I attempted this before without any knowlege and my 2 trees suffered a dismal fate. Anyway, a few years have passed and I'm giving it another shot with a new mandarin orange tree. From my reading in the forums, it looks like 5-1-3 is the ideal ratio, but the best I could find was Miracle Gro which has a 24-8-16 ratio. Why is it listed like that? If it's just the amounts relative to one another, why not say 3-1-2? I haven't used it yet, but I plan on it in the next few days in accordance with the instructions. Should this be sufficent? http://www.miraclegro.com/index.cfm...t/documentId/637153cfaa6b1ff545c0236933b0a7a4
Using the fertilizer you found 24-8-16 the formula represents the percentages of the nutritional minerals. In the fertilizer 24-8-16 as our example, the first number represents the percentage of the element Nitrogen. The second number represents the percentage of the element Phosphorus, and the last number represents the percentage of Potassium. Therefore, 24 percent of the fertilizer in the bag is Nitrogen, 8 percent is phosphorus and 16 percent is potassium, which leaves 56 percent of the material being some type of filler. 3-1-2 is the ratio of the nutrients, not the percentages (amounts). The reason 5-1-3 is important (but not essential) is because that is the ratio that citrus trees always absorb fertilizer elements from the soil. For Evey five parts of nitrogen that a citrus tree's root absorbs, they will always absorb 1 part of phosphorus, and 3 parts of potassium. You do not say if the fertilizer you purchased also contains trace elements, such as iron, zinc, manganese, copper, etc. Trace elements are important and need to be added. In addition to the above fertilizer you will need to feed the tree magnesium approximately every couple months. You can do this by dissolving a teaspoon of Epsom Salts in a gallon of warm water and applying to the soil. The fertilizer you purchased will be OK, if it also contains trace minerals. However, MUCH MORE IMPORTANT to the success and LONG TERM life of your tree is the aeration and drainage of the growth medium (potting soil) that your tree is planted into. DO NOT use common potting soil from the store. Common retail potting soil will almost guarantee the early death of your tree. Two good growth medium blends for citrus are: 4 parts Coconut Husk Chips (CHC) and one part peat moss, or another good medium is 3 parts pine bark chips, 1 part peat moss and 1 part coarse sand. Do not use play sand which is too fine, use a concrete sand. - Millet
Millet, thank you very much for the advice. I'm no newbie to the internet, but I must say you are one of the most helpful people I have ever come across. I couldn't find the CHC material, most of the garden centers are closed in mid Jan, but I used the 2nd formula you listed. It seems as though the water moves right through the mixture. From what I've read, you wait until the soil is dry before you water it. With this soil, however, it seems dry less than a day later. Maybe I need to invest in a meter?
What size bark chips did you use? Normally the size used is 1/2 to 3/4 inch chips. The larger the bark chip the faster the water pass through. If the water passes through to fast the chips don't absorb enough liquid. You can do one of three things to solve the "problem" (1) make sure you do not use too large of pine bark chips, (2) add just a little more pear moss to slow the pass through, but be careful of creating a medium that stays wet to long, (3) Soak the entire container (root system) in a larger container for 10 minutes or so to get good water retention, and then let the growth medium drain. Learn to use your finger or the weight of the container to determine when to water. I see you are in Broomfield. You can find CHC at Poulino Gardens on north Broadway in Denver. They sell CHC as an Orchid potting mix. Water meters will get you in trouble. Good luck. - Millet
I think the bark was in fact too big. I went to Paulino and got the CHC chips, the only thing they had was 2cu ft COMPRESSED. I think I have a lifetime supply of those now. They do seem to pass the water through pretty quickly as well, but I think if I water it slower and allow it time to soak in they will not drain out quite so much. Thanks again for your help.
