Oh For Pete's Sake..... She is trying to be one of the kids.... She is either been into the glue.... or the paint cans. ***I do think the Children are handling it rather well. They seem to understand the perhaps she needs some type of counseling !!! ho ho Love the Family shots..... Loose the ole woman! Hope she doesn't quit her day job to be a model...TEE HEE (BUT I do like her jewelry !! Stunning Hair Do tooo!) Merry Day After Christmas !!! To ALL and to ALL a GOOOOOOOD NITE !!!!!! Susie OMG>>>>> Do you think you could be her NANA!! ? !! ? ? ?

Thanks everyone! Linda - thanks so much for your suggestions! As for Peaches and Green - when the "suckers" in the center get bigger, do I divide them without roots? It seems that they wouldn't have roots like a regular sucker or baby plant. I definitely think that the PH is an issue. After a conversation with a friend who is a grower (not AV's) he suggested that the chloramine might be affecting the Ph, and that could be the underlining problem of a lot of things. After searching this forum, a lot of people suggest the same - that many problems clear up when the Ph is consistent and the plants get flushed semi-regularly. I flushed my plants with warm water, and they seem to be perkier now. Good start. I'm going to go get some sulfur for the mildew/blight (it could be either or both), and some bottled water and testing strips. For now, I'll water with Poland Springs, and with testing, some vinegar and baking soda, etc..., I'll start using my water again when I figure it out. Or perhaps I'll just stick to bottled water, since I don't have a huge collection. IDK - it's tough to say which one is more expensive or more of a pain. I don't think I should treat the plants. Not inside in the winter. Not with chemicals. I'm disbudding and waiting. I'll keep them disbudded for a while, and in the spring I'll treat them when I can take them outside. I threw out the 3 plants (Noid's) that had more than the others, took cuttings of some of the more "important" plants, and I have to continue and finish up this weekend. Obviously, I am learning the all important lesson about ISOLATION!!! lol It just sucks not having any flowers. That's kind of the point of these plants! Ruffles and Lace is totally stunted. I think I may have to take it totally down to the crown and try to re-root it. Perhaps the leaf to root ratio is way off now. That would make sense. I believe my Tommi Lou is perking up, could do well still. I'd like to take cuttings of LE Adagio and Sagitarius Elite, but the leaves are so unhealthy, I'd be taking down the plant, and I have no idea if the leaves will take. The plants are small, so there's not a lot of selection of leaves. These are starters that haven't done well, so I don't think the yellowing is "natural". Any suggestions? Should I take a couple of leaves and toss the plants? Probably.... I'm posting some pictures of the problems I'm having. I'm think overfertilizing with bad fertilizer (MG), but I'll be switching to the Optimara packets I have. they should last me a while. I think I have 4 or 5 packets. I have some fish emulsion, so thank you for the advice about the variegateds! I think the ph or chloramine (or both) is really an issue. I saw someone (Korina I think ) sign off as an "expert plant murderer". I am totally comforted. In 6 months, I've killed so many, and now I watch them suffer. But, there's nothing like a good hobby! I am hooked. I would order a hundred more if I could! I'm sure I will when I manage to kill these ones.... lol! My new batch from Rob's look so lovely! It was sad to trim the new buds forming. Vanilla Trail, Gundaroo, and Warm Sunshine all had several buds forming. But, alas, I want no more thrips!!! Thanks again, everyone!!! So good to get to know people! Jessica

Tom123, I never know how long the party last but you can stop after the game is over at the house, we will be happy to spend some time with you...and yes, you can drop the plants before 11, looking forward to see you on Saturday! Kathy, I am sorry that you can't make it to the party, maybe next time. Thank you for the good wishes and I will send the artichoke seeds in the mail... Silvia

Jane, where exactly are you located ? Although don't think that matters much, the flies are everywhere. However, this year their numbers hereabouts were minimal,..so minimal, my glass jars collected only about two dozen each. Started out in '09 with the tall, skinny papaya plants, then 2 yrs later, switched to the Red Lady's, then dropped them all together till this last year, when, just for the hell of it, went back to 5 of the tall guys. Wish I had a photo or two of a hanging vinegar jar, however, am sure you can easily visualize the scene. Fruit flies hereabouts come around in July, like clockwork. So I overlap a bit, hang the jars in early/mid June, this yr took 'em down in early Aug. What happens is, the flies go " bananas " when they whiff the strong, pungent scent of the cider. So they crawl into the smallish holes in the metal cap to " get at that wonderful liquid ", soon realizing they can't get out, then fall into the cider and drown. I've seen bottles in August with a huge soggy black mass of what seems like hundreds in ea jar. If it rains heavily, most jars will get diluted, so just monitor them and refresh w/more apple cider vinegar, screw cap back on & re-hang. To be 100 % honest, once every two years or so I will find one, or at the most, two mango's destroyed by the fruit flies, but as long as I watch the jars once in awhile, and refill the ones that rarely need it, my fruit fly problems, - once fierce, are now over ! When in use I have two on each of my two largest trees, the 15' tall Glenn. and the 14' tall Kent. the two teenagers ( Tebow & Carrie ) only get one ea ! Still, a lot less work than the paper bags,...a lot less ! ( smile ) I admire your patience and work ethic, but hopefulhly those days are over. Good luck !