Louise, I have DLs Purple D'Oro, Little Business, Little Bumble Bee, Custard Candy, Lavender Tonic, 1 fan of Coach's Pride, Pandora's Box, Duke of Durham, Raspberry Pixie and Siloam New Toy. I would be interested in trading fan for fan for: Get Set  1 Lavender Doll  1 Rose Veil  1 Fairy Tale Pink  1 Prairie Blue Eyes  1 If this interests you, PLMK. Thanks, Pat

Bill, I too also plant way too many and then share. You might want to share with people with mental illness living in Assisted Living facilities. I work in such a facility and most of the people there are fine a great deal of the time. Often they are extremly bored and watching and tending for plants and flowers would be an excellent diversion from the monotony. Many mental illnesses, especially bi-polar are cycular in nature. Some people cycle faster or more often than others. Many do well on medication, just need monitoring to take it, and educated intervention during rough periods or when their dosing needs adjusting. Most of the residents where I work differentiate between "really crazy" or "nuts"(their terminology)and off hand comments that the user didn't intend as offensive. There is a symantic parallel between the current connotations of the word "gay". Remember when it used to mean "happy"? TV and movies don't accuratly portray the masses with mental illness. Very few are actually scary. They are generally just pretty ordinary people. In this country serious illness' get ignored, until someone of star status is afflicted, ie Michael J. Fox and Parkinson's disease, Christopher Reeves and head injury, Magic Johnson and AIDS etc etc... When this happens tons of money gets pumped in to research and the general population benefits from knowledge and understanding about the illness. People also realize it happens to others and there shouldn't be any shame in seeking treatment. I sincerely hope Brittney Spears uses her star status to educate people and funnel financial resources into research, treatment and cures. While waiting for the world to evolve we can all spread some cheer with our abundance!

One new clematis I was VERY impressed with is SEMU ... great color and a true bloom machine! Last year my new plant had grown to about 4' tall and 2/3rds of the vine was covered in blooms of the most awesome blue coloring ... this link shows the color accurately. Here is a link that might be useful: SEMU

Mold and rust? Maybe. There's always consequences. You've just got to decide which is more important. My humidity is down some in my greenhouse right now. Anywhere from 60-70%. My cacao is doing fine but doesn't seem to have the vigor it did when the humidity was higher...and mine is pretty established. Your PH sounds fine. It is also important to shade your young plant. It can handle some filtered sun later on. I would stay away from fertilizing for a while. It is under stress from shipping and lack of optimum conditions. Here is some info you might find helpful. Humidity A hot and humid atmosphere is essential for the optimum development of cocoa trees. In cocoa producing countries relative humidity is generally high, often as much as 100% during the day, falling to 70-80% during the night. Light and shade The cocoa tree will make optimum use of any light available and has been traditionally grown under shade. It's natural environment is the Amazonian forest which provides natural shade trees. Shading is indispensable in a cocoa tree's early years. Soil Conditions Cocoa is grown in a wide variety of soil types. Physical properties - Cocoa needs a soil containing coarse particles to leave free space for roots and with a reasonable quantity of nutrients to a depth of 1.5m to allow the development of a good root system. Below that level it is desirable not to have impermeable material so that excess water can drain away. Cocoa will withstand waterlogging for short periods but excess water should not linger. The cocoa tree is sensitive to a lack of water so the soil must have both water retention properties and good drainage. Chemical properties - The chemical properties of the topsoil are most important as there are a large number of roots here for absorbing nutrients. Cocoa can grow in soils with a pH in the range of 5.0-7.5. It can therefore cope with both acid and alkaline soil, but excessive acidity (pH 4.0 and below) or alkalinity (pH 8.0 and above) must be avoided. Cocoa is tolerant of acid soils provided the nutrient content is high enough. The soil should also have a high content of organic matter, 3.5% in the top 15 centimetres of soil. Soils for cocoa must have certain anionic and cationic balances. Exchangeable bases in the soil should amount to at least 35% of the total cation exchange capacity (CEC) otherwise nutritional problems are likely. The optimum total nitrogen/total phosphorus ratio should be around 1.5.