It's not at all necessary to have a virus-free citrus tree. What is important is to not have it infected by one of the viruses which damage the particular rootstock you are using. There are four "major" ones in the US, and a few minor ones. Of all of them, Tristeza is the only one carried by insects (aphids), so your tree could "catch" it in your yard. And then, it would have to come from a neighbor's tree, since the aphids don't travel far. Tristeza will cause decline of trees on sour orange or C. macrophylla roots. Most other commonly used stocks are tolerant. Grapefruit and Key lime are also highly susceptible as rootstocks, but most people don't use them as stocks. On the other hand, if you're making a "fruit cocktail" tree, it's best not to use one of those two under another graft, for the reason of tristeza. Psorosis is perhaps the "worst" of all the viruses, in that it causes decline regardless of stock or scion used. But it has been eliminated from nearly all commercial citrus, and is spread only by grafting of infected tissue. So the only way you're likely to acquire it is to graft from an old tree that has had it for many years, but has not yet declined to the point that you wouldn't take budwood from it. A rare situation these days. In Florida, that would mean budding from a tree of 'Thompson' pink grapefruit or 'Temple' orange (tangor) that is older than the mid-1980s. I'm not sure about remaining sources of infection in other states. Exocortis is a viroid, and it affects Poncirus trifoliata (including Flying Dragon) and its hybrids (citranges). Some of the citrumelos (e.g., 'Swingle') are somewhat tolerant of most strains, but I'd still avoid it on those roots. Exocortis is acquired through infected budwood, AND can be spread on knives, pruners, or other cutting devices. So if you have one tree with the disease and you prune it, then another tree, there is the possibility of moving the disease from tree to tree, mechanically. Xyloporosis is also a viroid and spreads like exocortis -- infected budwood or mechanically. However, it is not as easy to spread mechanically (lower percentage of infections per cut). It affects some mandarins and most mandarin hybrids, on any rootstock. It, too, has become rare in commercial citrus, so, like psorosis, the place you're likely to encounter it is to get wood from an old tree in someone's yard. HOWEVER -- other scions are tolerant, so it is possible that it's lurking in an orange, grapefruit, lemon, etc., and when you make that "fruit cocktail" tree, you move it into your tangelo accidentally. Citrus ringspot affects any scion on any stock, but is quite rare. You're not likely to see it in the US. It does exist in a very small population of Texas and Florida grapefruit. Milam decline is thought probably to be a virus, and affects any scion on 'Milam' lemon rootstock. All other combinations are tolerant. It seems to spread only in infected budding tissue. So, in the long run, tristeza is the only virus to really worry about in the garden (realize that canker and greening are not viruses), and then, tristeza will only be spreading if it is already in the neighborhood. That's a major concern in Florida and some counties of California. If your concern is canker and greening, rather than specifically viruses, then consider: Canker is caused by a bacterium which comes to the surface of leaves and fruits and can be in water dripping or blowing through the tree. It can also be picked up on your hands or any other object that touches the infected tree, and transferred to another tree. It's not likely to be a problem on houseplants kept indoors, nor in dry climates, since it only spreads or activates in wet weather. But because of its easy mechanical spread, it is perhaps the most contagious of all the citrus diseases. Greening is also caused by a bacterium, but is NOT spread mechanically. It spreads only in infected budwood during grafting, or by psyllid insects, which are not present in most States. We do have psyllids all over the citrus-growing region of Florida, so they can spread the disease if it is present in the area. The annoying thing about greening is that a tree can be infected and contagious for quite a long time before the first symptoms show up, so that allows it to move through an area undetected until it's way too late.

Hi there Leona,i wonder if you still have those plants you posted about, I collect caribbean seeds and plants.I have a passion fruit vine(passiflora edulis) which I have kept in a large pot and cut back for the winter.It should fruit this coming spring/summer.I also have a few other kinds of passionfruit seedlings growing and some seeds for: star apple,sousop(guanabana),Callaloo(amaranth var.),aji dulce,papaya,custard apple,sugar apple,paw paw,kiwi,mexican coriander(culantro),calabash,cassabanana,pepino,papaya,acerola,dragonfruit and guava.I also have some trees that i can take cuttings from two dwarf plum and two dwarf apricot,fig,and nectarine.I also have 2 kinds of banana pups dwarf cavendish and super dwarf mini.please let me know what you still have, thank you

Susieq07, We haven't been able to get around to painting the house and the added DIY sunroom yet but you've given me something to think about regarding the color/trim etc! Great fresh look you have going with the plants/house color! Thank you all for the encouragement. Don't want to start a whole new thread since this one is here and you've all explained your wonderful yard/landscape and Susie already added her pics so I'll just add mine here. Keep in mind, this was Budget Decorating! Mr. Amity laid all the cement (except for the faux cobblestone steps leading up to the Pav.) a few squares every weekend and he (with my Dad's supervision hehehe) put up the Pav. I created all 5 raised rock gardens with the rocks, we as a family collected over the years from Mt. Baldy day trips. Lots and lots of great memories in those raised rock gardens. I had emailed our own SquirrelH about suggestions for front yard landscaping but alas, that has been put on hold with all the funds going to the bath redo and all the water damage and mold we found AFTER we got started with the bathroom demo. Here are some before and afters of the back. Nothing formal, but I'm really enjoying my new place of serenity. Before. This area was an 18 ft. round x 5 ft. deep above ground pool for all the years the kids were growing up. The last kid hadn't looked at the pool in 2 years so we decided to take it out and make ourselves a nice garden area. That got put on hold when my elderly (even more elderly than us! LOL) parents came to live with us 3 years ago. Rusted metal shed for storage as we took in more kids, now used to help store some of parents' belongings and my own stuff now that we've turned my living room into their bedroom. Yucca plant in the corner that seemed to grow over night. During demo of 3 rooms (to give us living area/closet space/storage when parents moved in) the old pool area ended up being a place to dump the demo trash until we got enough demo'd stuff to fill/rent a slide-off dumpster. During. Got the area semi-cleared out. Yucca removed-Yipppeeee! Mr. Amity started by priming/sealing/painting the metal storage shed. After. We did our best to hide the metal shed (can been seen behind the waterfall) but now that it's painted I shouldn't have worried so much about hiding it---doesn't look half bad with a new coat of paint! I still need to get up there and paint out the Misters water line. And I still need to finish painting the faux stone and grouting around the waterwall/bench. I'll get 'roundtoit, eventually. *smile*

Ugh Mike, that's awful! Especially frustrating to catch it from the doctor's office! How does cold affect citrus leaves? My sour orange seedlings are starting to yellow a bit. No leaf drop yet. I probably need to dial back the watering but I'm wondering if cold roots are part of it. They are in 5-1-1 mix and rootmaker propagation trays, so small cells with holes on the sides. I know they need less water now that temps are lower, but I figured the mix was porous enough and with holes on the side that overwatering wouldn't be an issue. We are hitting low 50s overnight now and the seedlings are 18-24 inches tall with diameter between 1/8-1/4 inch.