Some of my bags I do sift since I find that some bags do hold moisture way to long for my needs...

I use a bug screen or something simuliar to get teh very fine dust and tiny particles out and that is for both my 5.1.1 and gritty mixes.

I wouldn't worry as much most of the bags I get are perfect for the 5.1.1 if I only add peat..

If for the gritty, I would most certainly sift away the bigger pieces and the fines leaving behind the right sized bark for that mix.

Great stuff isn't it?

Mike

Yes, it is definitely worth the drive to pick up a bunch of bags!

I never worried about it, but recently I bought 4 trees from Four Winds, and my finger lime did not make it. Now it could be for a whole bunch of reasons, it did have shipping stress, and it is different than other citrus (although I have a younger finger lime in 5 1 1 mix and it is fine). But just in case, I wanted to make sure it is not holding too much moisture because I have a feeling that the finger lime does not like to stay wet at all. So thought maybe I should be extra cautious with my new one.

When you say bug screen, do you mean like window screen size? I guess a colander would be too small of holes? Trying to think of something I could use that I would have around the house instead of going out and buying chicken wire.

Or it could be just a dream to try and get a finger lime to grow and bear here in NJ. I thought it would be good because unlike any other citrus, it likes a little shade, being an understory tree, so I thought it may be a good candidate for inside during the winter. I have the greenhouse for all my plants now as of last season, however, I still miss having a few citrus in the house.

On another note, off topic Mike, trying to remember, you were looking to add a tree to your collection but I cannot remember, was it a mandarin or a kumquat?
Christy

Hi Christy. Boy, it must be nice to just be able to find an Agway store! We had a few in my area, but they have all closed. One of the reasons I have had such a hard time making any of Al's mixes is because I cannot find turface or the pine bark. I remember when I bought my Oro Blanco grapefruit from Four Winds, I was bound and determined to keep it not only alive but thriving. B.T.W. Mike was the one who turned me onto this variety for 2 reasons. The first reason being it's flowers! Easily my largest and most fragrant citrus I now one, and the flowers are HUGE for being a citrus flower! Second is the fact that it is not really a grapefruit but a cross between two citrus varieties. I cannot remember for sure right now, but the resulting fruits are very sweet, especially for being called a grapefruit! I highly recommend it to everyone that likes growing citrus, especially anyone that is convinced they do not like grapefruits!

Now back to your post. You had mentioned that you were going to grow your finger lime tree indoors because naturally it is an under story tree? My only concern with that would be that with our natural light being so much lower quality during the winter, your tree may still need additional light. Now many of us on this forum, just simply allow our trees to go dormant during the winter. The trees are watered, and probably only fed once a month or so, but the tree doesn't really grow or bloom.

I'm sure your tree will be fine, especially since you have your greenhouse you can put it into. Now personally I have found that my little Ponderosa lemon tree and my Meyer lemon trees add a wonderful fragrance over the long, dark, and cold winter months. Then come spring, I have all my other citrus blooming!

Good luck with your finger lime this winter. I will be curious to see how it does for you. I have always thought it would be a nice addition to my collection simply for the fruits alone, but I honestly have never had one before. I know that they are used in gourmet cooking a lot, but I am not exactly a gourmet cook, and I don't know how much I would be able to use the fruits. I know the flesh is more like tiny little balls...hmmmm I wonder if I could make limeade with them?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,
Funny you mention Oro Blanco because i just got her yesterday along with my new finger lime!
Where do you live? I see you are in the same zone as me. R u in Jersey? Maybe I could help you out with the bark.
My closest Agway is still an hour away from me. I love it. A fig tree friend got me my first bags. It goes great with fig trees too!
As for the finger lime, i do have indoor lighting, but I think the finger lime is going to wind up in the greenhouse anyway. Have a very smaller finger lime i got from Logees and it was fine in the 511 and was in the greenhouse, so probably with do the same with my Four Winds finger lime, which is huge by the way compared to any other finger lime I have seen for sale.
Christy

Hey Andrew! You are so right..LOVE those Oro's...

The thing that I have discovered about using lights is that it can cost and arm and leg electricty wise these days and that I always ran the risk of bugs....Bugs LOVE heat created from the lights and new growth in the middle of winter...Spider mites in particular..Now I try to avoid them at all cost, even at the expense of leaving my trees to idle until spring..
My key now is to keep the alive and healthy until they resume good growth in spring..
But they still want to flower..lol

Christy..How big are the holes in your colander?
I use bug screen. the ones you use for windows.....
I have found that many of the bags I use can allow all the finer stuff to setlle half way down the pot leaving the bottom half of plants roots to rot....

That is when I decided to sift certain bags for certain plants...It is the best bark mulch I have run across though!

Funny thing you speak of finger lime...When I got mine from Logee's, it died within weeks of getting it this past spring..I think they really really hate wet feet in pots...
Their mature plant there at Logee's is so root bound, that the clay pot is completly busted up....
I guess there is no worry about over watering for them there...

