This is an example of what Simpleton is talking about. I have four rotting as we speak and am in a tizzy of getting them dug, washed, trimmed, soaked in Physan 20, dusted with sulfur, set out to dry. Some plants I gave a soil drench, just because they were yellowing. I know there are several kinds of fungal rot and at least one kind of bacterial crown rot. I decided on Physan 20 from having read stuff from orchid sites, where reality is not hush, hush. I had it here and ready, and pulled out the plants early by sniffing the base of any yellowed or old leaves as I removed them. You absolutely cannot miss that smell. Only the first one flopped over--after I knew that smell I didn't need to wait that long. All four are from the same LA seller, never grew a bit, and rotted after the first rain in an unfertilized organic bed surrounded by healthy daylilies and other daylilies received and planted the same day, that are all fine. That's just ridiculous. I sent them an email to request advice and inquire about replacements if my attempts fail. No reply so far but they've not had much time so I can't say anything bad just yet. Even it they won't replace any, the bonuses I received were great and better than these ones that are sick -- so far. It seems pretty darned straight forward, and while the society certainly is not responsible for policing sellers, I'm still annoyed that on the AHS site under FAQ 'What pests and diseases effect daylilies?' all the pests are mentioned but no diseases are addressed. Not leaf streak, not rust, and not crown rot. And why ever not???? Must each hobbiest reinvent the wheel for themselves? The problems are not really secret, as their own Daylily Dictionary gives excellent treatment of both terms -- if you know to look them up in the first place. A society that states it's purpose is "educational and scientific"-- to support the betterment of the daylily and public interest, is shooting itself in the foot with this attitude of "don't mention it," and it seems to trickle down to many enthusiasts as a mandate. I understand they wouldn't want to advertise and highlight problems (although they have no problems with information such as "deer occasionally eat" daylily buds -- I raise my brows at the word 'occasionally', although from the prospective of a year in the life of one hungry deer it may seem occasionally.) I found enough information to know the problems and pick a treatment. My point is, I [i]should[/i] have found it easily and authoritatively on the AHS website. I feel I found it despite the AHS. They have a responsiblity to the public trust that comes with their status and authoriy, and should not behave as a thinly veiled marketing tool retouching reality like the photoshop pictures on a hybridizers webshop. Otherwise, the whole site should have "advertisement" at the top of every page like I see on pseudo-articlistic ad pages in magazines. Trust is easier to keep than regain, and public interest will dose dive with loss of public trust. Where's the leadership? (Okay, jackarias IS great on this forum, I'll give the AHS that one.) Instead I lurked about orchid forums, carniverous plant forums, and talked to rosarians. Perhaps the AHS thinks the [i]full truth[/i] might scare off a potential new hobbiest, but instead they aggravate actual hobbiests. I find that very short-sighted. It's not these potential losses that bother me exactly --although obviously they are bothering me a lot, in their own way -- since I know 4 of 90 isn't much of a loss and I researched enough to expect it. Rather it's the way these issues are handled, hushed, and blown off repeatedly with feigned confusion, mis-information, and pleas of ignorance by first one stray AHS-er and then another. It's pervasive, this stonewall resistance to see tarnish on the shiny "perfect perennial." After a while, a few people seem positvely delusional and not just on this forum. "Focus on the positve" doesn't need to mean be blind to the negative. I can imagine the next post "Well, join the AHS and make it better!" -- like that's an attractive lure into the hobby-- but I don't know if that means I should take the red pill or the blue one. I just wish everybody would relax, accept the obvious, and deal with the reality instead of straining so hard to shore up the status quo of "perfect perennial." Whoever adopted that slogan needs a thump on the head. Now I may get hit harder in the next few days, and eat these words, but I think I know as much about everything as a newbie possibly could--and probably more than most--about many aspects of my new hobby. None of these issues put me off. I think my daylilies will be the joy of my life for many years to come even though (of course!) I hope my fungicides sit on the shelf until I worry about their expiration date, and these are the last four daylilies that ever rot on me. Right now, I'm just embarrassed for the AHS. They love their daylilies and their members, but they don't seem to have faith in either one of them.

Oh, this is the stuff that is the flooring of the porch, and it was not kept well painted, and so the edges have rot, and if you kind of bounce up and down in places, it kind of sags. Do you suppose that, too, would be salvageable, if it were braced underneath? It isn't very thick. The floors in the house are GORGEOUS under their unfortunate layers of paint. We have scraped some of the paint that is loose off. I was thinking about renting one of those big sanders to get it off there, but knowing me, I would be better off hiring this done, because I would take forever. Almost all the trim is painted white. I hated it at first, but am learning to live with it, because getting all this woodwork stripped and sanded would be a tremendous job. There is some really ugly carpet in places, too. On the back stairs (which we never really use, anyway), I lifted up the old indoor outdoor carpet covering them, and one of them has a mouse hole you can see clear down into the basement lol! So, I set it back down. They're sturdy, though. The inside of some of the doors is quarter sawn. I sure wish they wouldn't have painted them. Just beautiful where it's not painted. Unbelievably gorgeous brass hardware everywhere, including a circa 1869 doorbell. The previous owner stated they had intended to replace the front double door and transom window. Thank you, God, for somehow this not having happened. What a tragedy that would have been.

Hi Jon, I understand your frustration, I'm a newbie too. It is very confusing in the beginning, isn't it? Rain water apparently contains a lot of very good stuff for citrus trees. Also, from the letting the trees outside point, I can only speak from my very limited personal experience, but my two trees were not really happy inside and had started to have spider mites. Sunlight from being outside helped my trees a lot. The parasites are now gone and the trees have been thriving since I got them used to being on the deck. What soil are your trees potted in right now? Apparently if your soil is very well draining, I've been told by informed sources (tm) that rain isn't an issue anymore ;) Also, can you post a picture of your trees? Folks here are really helpful, but a lot of issues with lemon trees are directly depending on the soil they are in, and it's easier for veterans here to help you if you can show a picture of your tree, too. Good luck! :) Atheen

Odd that suddenly all the plants would be effected. The fertilizer, how much and how often? Might want to flush the soil, by poring water through till it flows freely out the bottom then do it again. Stop fertilizing for the time being. Oh, best to pull a plant or more out of the pots and check soil dampness at the bottom prior to flushing the soil. At the same time check the root health, If all looks good then flush the mineral salts out as described above. Any thing else "new" to the plants?