For Turface, do an online search to see if you have any Ewing Irrigation Stores near you (Anaheim, Garden Grove, Lake Forest, San Clemente, Santa Anna) - or John Deere Landscapes dealers. The Horizon Dealer in Orange (714) 279-8154 should have it, too. Ask for Turface 'MVP' or 'Allsport'. I'll check a thread over on the container gardening forum that's dedicated to helping growers find various ingredients. If you're lucky, maybe someone in your neighborhood already using the gritty mix will pitch in and help. You can substitute coarse perlite for the granite if you have to, or if you find a suitable sized pumice, we can make that work, too. Call around, for the bark (pine/fir/redwood), but I'll look for that, too. The size of the ingredients is important. It may initially be a pain to locate what you need, but if you're willing to do the legwork (with whatever help we can be), I'm sure you'll be well-pleased with the results. I gave a presentation after a pleasant luncheon this afternoon to a local chapter (Saginaw, MI) of a national organization (Women's Farm and Garden Association). I talked about many of the things I regularly share here (the topic was caring for houseplants) - the response was very enthusiastic - great audience participation and involvement, with the most questions asked being about soils - and particularly about how to make them. Though I never got to that part (ran out of time), a promise to provide recipes and instructions was extracted. It was a really great group - very friendly. I'm still excited about the positive response, but most of all I'm thrilled as a result of getting to see 'the light go on' over and over again as the ladies (and a few gentleman guests) sort of rearranged some of the pieces of the container gardening/houseplants puzzle and gained understanding in areas where there may have been some confusion or even a void. I'll never grow weary of seeing that 'AHA moment' - it's tremendously rewarding - I'm still pumped. ;-) Al

Al, I came across that post while doing a search and was wondering what it looked like now, please post pictures soon. My radermachera is 3 ft tall and bushy, in a 9" pot. I got it as a gift last week and I've been adjusting it to its new environment. The soil looks very compact and I can see roots on top of the soil as well as at the drainage holes. I like the way the top growth looks and don't really want to prune the stems, I actually want it to become taller and treelike. But I want to cut away at least half the roots to encourage healthier growth. Do you think this would be ok?

I can only speak to Lavender Lassie. Lavender Lassie only reblooms for me if the winter and winter/spring transition has not been too severe. This past year was the first year since that awful Easter freeze of '07 that she and any of my other established hybrid musks rebloomed. If Lavender Lassie is doing okay, it blooms heavily in the spring and then a little more in the fall, but that is about it. No magic answer on this one.

The two together don't sound to great but I grew Hot Cocoa when I lived in Fl.(Winter Haven and Port St. Lucie) This is one of those roses that benefits GREATLY when grafted onto fortuniana root stock. I had one own root, one on Dr Huey and then one on fortuniana. The one own root was a pathetic little thing and the one on Dr Huey wasn't much better. The one on fortuniana was a beautiful 5' tall bush covered in fantastic foliage from top to bottom with those uniquely beautiful blooms that covered the plant. I'm pretty sure Nelson Roses (blue pots) carries it. Check with your local nursery. Or use your computer and go to Nelson Roses web site and find the closest nursery that they stock. I know how you feel about Hot Cocoa. The first time I saw it I went "blawh". Then it's unique color grew on me and it became a wonderful rose in my garden. It's one of those colors that you either end up loving or one you call, "liver on a stick".