Hey Mike, Happy 4th to you and everyone here. I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe holiday.

Mike, I read the thread, Heat Wave before responding to this post.
So you went swimming in your b-day suit under the stars? LOL..I hope you had a good time..Bet those stars were marvelous..So big, looked close enough to touch.

Your poor Clivias. Always something going on with our plants, huh? How are they doing now? You didn't toss any, did you? Even if every leaf dropped, they'd 'probably' grow in.

Guess what I did w/my new palms? Planted them in the back yard..right in the dirt..Added my own mix which consisted of potting soil, sphagnum peat, sand, and Perlite. Set in the ground, added a little fertilizer, now we'll see how they do. I'll let you know in autumn.

The winds have knocked down citrus a dozen times..so much soil fell from pots, so it's time to add fresh. Still they're blooming on, and sending out new leaves. Thank goodness.

I can't believe it's July, already..then Aug, Sept, and time to bring indoors..don't want to think of winter..but soon Halloween and Christmas items will be on display.
This happens every year..Some stores have taken down their plastic green houses, sold remaining plants and supplies..Once that happens, you can bet Halloween decorations will be on display.

It's good hearing everyone's citrus are doing good..if only the weather would cooperate..2 wks of rain, then it turns cold..how weird is that?

Mike, you asked about my website..Click on my name here on GW. Scroll down a bit..on the left side you'll see a Flicker addy..click on that..it needs updating..I added a few plants last wk to get the hang of it..now I just have to add remaining plants..that should take a week..LOL..

Anyway, you guys have a great weekend..Toni

TONI!! My goodness!! Where the hekc do you put all your treees and plants at the end of summer~~~~ !lol
They are all so beautiful.....You are doing a great job growing them. I love your site. I can't believe that you ar so computer savy though!!lol
I went to Maine this past weekend and just got back..Arcadia National Park to be exact! What A beautiful place!! You should taste the Maine lobster...If you like overgrown cockroaches...lol Very sweet
You should come up to New England sometime...You would love it...Sorry no wild citrus trees though!!
I kept my clivias. I just took the burnt leafs off..:-)
NO holloween decorations yet!! Thank goodness
Have a great day, lots of smiles from me all of you!
Mike

Hey Mike..I've been really busy working with plants..whew..not only citrus, but others and outdoor gardening.
I even went ahead and planted one tomato..LOL
Thanks for the compliment.
No, I dont think I'd like 'overgrown cockroaches.' lol..Yuck..though there are ppl who have eaten chocolate covered roaches, which make my stomach turn.
I'd love to go to Maine, (a lot) but travelling is pretty much out..Finding homes for the pets is difficult. The last time our dog was borded was a disaster. Literally.
But it sounds like you had a great time, citrus or not..Nope, don't think citrus are known to grow in Maine..LOL..
One of my citrus kicked the bucket, but the rootstock did wonderful..LOL..it now stands about 4'. I planted it in the garden, plan on keeping it there all winter long..lots of mulch for one..if it lives, so be it, if not, oh well, though I'd like to see it grow, even though oranges are more inedible than edible, and plant is thorny. It's not the first thorny plant growing outdoors.
How have you been? I hope all is well.
Can you believe it's the middle of July already? What happened? LOL..Soon plants will be coming in. boohoo.
What month do you set plants back inside? Toni

Hey Toni and Mike -
Summer has been good for my tree - Im thinking of getting a newer, shorter one. I have a bunch of new growth - when i got back from the caribean, the rest of the plants were dead but the lime tree was actually growing. What a Weird plant...

I have a few bugs sometimes - they look like tiny grasshoppers but the are white. any idea? they dont look like they are eating me but you never can tell. i just get them off when I see them and call it good.

Im starting to have anxioty over bringing these in after this awesome hot and humid summer... do I need a light?

AcadiaNP is awesome mike - glad you got to go. hey i never did get your email... now1998 at gmail dot com

anyway - happy summer! Im sure well be talking more in the winter!

Hey Binion..this summer has been great for plants..Between rain, humidity and sun, tropical plants are growing like mad. (I am worried about cactus and succulents though.)
Plants that have never bloomed before made an appearance including a Ginger and Croton..Now that makes me happy.
Citrus have been flowering and fruiting..except for limes..why is it my limes do NOT flower/fruit???

Bunion, once you bring your lime indoors, place in the brightest window possible..South, west or southwest. Artificial light helps a lot. My lights go on as soon as night approaches, then turned off about 10pm.

