Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb

I agree with isabella, it looks similar to a fig. If it was sassafras it would have the other two leaf types. Here is a link that might be useful: Envi Sci and Fishy Plants

Goodmorning all your tropical nuts! (I mean that kindly hahah) Regina you have a lot of babies there...I think I have my first plumie seedling not sure though the tag was lost...I have only been trying since last winter..hahah Thanks Mariann Those are some great prices...I hope you and hubby stay high and dry! I will be thinking of you..Please check in so we know you are alright :) Amy those tornadoes missed you shooo...That was some bad damage on the news this morning....Dee sends wonderful stuff..I have her gardenia she sent me last year... Frances bodaius pics..I cant wait for the daylilies...I can enjoy your beutiful flowers..:) Eye candy for sure! Ruh roh computer woes...Get it fixed so we dont miss you...Did you get a laptop fro your vacation to take us with you? hahahh Mariann I take 6-10 inch cuttings put in a glass canning jar and place on my dinner buffet table all winter...Just pull the little leaves as they emerge...I even forget to change the water...hahahha Them turkeys still live...In spring I pot them up and wa la they grow.... I also took my plant last year..Chopped her down to two feet and placed her in the very cold basement off the floor with hardly any heat down there and no light (we heat by wood upstairs) Well I brought her out in spring and now she is three feet in the same soil..hahah I need to give her new soil..... I only gave her a cup of water every now and than...They go dormant in winter if you make them...... I have a picture of my cuttings I will dig for it....With all of us growing them you sure know where you can get some cuttings for sure this fall..:))) We dont cut them know because we are waiting fro them to flush... Frances seedlings bloom the second year from what I was told...I have quite a few of them growing....Same with daylily seedlings for us up north..:)) Barb

My statement that pine bark is close to neutral must be incorrect. A few years back I had done some some quick tests and perhaps (most likely) they were wrong. I should do some more tests since many here and published papers assert that pine bark can vary wildly in acidity. These are my thoughts regarding container Ph: Let us say you start with a soil Ph of about 6. If neutral water is used then the soil Ph should remain at 6 for ever. However, bark will decompose and move towards neutral over time. If alkaline water is used then the soil will move towards neutral quicker and over time it will start becoming alkaline. Conversely, water Ph will drop in the beginning and over time starting water Ph will start dominating. How quick is the process? Depends on the buffering capacity of the soil. Higher the buffering capacity, the better is its resistance to Ph change. I think, not entirely sure, bark/peat based soils do not have as good a buffering capacity of clay based soils. Sand/grit have the least. Composted matter also have a high buffering capacity. The addition of lime to 511 probably improves its initial buffering capacity too. Nutrient availability is best around neutral or slightly acidic. Looking at the charts it seems 6.5 is ideal. Our tap water is nearly neutral although I should do that test more frequently. Being neutral I have stopped bothering with Ph altogether. Rainwater will test a bit acidic and so will distilled water. Distilled water will absorb CO2 as soon as it is exposed to air and become tad bit acidic. Both distilled water and rainwater have no buffering capacity at all.