hi & thank you both for your responses. i do not own a cat so thats ruled out. I have other plants that are planted in an organic soil type thing which on the bag states is a mix of "compost bark, sphagnum peat moss, pasteurized poultry litter, and an organic wetting agent" that are doing quite well. do you think i should replant these 2 in this type of soil? the room my plants are in is approx 16x18 and the only source of natural light is through my sliding patio doors. the room temp is at a constant 65 degrees Fahrenheit. i dont know what could be causing those burn marks on the leaves of my janet craig, its kept in a low lighted corner. the pot that the pachira is in is 7"tall x 6"diameter, the tree itself is 13.5" tall from the soil line to the top most leaf.

you're right, ward, I found mine lying down on top of the hibiscus after the rains from dennis blew through here. I staked it with a broken shovel handle, which it promptly pulled to the ground, too. that plant is heavy. I put the handle back up and put a rock the size of a shoebox at the base of it, which is working. give this thing some swingin room, folks. ward, can you teach me how/when to collect seed from tithonia?

I'm not really sure what kind of peony you have but you can always bring a picture of it to your local nursery. They will be able to help you identify it. As for whether or not something is wrong with your peony, your peony looks okay to me. Sometimes when it's too hot and there is no rain, the buds may shrivel up. This has happened to me many times, I end up picking the buds off and my peony is okay the following year. I would try to clear the area around your peonies. There seems to be a lot of little plants growing inside and around the stems. When there isn't enough air circulation, peonies can develop gray mold or bortrytis. I would then try to clear away some of the dirt around the stems. Peonies should not be planted more than 2 inches deep. Otherwise, they won't flower. I would add some bonemeal or Neptune's Sea Harvest around each of the peony plants. Stay away from the artificial type fertilizers, they can do more damage than good. Lastly, get some peony rings to support the leaves. I wouldn't cut the leaves off unless there was a disease. Peonies, like other plants, need their leaves to photosynthesize food in order to develop a strong root system. Peonies are hardy plants and can live for up to a 100 years given they are planted in the right conditions. Good luck!

The white dots are salt deposits left behind when sap that makes its way to the leaf surface evaporates. ..... not sure what caused the brown, crusty patches on the epidermis. It could be any number of things: sunburn (photo-oxidation), something phytotoxic landing on the leaves (like hair spray or mist from a spray room deodorizer), air pollution (smokers in the house?), over-watering/oedema, a cleaning agent that might have been used to remove dust from leaves ....... Really - there's not enough info to make a meaningful diagnosis. Al