Funny you mention the bugs that look like grasshoppers..They're around here too..LOL..At first I thought it was a Praying Mantis that was shipped along with a plant but now that you're seeing them, I wonder. Unless you ordered a plant from the same nursery I did, and the place is loaded with these bugs..I don't think they harm plants, they enjoy sitting on leaves.
They are very light/pale green, but aren't grasshoppers..The first one I saw, 2 wks ago, was an older specimen..same light color, only larger. Yesterday a baby whatever-they-are was sitting on a citrus leaf.
One of my plant books has info about grasshoppers. )May be a relative.) I'm going to find the article to see if these hoppers eat/damage leaves. I'll let you know what it says..
Since you're in zone 7, what month do you haul citrus in the house? Although it's said temps can drop down to 40F before bringing them back indoors, I wonder. At one time I thought allowing citrus to remain outdoors well into cold temps caused leaf drop. Now I'm not so sure.

Well, Happy Summer again folks..let's enjoy the sunny days. Winter is just too darn depressing..Toni

" Winter is just too darn depressing..Toni "
Not when you live in Florida where citrus grows year round !
Just don't send us any killer freezes . We lost all our groves in the hard freezes of the 80's . Temps got down to the teens . Brr !

Hi Gator...don't worry, I won't ship our frost.
You're right though, warmer climates are nowhere as depressing as cold, icy states.
Have you ever seen the movie Pleasantville? It starts out in black and white and as time progresses it changes to color.
Yesterday, while looking out the window, this movie came to mind..Summer is like a colored picture; winter black and white. It's really amazing..You look outdoors in summer and everything is green, bright, flowers, fragrance. Then, autumn comes, days shorten, it's like the opposite of the movie Pleasantville..instead of starting out in B&W then turning to color, once winter comes, it's the opposite of the movie. Color to B&W.
Some evergreen trees brighten the day somewhat, and believe it or not, snow, though I don't care for it like I did as a child, brightens the outdoors and indoors. Sun reflects off the snow, but in spite of the snow, we know, as soon as we walk out the door, we're facing the cold. Big time. Though the last few years haven't been as icy as it once was..Annual plants reseed, and come spring, germinate. There are two guys on the Palm forum, one in Chicago, the other in Canada, who grow Palms in their yard, year round..The Chicago guy's tree is huge. I don't know if this temp change is good or bad.

Florida has had its share of problems. I don't remember the freeze in the 80's, but this Canker thing is holding sales back. Many people are looking for citrus, but because of the ban have to shop elsewhere..
I can't wait until the ban ends..I shop at Briteleaf and Harris Citrus, both nurseries are located in Fl.
Do you have any idea when it'll end? Have you heard news? You'd think the ban would end after destroying so many citrus groves. How awful!!!
So Gator, we'll keep the frost, while Fl is showered with sunshine. But who knows, perhaps everything is reversing...the midwest and east coast will become citrus states, Fl/Ca facing 4 seasons..LOL..Toni

Toni - I live in an apartment with an East window only!!! what luck.. Now when Im looking for houses, I make sure they have nice south and west views of full sun.. Ill definitely get a light for it this winter.

Those grasshoppers must have been a fluke, I found them all over the side of the house, so I guess they werent that interested in limes, they just landed there.

Mine hasn't flowered yet either, I think it will take a while since it was literally dead this last winter.

Hi everyone....I am so sorry...I never followed up on this post!!!!!
Those bugs you said you've seen could be adult lace wing bugs. They are rather cute and boy, than can devour any bad insect on your trees, especially mites!!! In fact you can buy them as good natural predators.. yahoo!!!

I actually will be bringing my plants in soon..:-(, like you said toni, this way they will adjust to indoor conditions better now that I still keep my windows open.
I really hate the thought of bringing them in though. Have you all noticed how much bigger they all get when it comes times to bring them in? They make my south facing windows even smaller everytime!! Now I think I will only have room for one tree instead of three to each window like last year...Boy do they grow fast outdoors. It like when a kid goes through puberty...LOL
Binion, I hear what your saying. Who would of thought to look for an apartment with good sun until you need it ha?
Can you all feel the summer just about to drop out of sight! I am so sad about it. Seems like the sun is dropping at a lower angle in the sky faster than you can blink your eye! and boy is it getting darker fast all of a sudden earlier at night!
Every year I keep saying I am going to move to a warmer climate,where you get at least 12 hours of sunlight, and every year I seem to be stuck up here in good old New England!!!
Time is flying by so fast, I already miss those nice warm sunny humid days. I bet my trees do to.
I have been spraying them for the past 2 weeks, prepping them for no pests as they come indoors....My goal is not to complain one bit to you all about pests this winter.. We'll see!!Lol
I just hope I can provide enough lite for them, or at least afford to. I wish so much I had a heated greenhouse, even a small one. Affordable. They are so expensive!
Anyways, I miss you all.
What ever happened to Al????? Where has he been?
Sure we will be talking alot more as winter approaches. What else do we have to do anyways? lolol

Take care!!!
Mike