Hello Rekless. Hey, congrats on your new oranges. Rekless, there are several different varieties. Some have small fruit, some medium, others large. Taste differs, too..sour or sweet. Once oranges are deep in color, feel ripe, they're ready to eat. However, beware..some sour oranges are much to bitter--your lips will pucker, lol. For instance, Calamondin has golf ball size fruit. These fruit are often used to make jelly/jam/marmalades. Mandarin orange is medium size. Some people consider the fruit sweet, others say they're bitter. Navel oranges are large. Most navels I've eaten are sweet or sweet if completely ripe. And very tasty. Do you have a pic of your orange tree? I'm glad you have access to a yard. Setting plants outdoors in summer is their vacation. Lots of sun, fresh air, humidity, etc. I love citrus scent..flowers and fruit. Some leaves emit fragrace, especially lemons. If you have any questions, or need help, ask away.. Hello Gravy...Toni

There is a significant difference between repotting and potting up. One eliminates the limitations imposed by root congestion, the other ensures the perpetuation of those limitations until such time as they are eliminated by physically correcting the congestion. Air layering the top of the plant is the safest way to propagate your plant because the method stops the polar flow (from top to roots) of a growth regulator (auxin) that inhibits lateral growth (back-budding or new shoots); so, at the same time you're producing a new plant from the top (layering), you're stimulating new shoots from below the point of the air layer. It's not a difficult process. A second method, which also carries very little risk, would be to cut the top of the plant back, leaving only a few healthy leaves. This also inhibits the polar flow of auxin and forces back-budding lower on the plant. In successive years, you can 'chase' foliage all the way back to shoots growing very low on the plant. You use the term 'leggy'. Leggy happens when the plant isn't getting enough light and usually accompanies a weak stem that is reluctant to support itself. Your plant's natural growth habit is to regularly shed older leaves and occasionally produce another branch here and there. It will produce far more branches w/o your help if you can get it outdoors where there is lots of air movement and good light - as found in open shade. Then, you can prune the top back to one of those lower branches with virtually no risk to the plant. Al

Heythere, Toni! I am so in love with the plant in your top pic. What beautiful coloring! Love the Dr. Seuss look about the big 2nd one, too. Nice, thanks for sharing them! I have 3 Dracs, the 2 from this discussion, and a corn plant that WM had on clearance this spring. I knew there was nothing wrong with it, it just wanted to get out of WM. It's grown a lot this summer, too. I think the big one making new tops out of the branches is about 35 years old. Nobody remembers when it joined the family. Is the Aglao/Dieff planted in the same soil as your marginata? Are you asking about the Philodendron? If so, yes, those 2 plants have been companions in the same pot for around 10 years. I cut pieces of it off all the time to keep the mass at a manageable level. It's really cool the way the philo has roots about 2 feet long that grow all the way down to the dirt. This summer the philo has started making leaves 3 times as big as they used to be. I've read how they go into adult phase upon reaching the top of a tree but didn't think this little tree would be enough of a climb for it. I don't allow it to get much higher than the point where all of the branches start breaking from the main trunk, and keep weaving it around the trunks and back down to the soil. Maybe a factor as important as height is security/bracing. It's got a good grip on the tree in several places. I feel like I'm in the tropics when I look at that pot. That philo came from my Uncle's funeral about 15 years ago, and has had a hard-knock life also. It came in a wicker basket planter with plastic liner from florist and although I knew better, I never did anything about making a drain hole or repotting it. About 5 years later, I had the basket hanging on a shady hook in the yard and the wicker broke (decomposed?) from filling up with rain water while I was away and I found the plant in a heap on the ground the next day. I discarded the roots and put several cuttings in water, gave a few away, and put one in the pot of the Drac tree hoping it would hide the soil. It started doing that right away and the cuttings in water did great and even got moved 800 miles but then got neglected and dried out. So you could say this tree saved the philo's life. At this point, I'm not sure which plant is supporting which. Like me, both of them seem to really like being transplanted to the south and drinking sweet tea.

I did see this post which is so old. I live in zone 9 in Houston. I have your particular plant outside in my garden in the ground. We had a horrible freeze last year & the year before 12 degrees last winter. This particular drac always comes back from the roots. Came back this year & the year before. I don't know about constant really low temps, but, knowing me, I would try, especially not liking houseplants. You could try this with a cutting. Also the areca palm was planted next to my house and withstood many freezing winters. Information out is that this palm needs to be in the house. I realize it was planted right next to the house. We finally had to dig it out since it continued to grow sideways creating more and more growth. Also cordylines/ti plants always come back just like the drac. Tropical growers need to know this experience. Happy growing. Carol