The soap spray is to kill the aphids , it works on contact so spray well . the next day u should see dead aphids . It has no effect on the foliage itself thats not desired either , if leaves were getting crinkly n falling off thats sign of a problem .

What soap spray r u using . I also add 1tsp/gal neem oil as well but at your zone with the sun n heat and unless required u r better off without it .

You may have a problem if you sprayed before the plant was hit with hot sun. Most manufacturer's tell you not to spray in mid day sun.

devsense. Got it. No effect on foliage.

Vlad, if you are so inclined pls reread my ??! You answered none. the notion of not spraying soapy water midday makes no sense. If it is that HOT, evaporation takes place almost instantly so the idea of sun reflecting on water drops and burning foliage doesn't make sense as evaporation would result in NO DROPS. Pls think about it. This is a silly wives tale that overtook common sense.

now Neem, that is diff. It will burn in midday sun and that is b/c oil residue will remain and get hot enough to burn but not b/c of water, it evaporates and quickly in hi sun or hi heat.

Bossy......the soap can cause photo-sensitivity reaction in the sun and heat. It is also drying to the leaf cuticle. That is what Vlad is telling you may have happened. Once leaves are damaged the damage can't be corrected. They will fall off eventually but may stay on awhile and provide food for the tree if not too badly damaged. Spray every 7-10 days or sooner if you still see insects. It takes several rounds of spraying to get all the babies and eggs. I think you were a little harsh with Vlad, especially since he is always so helpful.

Cory

Cory, got it. Foliage will fall off eventually. Not immediately. I have NEVER done the soapy water b4 so didn't know what to expect. I guess I need a mag glass to ck for bugs?

I stand firm on the notion that spraying water midday won't burn foliage b/c it EVAPORATES b4 any reflection has time to do any damage.

I I agree with Cory, Vladimir is always helpful on this forum and never has a harsh word for anyone. It is ok to disagree, but perhaps a bit more kindly.

No wonder things weren't making sense to me since I couldn't see any bugs. I don't have aphids, I have LEAFMINER problems. I will do nothing in this respect. If I have a chance, I will post pics of leafminer evidence.

Apparently more of an annoyance factor than anything else. I may try spinosad, if I find it in My garden potions closet.

Thank you for your answer dirt bike racer it is always interesting to hear a different perspective on things!

Its certainly not intentional if any of us have seemingly ignored newbie questions but I will say that it does get tiresome when the exact same question gets asked over and over again when the answers could easily have been found by doing a simple search above within the citrus discussions.

Someone wants to know what 511 is? Search in the box, research the different threads and then absolutely come back and start a thread with an informed follow up question. That would make it easier on us rather than expecting us to constantly outline every single thing there is to know about citrus growing over and over again.

But I think we are all pretty nice and do our best to answer as many questions as possible. Sometimes we are just having fun chatting on a thread and we get distracted and miss others' questions.

So that's my take on it :).

DirtBike, Yes, sometimes we get busy with our lives or the board just gets so busy and fast some questions just get overlooked. Sometimes we just don't know how to answer a question and wait for someone more knowledgeable to answer or take a stab at it. If no one feels they have an answer sometimes those questions get lost. Most of us are all pretty new at growing citrus too. We may look like a clique but that is because we are all very enthusiastic about our trees and all the varieties out there and glad we have found others that have the same interest and enthusiasm. Please, don't feel intimidated and just jump in and ask your question again. Steve (Poncirus) is usual good about going back and bumping up the unanswered questions that get buried at times. That usually gets some answers. Detailed pictures as well as pictures of the whole tree often help us all to help you better. We can often see things wrong that are hard to describe without a picture. Many of us grow in containers and don't feel knowledgeable enough about in ground trees and vice versa to answere questions we have no experience with.

Glad you hopped aboard to join in with us!

Cory

bossyvossy: There is no need for me to reread you question. And regarding your statement: I stand firm on the notion that spraying water midday won't burn foliage
b/c it EVAPORATES b4 any reflection has time to do any damage. At no point was I talking about spraying water in mid day, I was talking about spraying a soap solution, which when it dries rapidly by the sun may cause damage to the plant. I am not one of the nincompoops that believe in the ridiculous notion that water droplets act as miniature magnifying glasses that magnify the sun's rays and thus damage the plant. By the way, this myth has nothing to do with reflection of sun's rays, as you state.

I feel that your treatment of me was uncalled for.

Yeah, DirbBike! I am sure nobody here meant to exclude anyone. I can tell you that as for me, I try to comment on things if I feel comfortable with the advice and can contribute. There have been times when I have seen a post go unanswered and I have bumped it so that others would see it. Like Cory and Hobby said, many of us on this forum grow in containers. Many times, I see a problem with an in-ground tree and do not know what to say. I would tell your friend to please come back! Vladimir, I totally agree...uncalled for. For crying out loud, you teach science at the university level...you know better than that Dr. Vladimir!