Casey, yep, I too notice citrus leaves are fragrant, especially after you hose them. I really notice this scent w/lemon. One time I sowed citrus from store-bought seeds..the tree grew fairly quick considering..Those leaves were super fragrant. If you rubbed a leaf w/finger and thumb, you could detect a hint of lemon. After finding out it would take 7-14 yrs before fruit or flowers, I gave the plant to a friend who had a lot more patience than I..LOL. This was Pre-computer days and the only citrus I could buy locaally were Calamondins. Casey, the Orthos and other plant books detail fairly adaquate information. I wouldn't say it'd be a great book for professional growers, but it's got more than basic data. I normally buy new books, but when I saw the used books on Ebay and Amazon, I couldn't pass them up. Some ppl buy books, decided they're not interested then want to rid them. I keep my books for reference. I wish I could help w/that brown spot, but I really don't know what it is. Sorry..Maybe someone else can ID it. How many leaves have these spots? I'd remove them from tree. What type of orchid did you buy? Wow, that's along wait..lol..I don't have the patience either..especially w/orchids. I only have a few orcids like Phals, dens, dancing lady, ludisa Jewel Orchid, vannilas bean, (don't know if that's an orchid or not) and one hanging type that bloom several times throughout the yr. I think that's it for orchids. The Phal flowers seem to last forever. Toni

Update on progress: I spent some time on the tree this weekend. Gave her a nice little pruning, using what I learned reading many papers on drop crotch pruning. Learned a ton and the tree looks great! Almost like a big bonsai. So much better than the gnarly mess as pictured in Post #1. Most of the removal was of the low branches, most of which were touching the ground. So I used the "crown raising" technique I read of. Also thinned some interior branches that were rubbing up or crowding other branches, removing some dead wood, and clipping off anything else that seemed to be growing in undesirable directions. Really happy with the outcome and of course is a work in progress. Pic in link. Also removed all the grass as suggested. (Still need to pick out the stragglers) Afterwards I applied a dose of the Bayer Fruit and Citrus following the directions to work on the bug issues. I will hit it with another Spinosad treatment when conditions are right. (evening time, low wind, no rain). How long after the Bayer should I wait to fertilize? Does it matter? Trying to get some color back into these leaves! Thanks all! Looks like we're getting there! :) Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks for the advice. Brute I will look into the compost but have run into problems like zakey describes, up North. Main problem was weed seeds and chemically treated greens. Our town, in NY would also collect horse manure from the neighboring stables and compost that separately. We would help ourselves to that each Spring. We also try to grow mostly organically. We were successful in NY and our soil was beautiful from years of composting. Florida seems another story. The soil on the Key is pure sand and I can see will take years to build up a thick layer of organic material. There is less rain and everything dries so fast in the heat. On Siesta, the wind blows off the water constantly which also dries out the soil and compost pile. Add to this, the plant material seems very tough and difficult to break down. Zackey, I would love to live on Siesta but prices here are above what we could afford. We are thankful our daughter and husband own a house here and we can stay until we find a place for ourselves. I'm practicing my gardening skills while staying here and have a lot to learn. Water is expensive to use. I would use rain barrels when I find a house. Sunlight is so much stronger than what I am accustomed to. Bugs are plentiful and have done a lot of damage to some of my houseplants. I have always had success using my homemade oil/soap sprays but these bugs seem to enjoy it. I posted a question above about moving my plants back inside as I am afraid of bringing bugs in the house. I am still terrified of Palmettos, but we seem to have won the battle inside the house. Haven't seen one in a month. The organic pest control seems to have worked. But, outside is another story. I see them at night on the patio and near the house. I do not venture outside at night. When we get a house, I would prefer to stay away from lawns. That will limit a large amount of greens for composting. If there is a lawn, I will collect the clippings for compost - even the grass here seems tough compared to the soft grasses up North. Sorry for the long response, so much to learn! Jane

I'm sorry, I don't know why I linked the coffee article. But yes, spraying mealy bugs with the coffee tea will kill them on contact. Same thing with aphids, spider mites, and thrips. I'm growing hot peppers and aphids can be a problem. It works well. The softer the plant, the better putting used coffee grounds on the soil will kill aphids, etc. systemically. It lasts about 4-5 months. Same thing for hibiscus and other soft plants. I know it's the same article, but this is what I meant to link: http://cycadjungle.mysite.com/cycadjungle/The%20Coontie%20of%20Florida.html There are other helpful cycad cultivation articles for anyone interested in the cycad part of this subject. The back button should go there. The Never Throw Away a Cycad article shows how you can micro propagate a coontie if anyone dares. The fertilizer article shows how you can get them to flush more often.