Oh my! Such a nice group of responses to my post. And I thought I was the only one visiting this forum during the holiday weekend. anntn6b - I'll have to get up to speed on the terminology ('abnormal' is about as technical as I get) but will take your advice and look for the doohickies you mentioned. The asymmetrical leaves will sometimes have lobes (think of mittens with one or two thumbs). These lobed leaves are found directly under or very close to the rose bud itself but not in a compound set. The compound sets, however, will sometimes have an uneven number of leaves or be asymmetrical from one side of the stem to the other. And some sets show the beginnings of a spiral - perhaps a 90 degree turn. I'm thinking these are early signs of RRD - especially in conjunction with other signs or when I see more than one occurrance on the same cane. My garden is a no-spray zone. Not because of any principle but mostly because I'm a lazy girl. My roses have been selected for hardiness and disease resistance. I've learned to tolerate or squish the bugs and my robust feeding & watering seems to take care of the rest. The more I look at my roses the more I see signs of RRD - or maybe I'm just paranoid. My cats and other family members are worried that I'll see signs of RRD in them and take the pruners to 'em. I suspect that RRD has been in my garden for at least 3 years. It was nice to be blissfully unaware of the situation but I can't go back to that. Have a lovely weekend everyone, Karol

I don't believe that covering the area will prevent the soil from becoming saturated. Moisture moves in all directions in the soil, through tiny capillary channels. Water from the surrounding area will absolutely move into the location you wish to dry out. Covering the soil is likely only to prevent the free exchange of soil and atmospheric air, which is important to the health of the root/soil system. Don't do it. Without knowing how large your plant is, no one can tell you if transplanting is a good idea or not, nor what size container to use. Generally speaking, citrus fare better when planted in the ground, as long as that soil is reasonably well drained. Your plant may have grown a great deal more than you realize. Root systems are the first part of a plant to branch out once they are planted in the soil. Because we silly humans can't see them, we don't give them much importance. The root system of your plant may have grown far and wide. Has your soil become swampy with all of the rain, or is it simply wet? If the area never drains, or if the water table is too high, then nothing will grow in it. But if it continues to drain, your tree should be fine. Is the area problematic, which led you to plant high?

It's exactly that....a 'fungus'. I had HORRIBLE problems with that exact type this year. When it opens, it literally smells like feces (ie: dog poo). It reeks. The fragrance attracks bugs that enjoy that smell which is how it pollinates...and slugs seem to like it too! Weird! I can't think of the actual name of it, but most people call it the 'dog poop' fungus. I did find that pouring white vinegar on it helps to take the stench down a notch. The key to controlling it is to remove those 'egg-like' fungus before they open and bloom.

You guys are a hoot!! There is absolutely no smell to this thing at all so I don't think it is a stinky mushroom.I did read the slime mold page and it does seem a bit similar. This thing had a bit of a "tail" which makes me think it is a seed pod of some sort. Even after sitting out and open all night the clear slimmy stuff is still slimmy...so it doesn't appear to dry out easily. I am tempted to plant it and see what happens. The last time I came across something I wasn't sure of I was opened up to a wonderful world of moths. I had found a large cocoon and in my search I met a great guy who named the moths and showed us some luna moth hot spots in our area. You just never know where a question might take you..always great to learn something new. Keep the ideas coming...I'm still searching.