During the winter, you will have to water less, but somehow increase the light. If you are going to be gone for a week for Thanksgiving, I wouldn't worry about the watering if you have a peat based soil. For Christmas break (2 weeks), if you water before leaving you may be ok as well. It would help if you keep your home cool, not cold, so the pot doesn't dry out as much.

If you school has an ag department, would it be possible to hire an ag student to care for your trees?

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't think we have an agriculture department. For Thanksgiving, I will probably water well before I leave, and possibly ask my roommate to just check the soil once or twice. I'm hoping I can find someone in my department who likes plants, but I'm not sure I'll be able to. I did see some automatic watering systems on Amazon. Do you know anything about any of those? Do they work?

I have used a battery operated watering unit once for my garden during the summer, but the battery died while I was gone. I will be honest with you. I think you are better off having somebody actually check the soil to see how damp it is before watering. Root rot is easy to get during the winter. What kind of potting medium do you use?

I mixed miracle grow moisture control potting soil with perlite. It's not ideal, but I bought the tree on a whim and didn't really know what I was doing. By the time I realized that probably wasn't the best thing for it, I was afraid uprooting it and repotting it again would overwhelm it and kill it, so I've let it alone and will probably try repotting it in something better down the road. But, I will probably try to find someone who will look after it for me over the winter and summer breaks. Maybe by then I'll find someone I trust, though I'll probably still be pretty nervous. I've grown quite attached to my plants. My serissa tried out faster than I anticipated and I nearly cried when I thought I killed it. Fortunately, I caught it before it died and it seems to have bounced back nicely.

I have been using straight Miracle Grow Potting Soil for over 20 years for all my plants. I have not killed a single citrus tree or any other plant from root rot while using it. As long as you test the top 1-2" with your fingers and it's dry, water. I know one or two others who use it on another website and they have done fine with it too. It's all about knowing when to water and feeling the leaves as well. My plants are not on a schedule. It's only when the soil is dry. I have some plants that have not been watered in over a week because it's fall and soil stays damp longer. It sounds shocking, but the plants are blooming and fruiting. It has worked for me just fine, so as long as you are dilligent with checking the soil, it will work for you too.

I'm glad you've had success with miracle grow! The consensus her seemed to be that it wasn't very good. But my plants seem to be doing alright with it for now. Maybe I'll stick with it instead of repotting them in something else next year.

angesradieux I try not to discuss it too much because many folks in the citrus world are all about the 511. I am sure it is good for many, but the problem I have is that it works too well where I live and I would have to water either every day or every other day during the summer. I don't wish to be a slave to my plants. I want to be able to go on vacation and feel comfortable knowing they won't dry out if I want to go camping for 3-4 days.

My Christmas cacti and plumerias are in Miracle Grow potting mix as well. No problems with the mix there either.

As far as 'forgetful' people, my suggestion is to do a calendar/checklist. This could be either on paper or an online type thing. Online should also let you set an alarm/reminder.

Swing by a local garden center (if you have one) and see if they have any ideas for plant sitters.