Hello again, after a year of nights and days off reading all the glorious information posted on these forums, i still have questions about container citrus growing. First off i would like to list these adjustments i have made: changed soil to have a 4 part coconut husk 1part moss/planting soil medium (no i did not use miracle grow soil, coconut husks were obtained by using exo terra husk substrate from pet store since i could not find orchid mix to obtain the pine bark), i boiled the husks in a pot of water to kill off any possible bacteria or insects that might have come with it. The husks came as a compacted brick sealed in plastic. i have been only watering when the top 2-3 inches of soil is dry using both hand and hydrometer, which i found the meter to be some what inaccurate. i have taken the plant out of direct sun light and kept the soil at the proper zone of a minimum 20 c, because i noticed that while leaving in direct sunlight all new growth would dry up and fall off almost instantaneous. I have also purchased the slow release fertilizer from walmart as suggested in other threads. Now i have noticed webbing on the nodes which have lead me to finding spider mites. i can see them clearly in the soil using a led flash light and magnified glass, and have been treating using a combination of Sunlight antibacterial dish soap and horticultural oil. i have also noticed a white film on the leaves suggesting that my residential water might contain too much salt. Should i switch to using distilled water? My computer's hard drive suffered corruption, but fixed now, so i cannot attach any pictures as of yet but i can tell you that most of the bottom leaves have dropped with only top ones remaining. in a nutshell was wondering if the mentioned life span was correct being an average of 2-3 years of if i misread and that was the leaf life span. any particular ways to increase soil temp, heat pads, or place by heater? i have been unable to locate the methods for warming the roots on this website. best solutions for a nice thermometer since the local greenhouses are now out of season and with my work schedule, i have been borrowing a friends to get me by. Distilled water is of my main concern, hearing from friends and local horticulturalists that it might be the way to go. also wondering the reason the leaves curl in a u shape? perhaps do to the salt content of my residential water? Hopefully Millet or Jungle keeper can help me with this one
You may want to use some caution if you decide to use distilled water. The Q&A in this document addresses this issue. I used a heat mat once to warm a pot but it was only on a temporary basis. It worked but the pot was only W8"xH8"; I don't think placing a mat underneath would work as well for larger sized pots. A string of incandescent Christmas lights would work better.
i live in a quite warm apartment with the ambient temperature being around 20-27c 68F+, the reason for the flux is that i live directly above the complexes boiler room and my unit faces the south so i am in the hot sun all afternoon. Now i have regarded some of the other posts on this website about soil temp being a few degrees cooler in the room. Verified the correct statement by measuring the soil temp using a digital thermometer borrowed to me from a friend. The same friend moved away this summer to another city and have not been able to monitor in roughly 2 weeks. noticing a huge improvement on the leaves since i moved out of direct sunlight. webbing is still evident between the thorns and stems, but not bad just 1 or two. Continuing ongoing treatment of soap and oil few times a week. Any good tips on a soil thermometer? My friend had acquired hers at the same greenhouse i purchased my lime tree, and are currently out of stock, Canadian service industry is kind of lacking this year.
noticing spiders as well in the soil by means of led flashlight and magnified glass. should i change the soil? will the spiders hide in the coconut substrate used for the correct growth medium?
You might be able to make use of an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer. Something like this. Mine has a weather-resistant probe for the outdoor temperature that could be used to take the soil temperature if stuck into the soil; I wouldn't leave it buried for an extended period though. Others have suggested using a meat/cooking thermometer. I wouldn't; I believe the presence of mites is incidental. I'd apply the soap spray to all plant surfaces at 7- to 10-day intervals until they're gone. Spray the soil surface as well just in case there are mites to be found there. Hopefully people with experience using CHC can offer their opinion.
