) and again 1 October. Works well for me.

I'm bumping this post!

Patty, Mike, John, everyone,

I got a good deal on Osmocote Plus the other day, so I picked up a container. I also bought a Meiwa Kumquat that's shipping out this week, and my intent is to put it in some gritty mix, my first attempt at it, in fact. Do you think I could mix in the Osmocote Plus right into the mix before potting? I use the Foliage Pro/ vinegar regimen for my citrus right now, I just figured I'd the OP to the mix to give it a boost. Let me know what you think, or if you've experimented with the combination before!

-Mike B

Well, my feeling with fertilizer is that it should sit on the surface of your pot or under your tree in ground. That way, when you water, the fertilizer is released and percolates down to the feeder roots. With in-ground plants, it is not recommended to mix fertilizer in the hole, but to keep it within the first few inches of your soil. I would imagine this would also hold true to some extent in container growing, but maybe there are more feeder roots dispersed throughout the pot. So, perhaps mixing it in would not be as much an issue? Mike, Josh, and thoughts on this?

Patty S.

Patty, great advice for any inground trees! Thank you much:-)

Some like to be in TOTAL control of the nutreints only giving them nutrients through soluable. But at times I can be lazy about this for reasons.

So, I do mix Osmocote Plus in just about all my newly planted trees, perennials and anuals now, starting the year I broke my foot. It worked wonders for me

Now, each spring for potted ones, I apply a fresh coat on top, well, scratch into the surface a bit so that the pellets are buried, on most of my potted plants because I know I will be watering quite frequently with tap water along with with rains and it will help be an added boost of nutrients, especially if I should get lax with water soluable fertilizing on my end.

The warmth of the pots with air temps will help break down the pellets throughout the whole pot.

This method has worked wonders for my trees especially in the prime growing season.Even if I should regularly fertilize like I am suppoose to, the extra boost in the Osmocote will cover me if I should get lazy about feeding my plants on a regular basis.

Just finish talking to Josh and he uses the 'regular' Osmocote. Hepulls away the top soil and sprinkles it in, so that the nutrients get released evenly with even moisture under the surface and warmth.
He also will puts a thin layer of bark on top to cover the pellets.
This along with the 5.1.1 mix and lime he likes.

Hope this helps you....The product is definitly great stuff!

Mike

Great advice Patty and Mike,

I'm excited to get the gritty mix going. I was able to track down some local vendors for everything so I'm picking them up this afternoon and getting my mix ready for when my tree gets here later this week. I ended up just getting reptibark based on the ease of use factor, Mike, have you found anything local that works for bark?

-Mike B

Mike..

Where did you find your Orchid barK....? Nice!!

I get my bark for the 5.1.1 at Agway here in Acton, then the Turface at Doge Grain in Salem, N.h, and then the Orchid bark at Tindra's orchid near the shore.
The granite I get at Dodge Grain.
The perlite I get at Griffiths Greenhouse Supplies.

Nice Mike. I am so happy you are able to get all the supplies. Now pray for warm weather, will ya? This cold is tiring me out.

Mike:-)

Advice about leaving the fertilizer on the top of the ground... first thing is you lose some from, shall we say, evaporation; second is no feeder root can access fertilizer that is not in the root zone. So fertilizer left on the surface is fertilizer unused. Apply the proper amount and either physically mix it into the root zone or water it in.

Howdy!
Yes, Osmocote works best if it is covered by a layer of mix or mulch. With the 5-1-1, I incorporate the recommended dose all throughout the mix at the time of potting. To refresh a container, I simply pull back about an inch of mix, sprinkle Osmocote, then spread the mix out evenly again (and add some bark mulch if needed).

Josh

It seems like at the very least, mixing it into the gritty would not be harmful (the discussion seems to be centered around which is most effective!). I'm going to mix in the recommended dosage when I make it up. Like I said before I'm also fertilizing with FP at the 1/4 tsp/gal dosage.

I screened my granite (Manna Pro) and turface last night. Holy cow is that stuff dusty! I was surprised by how much loss there was from the turface, I'm guessing it lost about 1/3 of its volume to small particles. I'm very happy with the way the screened product looks though, I can't wait to get my tree!

Mike I found the Turface at John Deere in Auburn, Manna Pro grit at Tractor Supply Co in Putnam CT (on my way back from work), and I just got reptibark from amazon (the small bags, apparently they have smaller particles). I'm sure when the spring rolls around it'll be easier to get the bark I'm looking for but in the meantime I'll spend the extra couple of bucks.

At John Deere the guy asked if I was using the turface for planting! Apparently I'm not the first to come in for the stuff. It made me wonder how much business Al has brought in for their company. I think he deserves a kickback for the sales!

-Mike B

Urgent !!!
I was advised to spray my citrus in Feb. with 6 Tbsp. dormant oil (or vegetable oil) in a pint of water. I need to know whether this is acceptable. I posed this inquiry on another forum but have not heard back.

MeyerMike, what bark do you purchase at Agway? I've been buying reptibark...my gosh, there's an Agway only 5 minutes from here! Is it their own brand?

Old Eagle..Why dormant oil? Are your trees outside?
Are they bare?

Manderin1..Hello!

Listen, it is the Agway brand......Let me see if I can find a picture of the bag. I posted it here a while back.
It's about 9 dollars for a 3 cubit bag abd it's just the real good stuff. IT's Southern Pine Bark Mulch..The bag is blue..Wait let me see if I can look it up. I'll be right back.

Here you go...Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Southern pine bark from Agway

Meyermike - My tree is potted, healthy, in my garage, Still has last year's leaves, putting on new leaf buds & blossoms.
I have no idea why the citrus grower recommended an oil spray. I plan to root prune it and repot it as soon as the weather permits. Any advice will be appreciated.

old_eagle:

That ratio of oil to water is way too much. Use the directions as given on your dormant oil or horticultural oil. Bonide makes a horticultural oil that is readily available. The usual ratio is something like 1 teaspoon per quart, along with a few drops of soap such as Murphy's Oil Soap. Dawn will do in a pinch. Some have been adding rosemary essential oil with some positive results.

Vegetable oil is far too heavy to use in this application.

If your tree is healthy and without pests, there is no need to spray at all.

Mike, much thanks for the link, looks like really nice bark!

Manderin1..No problem. I hope you get some this spring. You'll love it. You barely have to sift anything at all.

As Mike says.....

Besides, be careful not to smother your tree with too much oil, not only burn it.
Why a need do do anything when your trees are pefectly fine?
If it ain't broken, don't fix it as they say.

As for root pruning and then canopy pruning at the same time. I am not sure. I keep hearing conflicting reports on that one.
One thing I do know is that root pruning can create a very healthy tree...

Mike

mgk65 - Thanks so much for the heads-up. It is always better to have information from various sources.