Elisa, yellow apples tend to be very susceptible to a fungus called sooty blotch which has nothing to do with aphids. In humid parts of the country this is more likely to be the issue than aphids, but same difference as it is completely harmless and is only a cosmetic problem. If you are curious you can find a picture of the disease on-line without much effort now that you know the name.

Squatting is generally illegal. Plus gardens take time investment and you are very likely to lose the effort and cash that you put into it when you are thrown out rather abruptly. I suggest you try vacant lots that are NOT in foreclosure. Contact the owner and offer to pay $1 a year to garden on the site. The owner gets the benefit of not having to keep the weeds under control. If you do that, you will have to purchase liability insurance that covers both the gardeners and the land owner. Those policies are pretty cheap if there is no building. The benefit is that you know you can garden until harvest, and if you take good care and look neat, you might get to keep the use for a couple of years, since bare lots are virtually unsalable in this economy.

So as I said, I am coming back to update this. Out of the four cuttings I've done, two more are rooting well using the baggie method. Also, using Dan's method, I transplanted my largest one into a 3" peat pot with a peat and perlite mix and placed a baggie over the top and taped it onto the container. Today the roots have revealed themselves and have pushed beyond the peat pot into the soil below. Hopefully soon, it'll be time to start hardening it off, but not just yet.

In South Florida it should be easy, BUT keep in mind, many reds are hard to root. The cutting high on the trees that is soft, is probably a little dehydrated and stressed because of the heat and lack of rain the past few months. May and June are wicked months for plants because the sun is intense, it's hot and the rains don't usually come with any frequency until late June, July. Plus the fact that the tree was in an abandoned lot, it probably hasn't been fed in a long time. South Florida soils are sorely lacking in nutrients. Can you post a picture of the blooms? Someone here can probably identify it for you then give you better info as to whether it is hard to root. Regardless, I would cut the ends off evenly with a sharp knife or a fine tooth saw. Cut all the leaves off except for the little ones at the tip. I cut blooms off, some people leave them on because they want to see what it looks like but since you already know, I would cut it off to push the energy into the rooting process. Don't cut the leaves off really close to the branch and don't tear them off. The little stem you leave will fall off in a few days on it's own Soak them for a few hours to overnight in water and Super Thrive or Super thrive with a little Seaweed fertilizer diluted to 1/2 strength. That will help hydrate them and give them a boost. Take them out, let them dry. Dip the ends in Dip n Grow. http://www.dipngrow.com/ Most people in South Florida just lay them in the shade for 2 weeks and make sure they don't get sun or they will get sunburned and if it rains, bring them inside or you can just lay them inside for 2 weeks and let the ends callus. After 2 weeks you can lay then up against a shaded South wall or stake them in a small hole or trench. This is how Bud Guillot has always done it. He stated that most of his Plumerias have never seen the inside of a pot and he's done this for many years. The soil must be native and fast draining. Wait for them to root, you will know when they have 2-3 good big leaves. Or... you can do it the hard way, root them in cactus soil & perltie in a clear water bottle, There are many other ways but those are the 2 easiest. The main thing in South Florida is keep them out of the sun. They will burn, I've lost more cuttings to sunburn than rot down in the Keys. Water them once in the trench or bottle, then do not water again until you see leaves. If they begin to dehydrate, shrivel, mist them. Warmth and humidity is key. The main thing...... is don't water until they have a decent amount of roots. Once the leaves start, then water and feed them.. How big are the cuttings and how may tips on each? The bigger they are the faster they root. I have never lost a really big(small tree) cutting, NEVER! and they root fast. How far South are you in Florida. If you can post a picture that would be great. I would love to see it. Hope this helps and I'm sure others here will assist you as well. We are very lucky in South Florida because we can usually root them by just sticking them in the ground, UNLESS it is the rainy season, then you have to be really careful or start the roots elsewhere. This post was edited by powderpuff on Sun, May 19, 13 at 12:48