Do you know what sort of unusual AV's you're looking for? Do you by chance have an AV club in your area?

Hey Tracey, Mike in MN is supposed to have surgery today (your date): "Tracy--Sorry for the late reply....been dealing with pain issues more frequently lately from my old kidneys--will have surgery May 22 to remove both, leaving me with my most excellent transplant kidney.....I can't wait!" I pray it was a success for Mike, and wish him a speedy recovery. -Kadie

Dain, For myself, I would have to say that when I am growing a Swazicum, Obesum, etc.. The traits being leaf shape and girth of stem/Caudex would depend based on information and photo's I have seen of others mature plants. Having said this. We can only hope to have similarities to them. It is seeing the differences not only by different species or hybrid, but even within the same seed lot. You are doing well to have you seed grown plant blooming for you. Rick

I use a diluted castille soap spray. It kills them for sure but they do come back every so often. I use Dr Bronner's liquid pure castile soap, diluted in a spray bottle. Be careful with other soaps that aren't actually a natural soap, but a chemical detergent. From what I've read, what makes Dr. Bronner's so effective is the potassium salts of fatty acid. It's basically potassium hydroxide added to a vegetable oil based soap. "The fatty acids work effectively on soft-bodied insects like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips and white flies. These fatty acids dissolve or remove the insects cell membranes and their natural protective waxy coatings, causing death from excess water loss." It works 100% on my plants and trees. It must be a direct hit though so make sure you get everything. FYI I'm in 10b and it gets super hot here. I tried Neem oil in high heat and had significant leaf burn. It's better if you can move in to shade while the oil is on the leaf. It worked really well for me in cloudy weather for plants in the ground. Very effective. But it's too sunny here on a regular basis and the leaf burn can be bad. I also get a good amount of scale and aphid infestations on various trees and the castile soap kills them too. It's so much cheaper than the prepared insecticidal soaps. A little goes a long way. I get mine at Target. It's hard to find in the store! In my Target it's with the lotions, not with soaps, oddly. "Safer Brand" insecticidal soap is a ready made brand that contains potassium salts of fatty acids and this is from there site... So... What are Spider Mites? Adult spider mites are tiny plant pests that are actually a type of arachnid. Like spiders, they have eight legs and most species spin webs. They can be red, brown, yellow or light green in color. Natural & Organic Controls What? The combination of Insecticidal Soap and Botanical Pyrethrins will kill Spider Mites on contact if they are spotted on your plants and Neem oil helps prevent re-infestation by killing the egg and larval stages of the insect. How? Pyrethrin is a powerful nerve agent and will paralyze and kill the insect on contact. Keep in mind this soap is not like dish detergent, its a base from a blend of natural plant sources and pyrethrin oils and come from the chrysanthemum flower. An effective and organic combination... When? Spray Insect Soap & Pyrethrin as a contact killer. Use in accordance with directions on the product label. Spray the neem oil product in accordance with directions on the product label. Safer® Brand offers a variety of spider mite control products to help control and eliminate this garden pest and revive your plants. Please check out our spider mite control products for more details about how they work and how, when, and where they should be applied. ------ Reading this, it looks like the Neem kills the egg and larval stage, but not the adult which might be why you are still having this problem. The soap eliminates the adult for sure. I've never use pyrethrin but it sounds powerful lol. http://www.target.com/p/dr-bronner-s-unscented-baby-45-mild-pure-castile-soap-45-32-oz-46/-/A-10770135?lnk=rec|adaptpdph1|related_prods_vv|adaptpdph1|10770135|1