Be carefull not to water too much, twice a week deep watering sounds a bit much only water them when they dry out for a couple of inches down the pot, never to a schedule, this is particularly important in a large pot as there will be areas with no roots that will stay wetter than the rest
With pollination i would try a paintbrush, i use my finger, spraying with a gibberelic acid if done incorrectly can cause all the flowers to fall off ( this is a main use of GA3 )

Try getting a real citrus fertiliser not miriacle grow, or just before they start to flower spray them with a mix of pottassium nitrate ( saltpeter 1 teaspoon to a litre of water ) , this increases the fuit that holds on the tree

Dont repot them until they start to grow and its warmer, then they grow rapidly into the new pot, helping to prevent root rot

Hi, Starloc thanks for the watering tip! This is where I learned of Ga3 http://citrus.forumup.org/about3499-citrus.html
from Millet who used be on gardenweb for a very long time I was told.
I wish I can get citrus fertilizer but in Canada there not available here. Miracle gro is the closest we have to citrus fertilizer in Canada.
I will hold on the repoting until spring but how do you know or tell when you need to repot?

Thanks

Also what should I do about the shriveling leaves? Their curling up into a cup. Also their are small brown spots, more like dots and their are lots of webs.

Hi Dave: Welcome!

Is there anyway you could take pictures of them and post them here? Close-ups of the pests and the leaves too?

Sarloc hit it on the nose and I must say that overwatering will be the death of any tree, if you are using thebtype of soil you mention in containers as big as yours with the lack of sunlight of this time of the year where you live.

If you are overwatering your trees, causing undue stress on them, then the result can be pest invasion, along with curling of leaves caused by root rot.
Too, your trees could be thristing in a sea of plenty while the leaves dehydrate away.

A combination of pest attack and overwatering, which usually go hand in hand from less than healthy trees, can be the death of any tree.

You could use a wooden dowel and stick it right into the root zone of your trees. Your stick may read wet longer than you think ,even though the soil may look and feel dry to you.

Does your fertilizer have any Calcium in it?

If your trees are dying a slow death from your mix, now is better than later in transplanting into a far superior mix since you will be saving your trees at this time, and have nothing to loose.
If you get a hold on your watering skills ,and see a reverse in health very soon, then I would wait until it is warm enough to regularly leave your trees outside for active growth, before you transplant them, since they are in a weaked state already.

You might want to look into a safe indoor insecticide that will do a far better job at irradicating those hard to rid of pests.
There is plenty of ideas from many good people here along with homemade remedies..
Chances are if the one you see has mites on it, then the other tree you have does too.

Take care

Mike

I doubt that you'll get much argument from this group about using a coarse textured cactus mix for your citrus. With such a mixture, you really shouldn't have to worry that you might be 'over potting' (with a container that's too large) your plants. I think I'd put all of that on the back burner for now.

A very bad spider mite infestation will cause the leaves to curl, shrivel, and all kinds of other things. The fact that you've spotted the small webbing is a sure sign of a BAD infestation.

If by 'soapy water' you mean dish soap and water....forget it. Many dish soaps can actually harm plant foliage. Get yourself some commercial insecticidal soap and follow the directions for use carefully. Some of us have also used rubbing alcohol (plain isopropyl) in a spray. This can be mixed one part alcohol to three parts water (or stronger) and sprayed all over the plant, especially the underside of the leaves and along the stems. Finally, a horticultural oil of some kind can really help cut down the spider mite population.

Please don't use all of these remedies all at once.

As I always suggest to many here, I would take Rhizzos comments seriously, act as fast as you can, pay extra attention to what she recommends, since she has saved a many trees in my time being here, and pay attention to her details.

I will always give her much credit for controlling many issues with my trees and I still stand to be corrected from a very well respected friend and member here.

With Rhizzo, I never stop learning and never stop respecting.

Thank you Rhizzo for everything!:-))))))

Mike

Thanks for your kind words, Mike, but I think it's all a group effort here.

What are some of the treatments that others have used to fight a bad infestation of spider mites? Remember that our original poster says that he has been seeing 'lots' of webs.

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I will try to get pics as soon as I can! The miracle gro does not have any calcium what so ever. Even though their are a lot of problems, the trees finally got some sunshine. So they started a growth flush and they are growing well. But I will try to find a safe indoor spray to get rid of spider mites, and from now on I will use a wooden dowel for watering. Even though it's a cactus mix it doesn't look very coarse, once I get the pics up i'm pretty sure you will agree with me. In the spring when it gets warmer I will transplant into the 5-1-1 mix.

I need some suggestion though. Should I use this as the pine bark fines, since I can't find it anywhere else?

http://www.petland.com/zoo-med-reptibark-bedding-8-qt.html

Also I need a replacement for the pumice, what else can I use?

Thanks again!

Hey, Tasty!

I'm glad to hear that you're going with the 5-1-1.
Unfortunately, Cactus Mix isn't very course, as you note.
Most brands actually have Peat Moss as the first listed ingredient.

Reptibark can be used, although it is rather expensive.
I use "Orchid Bark" and Micro Bark - both of which are Fir bark.
When using a bark-based mix, I always add Dolomitic Garden Lime to adjust
pH upward and to provide a source of Calcium. This will take care of the
Calcium needs if your fertilizer doesn't supply it.

Do you have Napa Auto Parts products available? I believe product #8822 is
a substitute for Turface and Pumice. The Napa floor-dry actually holds more
moisture than Turface, so you'd be using slightly less in your mix.

I don't add any Peat Moss to my 5-1-1. I use Bark, Perlite, and Pumice/Turface.
For extra moisture retention, I'll add some of the fine bark dust back into the mix.

Josh

Hi, Josh thanks for the help. I don't think I have a Napa auto parts near me at all, I think it's outside the city so the just the gas alone will make up the price for the reptibark. But when I get the reptibark I will wash and soak it a couple of times to make sure all the salts and other things are gone.
How are you supposed to add the lime to the bark? are supposed to mix it in the mix later on or, something else? And how much are you supposed to add?

And for the ratio its 5 parts bark fines, 1 part perlite, and 1 part pumice/Turface but I can't find pumice or turface so what else can I use instead?

Thanks

Hey!

If you can't find pumice or turface, you can make the traditional 5-1-1 with 1 part Peat.
Instead of Peat, you could also use 1 part Potting Soil (which is usually peat moss anyway).

I eliminate the Peat because I despise peat moss ;-)
Plus, by using the pumice and turface, the 5-1-1 will last a *little* bit longer.

Adding Lime: Mix the bark, perlite, and peat together, then sprinkle in the Lime.
The ratio is 1 tablespoon per gallon of mix. Mix, moisten, and let the mix set for a few
days if you can. The warmth and moisture will hasten the Lime phase reaction, during
which the pH of the mix will rise and the Calcium will become available. If you want
to mix and plant immediately, that's fine, too. No harm at all.

Josh