Dear Lisa I am so glad I found your site. I am an artist working in England. I mostly paint botanical subjects and I was given a photograph of the white spider lily last year from a friend who visited South Africa and found one there. I have since approached The Eden Project in Cornwall, England to see if they had any knowledge of this plant, but they do not. The Eden Project is a major conservation project which has a tropical biome in which the spider lily might thrive. I would be most interested in finding out what growing conditions the lily likes and whether it would be possible to grow it here in the tropical biome. I am also interested in how the lily is polenated. With the anthers being so far apart, we thought that it might be Humming Birds that spread the pollen, with the action of its wings. I would be most intersted to find out as much as possible about this flower as The Eden Project have commissioned a book (the fourth one) and the subject will be exotic flowers. I have been lucky enough to be published in the last book, and if I can get enough information about the lily and a really good image to reproduce in watercolour, I may be accepted for publication again later on this year. I see that you have a list of plants you would like to swap, and it may be possible for me to ask the Eden Project if they have any that we can sent you in exchange for a specimen of the Spider Lily. Its a big ask, but might work, I am going down to Eden in May for a painting day, and will ask the chief horticulturalist then if we can do a swap. I hope I have not taken up too much of your time and would really love to hear from you regarding this lovely and unusual plant. With kindest regards Yours sincerely Ann Jelley

Some insect pests may be deterred by radish but I don't know of any. Radish will attract some pests however, notably flea beetles and cabbage root maggots. Nevertheless, I enjoy radishes and grow them. I use them to mark the rows of slow sprouting seeds, then eat them. I also plant them for their own sake. Floating row cover works well in keeping them free of insects. I don't know if that would work for your situation. Q: What's worse than finding a root maggot in a radish? A: Finding half a root maggot. Jim

I've had them to use in planters but found that if the opening is too large, it simply drains out especially when inserted to planting mix. I would definitely remove them for the frost months or spend the next several years picking glass out of your border.

Ok, I am confused...Are you sure it is a spider mite you saw? I have never seen one without a magnifying glass, and most people I know of can't see them with the naked eye until it's too late and they have already begun to spin their webs. Can you take a picture of it just to make sure it is a mite for us to see. If you can see them, then maybe we can? All I do is use a good safer or insecticidal soap, making sure to soak every crevice and under the leaves for a period of a month once week, being consistent is the key, and they are usually gone by spring or at least kept under control for the duration of winter. Oils can tend to discolor certain leaves of certain succulents which I am leery of, but which works like magic on all my other plants. I do know that most chemical systemic control products only cause an explosion in mites. I found that out the hard way and never again. Good luck Mike:-)