Yes, I REALLY want a clementine and no one sells them around here! I can't wait

Mike

bone-where did you get the bark? Going to be in north NJ in a week or two and looking to pick some up. I had sent you an email through GW if you prefer to reply that way.

Queen, i sent you an email back yesterday, didnt you get it? If you go to Away.com, you can enter your zipcode and look for the closest one. What part of Jersey are you going to?

Mike, my tiny finger lime from Logees has done nothing either. It just sits there, no growth. Way more worth buying one from Four Winds. i think the one from Logees is just a rooted cutting, no graph. If i ever get fruit from it p, it will be 10 years from now! Maybe i will take a side by side pic for you next time i am in the greenhouse, so keep a watch to this post.

So, if you were to tweak 5:1:1 (plus lime) to make it VERY draining, what you would personally do? I have to pot it up asap, and wondering what to do. Should I just add extra perlite or anything else i can add?

Also, i can screen the bark, but what is the difference to screen the bark if you are adding peat anyway which is very fine? Probably a dumb question' but curious. I use BX Pro Mix as my peat part for 5:1:1.
Thanks, Christy

Correction, thats Agway.com!

Didn't get your email. I'm driving from queens to parsippany and looking to detour on the way.

PS, Queen, I am going to resend my first email to you. Maybe it is in your spam folder>? I know my email address is questioned a lot. If wondering, I am actually a musician who plays trombone, which is not a usual girl thing, hence the name "bonechickchris"! LOL!
While I have been a member of GW forever here and am always actively reading the citrus forum, I have always been shy to post thinking I am not as good as the pros on here with info. However, I have been slowing trying to come out of my shell and post answers to people's questions hoping I have achieved a little bit of useful knowledge in my several years of citrus growing up here in Jersey!
Christy

Ok, here is the email I sent you

Hi,
Actually, I live by the shore, Forked River which is exit 74 on the Parkway. I do not have one too close to me, so I usually drive out to the Agway in New Egypt.
Agway is a store with its own brand, so you cannot get it at any other store. It is actually called Agway Pine Bark Mulch, make sure it says mulch and not nugget! It is about $6-7 for a huge bag, well worth it because it is pretty uniform and all bark, no wood.
Where in NJ do you live? Then I can let you know of a store nearer to you than mine.
Christy

Here is an Agway only 6 miles from Parssipany!
6 miles away
Morristown_agway MORRISTOWN AGWAY
176 RIDGEDALE AVE
MORRISTOWN, NJ, 07960
973-538-3232 - See more at: http://www.agway.com/store_locator.html#sthash.Nz8Yq0C3.dpuf

Hi Christy...I'll check in tomorrow...Dead tired and just got in...Hoping everyone has a great night !

Thanks. Wasn't being lazy as I already had that looked up just curious where you got yours. I was going to call them beforehand to make sure they had it in stock. I don't post here a lot but also lurk. Got my first citrus last spring.

I have screened with a regular window screen and was amazed at how much actually fell through. I did it to make sure that the fines were completely in my control but then gave up as I was filling a dozen large containers 12"+

Well, I potted them up. I did add some extra perlite to the finger lime and some more drainage holes even on the sides of the pot. Instead of putting it in a nice looking pot, I just put it in a regular black nursery pot for now with extra holes, and the size that is more like a 10 inch pot than a 12 inch pot which Four Winds suggest. But I have been told they really do not like wet feet, or full sun, or even wind, so I am hoping I will get this to take.
I know it is a smaller pot, but figured it should get dryer rather than wetter. I also screened the bark and the perlite through window screen, so I hope all is well. I am also going to not feed it for a long while. After reading hours online, most say their finger lime does better when ignored!
The new finger lime already had its new flush all the way wilted when I got it like last time. I wonder if the finger lime is extra sensitive to bare root shipping? I just hope this new one stays alive for me. Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks Mike for taking the time to come back to answer. You contribute so much here, so no worries for the late response! Still curious though because I am dumb, why we all should sift the bark, yet add peat which I would think is very fine, or does one sift his/her peat and perlite also? I know I have bought several bags of perlite that was labelled as "coarse" only for it not to be. The best perlite I have found was made by Scotts, nice big chunks, but hardly anyone carries it and it is only in small bags.

Queen, did you check out the Morristown Agway? Just call to make sure they got it first. And make sure they understand what you are asking for. The last time I called my Agway, they told me up front that they only had 2 bags left, and I needed to pay over the phone to reserve it, so as I was confirming my order and CC info, she said to me "ok, so 2 bags of cedar mulch at $3 a bag", and I said "NO! I need the PINE BARK MULCH!" and then she said, "OH! We have 20 bags of that here! So make sure before you drive all the way there that they know what you are talking about, and make sure you tell the you want the PINE BARK MULCH and NOT the NUGGETS!
My fig friend who has a local Agway actually told me he does not get his there anymore and drives further out to order because his local Agway would always mess up his order.
Christy

I actually just got them this week. i paid for 4 bags and then didnt realize how big they would be when picking them up. I kept them all but it will probably take me a long long time to use them.