I plan on trying to start a new fruit tree from seed, an orange tree.

Me too, but it's way to hot and arid for most fruit trees if you don't have the money for the water they require.

I have a septic and have not allowed paper to enter it since 2004, @Jessicalynnt I don't use ridx but I'm getting ready to buy some yeast to use for it.

@rebelann water is not an issue out on this side of the state, even the worst months, our water bill never goes over 50, but then again, we have an aerobic septic, much of the watering comes from the treated grey waters

I have tried this in Dallas but failed miserably. I always take the lemon indoors and keep it near a large window with a semi-transparent curtain and blinds to keep it vital enough although I have lost many leaves from it year after year but they grow back out the first few weeks of spring. It may be natural for lemon trees to shed their leaves but not sure. Dallas is a Sub-tropic region.

@lookatdesktop You have to deal with extreme weather conditions which is not the case where I live. But you seem to put in a lot of hard work to care for your garden.

@lookatdesktop So far so good. We are all surviving given unpredictable weather conditions.

@allknowing It's like that. One month of heavy rain could easily be followed by a month or longer of hot dry weather with not a storm cloud in site. Some mornings begin in the 60's and by 6 PM the same day, temperatures could reach into the mid 90's. So far we have not had snow in summer. I would truly freak out if that happened. For one thing we are supposed to be in a global warming trend, either natural or partly man made, still a topic of debate.

Hmm. I didn't know you had to use apple to put nutrients in the soil. That is very interesting. My grandfather on my mother's side was good at grafting fruit trees so that they would produce more fruit and I think to get some fruits, grafting is essential for their development. I do not even try this because I am just not experienced enough.

@lookatdesktop Erm.. spider plant? they are the only one you can not water for 1 months and still survive?

@lookatdesktop That's really cool. :D

@Drosophila , I found a page you might want to read about the spider plant, . This is a Norton Safe Site.

This particular tree doesn't bloom at all. It looses most the leaves in winter in the house, then taken outdoors, in springtime, the leaves eventually come out and fully cover the plant. No flowers have developed. I still don't know if it is a male or an infertile product of Monsanto. I need to get in touch with Burpee Seed company to find out if they have more viable seeds or seedlings.

It is sensitive to the high winds and there are too many fire ants native to my area. I would do this if I could design and build a green house around it. There are a few people in my area who have green houses and grow tomatoes year round. They are successful with this. The Fair Park Green House or whatever it is called, I have been there a few times in years past, have tropical plants all about the place. It is awesome to see, including the butterflies and banana trees.

Oh wow, that sounds like a wonderful place to stroll through @lookatdesktop

There are some lovely looking miniature lemon and orange plants that can be easily grown indoors with proper lighting and special care. You can actually eat the tiny fruits from them. More ornamental and they take lots of attention to maintain but for me it would be fun.

Tampa. What a nice place to live. My Uncle, on my mom's side, lived in Lakeland. He had lived there most of his life and worked for NASA. I was so glad to have him visit us in Dallas. He bit my right ear so I would never forget him and I never forgot. The pain.

I find it hard to tell if some of the seeds are actually viable for not only planting from the seed itself but moreover, the ability for such plants to grow into maturity and bear fruit. I have not seen fruit from my lemon tree as it is a single plant with no others to cross pollenate. I think I misspelled that word. The lemon is about 6 years old and has not produced any kind of flower so perhaps it is a dud or a dude. I don't know the difference about this plant. I will have to try another one and get more info as to fruit trees that do not bear fruit or what the difference is between male and female fruit trees in this case, lemon trees.