I also divide my shastas in the spring, mine also stay green all winter. I have several varities some yes do stay lanky after the divide and some get a little more full by the end of the year. This year I plan to attempt to split some of mine this fall. I have never split my shastas in the fall but I am going to try it this year since our weather has been so weird lately. My suggestion is not dig up the entire plant just the part you want to thin out. I take my hand shovel put it approximately where I want to seperate it from the rest of the plant. Thats where I dig, so that the main part of the plant will not have to suffer through the shock along with the part I seperated. Oilpanter is right about taking cuttings, shasta's root extremely easily from cuttings. You can do the cuttings during the growing season of the plant. Though most shastas totally benefit from a complete split every so often. Shasta's are supposedly a short lived plant. Its advised on some varities to actually split every 3 years and remove the middle and disregard, since the majority of the blooms come from the "new" shoots. I personally think dividing in fall will be ok since I not only notice my plant to stay green all year but I also notice new growth in the winter months. I would be curious to hear from others in warmer zones to find if they have tried splitting their shastas in the fall.

Tips on setting up a swap if you don't have any in your area already. 1. Pick a date/time and a place. (find a partner or 2 to help you) The date: Your date should be sometime around the average last frost or later and not on a holiday weekend. This gives people time to do the spring bed clean up, and divide perennials that need dividing and pull out extras of what ever they want to pass on, and also get them potted up and labeled. When people take home starts of divided plants they'll want to get them in the ground as soon as they can and give them the best shot at getting established with the least amount of stress possible. The time: Some swaps start at 9am... some later. Its up to you. Try to gage travel time and set up time. Most of the swaps around here are on Saturday to give people time to get things planted on Sunday. But lots of people can't come due to work or children's sports activities. Carrie and I tried Sunday afternoons and it works out just fine. More people can make it then and plant out when they can. The place: Any place that has lots of parking, shelter in case of rain and restrooms close by. Parking is the most important, shelter is second in importance. Plants are messy.. so if you chose to a swap someplace indoors you'll need to be prepared to clean up. Outdoors is much easier, all you'll need is a broom. :) We tend to hold them at public parks, which means someone has to reserve the pavilion, and pay the fees. You can solicit donations if you want. Carrie and I just pay for it ourselves. It doesn't cost much for only 2 -3 hours. I have been to swaps at people's homes and its great. You get to see their gardens and it just feels more laid back. However if your swap has lots of people it doesn't work out so good with people trying to park and needing restrooms and traipsing all over your yard and house. :( 2. Rules... read the rules other swaps use, and take what you want. Just keep it simple. Too many rules will confuse and keep people from attending. Each gardener makes their own trades and now has to do a trade they are not happy with. 3. Promote! We use garden web for most of it. Post on the exchanges pages. We watch our State forum and contact any poster who is close by to invite them. You can also use other garden forums where you can find local gardeners. Encourage new gardeners. Even if they don't have plants to share, they can bring other stuff to trade. Eventually they will have plants to share. I chat up people I meet at garden centers and Walmart too. :) About a month before the swap I print up fliers and drive around locally. If I see a home that looks like someone _really_ gardens there I stop the car knock on the door and talk to them! Be sure to praise their hard work, tell them about yourself and your plant swap. Personally invite them to come. Hand them that flier with ALL the details and a way for them to contact you with questions. I put my email address on it and the link to the Texas Garden Web exchanges page so they can check out all the pre trading going on. If the gardener isn't home, leave the flyer for them. I also sent out info to everyone in our HOA via email. Just talk it up. Church, work, neighbors, PTA, what ever other groups you are involved with. If you live in a small town, perhaps contact the local newspaper about it? If they (or you) can write up an article about it ahead of time, that could get some people to show up. Supplies for your swap: I bring: extra tables, and a wagon for hauling plants. If possible have some teenagers to help haul plants to and from the parking lot. a clip board with extra paper and pens name tags and signs to put on various tables. We set up a check in table: name tags, and sign in sheet. On that sheet get names, phone numbers and emails. You'll want to be able to keep in touch with these people! We've established a little group on a yahoo list and have get togethers and garden tours of each other's yards and meals together a few times a year now. We do swaps in Spring and Fall. Munchies...if you want or not its up to you. Pot luck meal or snacks what ever you decide you want to mess with. We're about snacks and drinks.. frees us up for more plant talk. I usually bring coffee, cups, sugars, creamer and a cooler with bottled water. Door prizes... if you want. There are several ways to go about it. We set up an Orphan Table... this is where people put plants they do not want to take home and no one has traded for them. These are for anyone who wants them. If in the end there are still orphans you can take them home or pass them on to any group who can use them. Most of the gardeners I know are just happy to find someone to give their extras to and help someone get started. Have someone prepared to take photos! You won't have time to do that yourself. You'll be busy meeting everyone, introducing people and talking plant trades! Most of the people coming probably won't know each other or have never been to a swap, so its up to you (and your buddy) (s) as hosts to make everyone feel welcome and answer questions. Its all pretty laid back and informal. Natural leaders in the group will emerge. Just try to make sure everyone feels welcome and valuable. Grandbaby is calling... if you have more questions just ask..I'll be around.

Yes, I got this plant from a division from susan a few years ago, and since I have dug up offspring from the spreading 3' wide clump a couple of times for other people. I try to get as much roots as I can, and the division would look wilted and sad, but would tend to recover after a couple of weeks. Its one of those durable plants that doesn't disappear in the winter. I like it.

Zeolites are molecular sieves, crystalline materials with a porous atomic structure. The zeolite's nanoscale pores provide an immense amount of void space. In addition, the void space exhibits an ionic charge that allows it to bind water molecules conditionally. Zeolites can hold water very tightly, but will release water readily in response to subtle environmental changes. In industry, zeolite beds capture water from wet gas streams. At several atmospheres of positive pressure, a zeolite will bind the water content in a gas stream, allowing the dry gas to pass. Zeolites have large surface areas and a large capacity for adsorption. However, when the pressure is dropped, just slightly, zeolite can quickly release this same water content. The equilibrium condition toggles based on a minor pressure adjustment. The benefits of zeolites are (1) a high holding capacity, (2) a tight binging of water in wet environments, (3) a rapid release of water in dry environments. Furthermore, these materials are durable and their porosity is molecular. When the material is crushed, it reveals additional surface area. Expanded shale is not a true zeolite. It is a haydite material, possessing the same crystalline structure but lacking the ionic interactions. The absence of ionic exchange is not necessarily a bad thing. It seems true zeolites can force salts out of the water (hence the sieve term), while haydites do not exhibit enough ionic potential to squeeze salts from solution. At high salinity, water won't enter the haydite; it will flow from the haydite to dilute the salt. I've attached an interesting article on "bonzai mediums", including mediums that behave like expanded shale. The applications may seem very specific, but the article details a plethora of sophisticated soil amendments. Expanded shale looks like a great product. I'm down the street from a major producer, and I'm tempted to drive over and ask them about it. A local garden show, Gardenline, has verified that expanded shale can be used as a topdressing on existing lawns. Has anybody used shale for amending hard clay and turf drainage issues? I'm looking for a top dressing recipe and a rate of application.