back on topic, could very well be the hard freezes we had this past winter. here around the Houston area we had several nights of mid 20's. my two young navel oranges planted in ground suffered frost damage, and lost tips to most of their branches, and this year did not produce any blooms. my potted meyer was safe inside the house with grow lights, flowered early spring and allowed produced 7 nice lemons, still have 2 on the tree right now. it flowered again about 4-5 weeks ago and have set quite a few small fruit(which i've already thinned out). i watered regularly during our drought this summer and fertilized weakly about once a month. you could construct a cheap pvc structure around your tree and cover with clear 6mil plastic sheeting. we got two nights of freezing temps already this winter. more freezes are predicted. over on the tropical fruits forum, some of the florida people growing mangos wrap christmas lights around their trees, or place a halogen lamp near the base of their trees and cover with a pvc structure. also seen a few using sprinklers all night, to create a thermal ice cover on their entire trees. i've also got potted mangos, papayas, and pineapples, some cacti and succulents, all must be protected one way or another, either bring them in, cover them, wrap them, etc.

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Khalid: I agree on that. I quit my job as a computer-programmer to stay home and take care of my family ... best choice ever ! I treasure every minute with my kid, since the day she was born. Lots of people advance professionally but don't take the time to mature spiritually or emotionally. Good choices guide us toward the right path which leads to heaven & eternal life. One of the book I read was a comparative study between Western vs. Eastern on marriage. The West focuses on "Love as a feeling", people get married out of "romantic-love", or "being in love", then divorce when the feeling is gone !! In contrast, Eastern countries get married on "choice", the parents choose the mate for one's son or daughter. Psychologists did a survey: those who were pre-arranged to be married end up happier and stay with each other MORE SO than those got married through feelings of "being-in-love". Why? Because they form good habits of choosing love everyday, rather than do things only when they feel like it. The minute they don't feel attracted to their spouse, they find someone else. When people base things on "feelings", they become fickle, unstable, weaker, and betray each other. Only in my 50's that I realize love is a choice, rather than a feeling. I was in "mutual-in-love" relationships when I was young .. it lasted 1 year the max, typical of "in-love" relationship ... like sweet frosting on a cake, but the cake crumbles. Love is a choice builds a solid cake, and the frosting is a by-product of the loving actions. It's stronger than "love as feelings" because the commitment lasts forever. An excerpt from below link on making choices to love our spouse better: "Love is a choice, not a feeling or an emotion. It’s a decision you make every day of your life. Even when your mate doesn’t take out the trash, or spends too much time at the mall, or when poor financial decisions set you back—you can still decide to love. Love is for better or worse. And when you choose not to love, you’ve given up and given in." http://tinybuddha.com/blog/love-is-a-choice-30-ways-to-love-in-action/ The Bible, and what Jesus taught also point to Love as a choice, rather than a feeling. “just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love.” (John 15:9) John 13:34-35 “I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” John 15:12-13 “My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.” Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Deuteronomy 30:19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! http://www.redeemingmarriages.com/love-is-more-than-a-feeling-its-also-a-choice/

THANKS so much, Debra! Your feedback means a lot to me. I agree on the Smoke Scream kid....it is a personal favorite of mine. I just couldn't stop looking at it, almost in disbelief that it was so stunning. Those sepals, outlined in white like that, are special indeed and they curl up like ribbons. There are 4 seedlings of this cross but this is the only one that bloomed this year. The stats reflect that it is planted in a less than ideal location where it doesn't get enough sun (overhanging limbs from trees)....only 10 buds....but not bad for a one year old. It is tall, 39 inches. I should move it to a better spot since I have high hopes for this one. All the seedlings I am showing were LA seed wins just to get me dabbling in seedling culture last summer but everything from this year forth are all my own crosses. Another shot of the Smoke Scream seedling, side view