Teas and Chinas are "made" for the south and have done exceptionally well here. They can be ignored, but some grooming and shaping result in some very pretty shrubs. Many make nice cut flowers. The noisettes that I have are Crepuscule and Nachitoches Noisette, and are doing beautifully. I want to try Lamarque this fall. I need to get a structure for him first. I am going to try a few hybrid musks. So far Prosperity is taking right off, as is Ballerina. I have Ballerina in a semi-shaded area (some full sun, mostly dappled) and she is very happy so far. I am going to try some others in areas that get a few hours direct sun, with the rest dappled and/or shaded a bit (NOT heavy shade). My gut says they will need some relief from the intense sunshine we have in Central Florida. That may not apply in the southern states more northerly than me. I'll let everyone know how they fare in a year or so. There are many "found" roses that do beautifully here also. Maggie is one of them, and Bermuda Mystery roses do well. Maggie has a few "crud" leaves right now. It may be some heat stress? I'm not going to spray her. I will pick off the leaves that are affected. Most of the foliage looks nice, and it is mostly older leaves that look yellowed and spotted. Her flowers are awesome! There are polyanthas that will do well. I am still determining who that is. If they stay decent in a clay pot through the heat, and will stay fairly healthy with crud leaves being picked off rather than sprayed, minimal crud leaves, then I will plant them. Clotide Soupert has stayed clkean for me, but I need to move him to where the lawn sprinklers don't hit him. Overhead watering can ruin the pretty flowers. Otherwise, I get more good than bad blooms. So far I have a few David Austins on fortuniana that seem to fine without spray. Time will tell. It may be the rootstock that is helping in that regard, or because we are not as rainy this year. The hybrid teas were fine for awhile, but most became disasters without spray. The few I kept I am going to try some of the more natural sprays on. If it works, great.... if not, then I have a shovel decision to make. I will only spray something that I do not need to suit up for in this heat. Sandy

 Meadowbrite       I know you might not want to order the seeds   but you might need to order the seeds from citrus seed companies I hope this helps you out some  even though I have not ordered any but At this point what do you have to lose

I thought about this post when I was watching Louis Miller talk about caladiums from Baton Rouge today. It occurred to me the difference with keeping caladiums in the ground here as opposed to Florida might be soil type. My understanding is soils in Florida are sandy--maybe not all, but most, right? Our soils are mostly very heavy clay. The drainage in winter, in Florida, and lack of it here, would have a lot to do with how well they over-wintered I'm sure.

I use the back of my hand to judge light intensity. Also you can download an app for some phones that will measure light in lumens. You should be able to feel the light, without it getting too warm after 30 seconds or so on the back of your hand.