Laura, I've been meaning to write ingredients to rid Mites. Sorry, I didn't get to it sooner. Everytime I was about to, something came up. :) I've used this recepie so many years, I no longer measure. But, adding a little more of this or that won't harm a plant. That is, all but Fish Emulsion. I'll get to that. The night before spraying, I fill (about 3/4ths full) a 16-20oz spray bottle w/warm water and add 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic. Following Day: 1/4-1/2 teas Hot Pepper. 2-4 drops Dish Soap, 'Not Dawn.' 1/4-1/2 teas orange/lemon/lime or grapefruit juice. As a preventative or to kill Scale, and some other types of insects, 1 capful of Fish Emulsion. Mix thoroughly before spraying plants. Spray under and upper leaves, stems, and trunk. This mix can be kept for weeks, but shake the bottle so ingreients are even. Fish Emulsion: To prevent/kill Scale, in addition to above ingrdients, I add 1 cap of Fish Emulsion. WARNINGS: Leftover insecticide w/FE should be discarded. Fish Emulsion has a fishy odor. The smell can last 1-3 days. Although I'm not thrilled about the odor, I'd rather deal with it a few days, than find Scale on my plants. Since FE is organic there's no need to worry about inhaling or pores. It's totally harmless, won't burn roots/leaves. BTW, use a new or well-made spray bottle. Old bottles, especially when used frequently, don't work as well, or can drip. I used to use peeled citrus rind, but the peels clogged up spray bottle. In its place I use citrus juice. Mostly Lemon. The lemon that comes in a yellow plastic, lemon-shaped container. Preferably unsweetened. The same thing happened w/garlic. I used to chop 1-2 cloves, but pieces clogged sprayer top. BTW, before adding garlic to water, I squeeze each clove in water bottle so liquid blends in. Toss in squeezed garlic cloves, too. Hot Pepper. I've been using Cayenne Pepper powder, but any hot pepper will do...the hotter the better. These ingredients deter and kill Mites. Mites dislike the scents, so they steer clear. Eish Emulsion prevents and kills Scale. A friend who owns a Citrus nursery in Fl told me they use FE on ALL their citrus to keep Scale away. Not long after she told me about FE, I ordered an Olive Tree. It was delivered at night. I set it between two Citrus trees. While misting, I noticed a brown lump on a leaf. Taking a closer look, the entire Olive was Scale-packed. Not to mention the closest citrus branches. I phoned her to get the exact Fish Emulsion dossge. The Olive and Citrus were first isolated then sprayed. Within two days, all signs of Scale were gone. Since spraying, none of my plants had this awful bug. Ever. This happened, I believe, 1999. That's it. Spraying every other week should keep Mites at bay. (without FE) BTW, Fish Emulsion is an organic fertilizer. I spray plants w/the complete mixture before coming indoors for winter. Not only to keep insects away, but a last foliar feeding. If a plant is budding or flowering, don't spray, or refrain from hitting buds and flowers. Anyway, this recepie works for my plants. Considering the amount of plants I have, and each from diferent nurseries, I either have a Plant Angel or plain lucky..lol. Give it a try..can't hurt. I avoid chemicals, 'except a few fertilizers.' Let me know if you decide to give it a try and how it works..Toni

I doubt it would survive outside sunken in your pond, but there is a remote possibility it could work. Did you know you can cut off one of the "heads" and float it in water and it will grow a baby plant out of the center of the clump? That way you can overwinter a small piece of it in something no larger than a drinking glass. It can stay in the water for a month or two or three, probably should go into a small pot of soil eventually, then just keep it in a saucer of water until spring, when you can move it up to a larger pot and put it outside after all danger of frost is past.

I started all of them inside in the little celo packs that garden center packs come in. I re-pot whenever they get too big. On the balcony they were planted in 5 galleon pots. Only the two which were in their own pot with some glad bulbs, bloomed, the other two had great foliage and lots of tubers but no blooms. I do love using pots though as it is so easy to dig them up in the fall.

Oh! I feel kind of dumb for not thinking of it before, but I think I have that pan, Annie. Mine is 12" wide and 4.5" deep (I checked on my calculator and that comes out to a bit over 8 and a half quarts volume) hard anodized. I bought it when Amazon had it at a ridiculously low price because that Calphalon line was being obsoleted. But when it arrived, I couldn't decide whether to make it milk or meat, Passover or regular so I put it in a closet until I decided and then forgot about it. I guess I also didn't think about it because I was thinking I wanted tall sides because the jam bubbles sometimes spit a drop up when they burst - is there something to do to avoid that? Or maybe with a more even heat pan it will behave better than the stainless steel not-triple ply one I've been using. I take it you are finding that the hard anodized is non-reactive enough. I found the Maslin pan at Lee Valley and it certainly is a thing of beauty. (It costs less than the non-sale price of the Calphalon 8 1/2 quart would have been.) However I find the picture funny - I can't quite see taking a pan full of quarts of boiling hot sticky jam and tilting it to pour into the jars no matter how good the handles are. And there are the two filled jars, cutting board and counter without a drop spilled or funnel in sight. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&cat=2,40733,44734&p=46628