pruned them per the advise of the nursery ==>>> you need to find better nurserymen ... let me get this straight.. they suggested.. you cut off the food making machines known as leaves.. after transplanting them ... see any inherent logic problems in that ... the suggestion is so old school.. i bet that old man was wearing overalls ... I must admit I wasn't good about watering ==>> and that is why they look like this ... water properly.. late into fall and they should make it ... rather bulletproof other than transplanting and not watering ... if they live.. do the happy dance. and dont complain they dont flower... they will.. sooner or later ... i dont know what your plan was.. but they are probably planted 3 to 5 feet too close together ... and within 5 years.. you wont be seeing anything off that side of the patio ... and if that was the plan.. you win ... if not.. we should discuss relocating them after the leaves fall off ... more facts needed in that regard ... if you are interested ... good luck.. you will be beating them back with a stick in a few years ... besides.. its fall.. they will be nudey soon enough.. and dont be surprised.. if they lose their leaves early ... so be it.. just keep watering.. PROPERLY ... fall is root growing time.. regardless of air temps.. they are doing their work in the soil .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

I've been seeing Cabbage Whites since last week, Cathy, so they shouldn't be too far away for you. The reports on Monarch Watch reflect the Monarchs are at the Texas/Oklahoma line, so maybe soon. But none of my milkweed is up yet. Sandy, I was talking about Dawn. She just reported seeing lots of butterflies - no Monarchs yet. I need to ask her to let us know when she sees, and if she sees, the Monarchs crossing the Red River. Darn, MissSherry, I just cut down and tossed my Xmas Cassias, pods and all. I'll check and see if there is one I missed, which is usually the case, if you would like me to send you some seed. They grow so fast here, so I would imagine they would grow even faster in Mississippi, unless you intend to get plants. Are you sure no seed dropped on the ground even? MissSherry - my Ichang Lemon made it through the winter! Now, I have faith in its hardiness. McKenzie Farms is a great place to order hardy citrus from and Bob McKenzie is extremely knowledgeable. He comes highly recommended on the Citrus Forum. A lot of people in Texas were worried about their Satsumas. Has anyone tried growing Cestrums? I have two (nocturnum and Bacchus), and can't wait to see how they will do as an annual. I try something new in the form of a tropical every year. I hear they are pretty easy to grow. We'll see. Whenever someone tells me that I always seem to have trouble with it. LOL! Give me something and tell me I'll never be able to grow it and somehow it does great. It's psychological, I'm telling you! The second year with my Verbena B's, none of them came back from the roots, until last year when they did exactly that. Hmmmmmmm. Sandy, have fun at the Market! Susan

I am not sure that I have alot of advise. But I am also new at being a stepmom. We have been married a year and a half and I dont have any kids of my own. I have SD14, SD13, SS11. We get them EOW,and Wednesday's after school. The oldest SD14 is the one I have the hardest time with. The girls would rather not come visit their dad at all. The dont call on birthday either, they only call when they want something. He calls them evry night and leaves a message. They never answer. They at first were very ugly but my DH stood up for me after we had a few converstions about it. He wanted me to stand up for myself (i do now) but at first I was scared to hurt their feelings, to offend them, make my DH mad, make BM mad. The crazy thing is when they are being ugly to me if I do say something to let them know I will not tolerate that, then they are nicer, and alot more respectful. This just happened the other day. SD14 was sitting on couch, my DH was by the back door, I asked him to let our dog in, she piped and said "why dont you get up and let her in yourself" I looked her in the face and told her to keep her mouth shut and not to speak to me if she didnt have anything nice to say. 10 minutes later she sat next to me at dinner and told me all about her acting lessons and the skits they did. My point is stand up for yourself let them know you will not tolerate the ugliness. On the weekends we get the kids BM calls my DH. He litterally has to write everything down that she tells him. SS game times, SD game times, (btw they dont speak to dad at games either if BM is around)acting class times, ect. Yes this aggravates me but he can not say "No we are doing that on our time" its the kids activity, does not matter who's time it is. They live with BM she is the one who knows thier schedules and what they have going on. And usually if they need anything, like science fair supplies, school supplies, new glasses and of that kind of stuff she will tell them to have dad get it, which he does. So I would not think to much about that part as long its legit stuff that for the kids. I understand trying to make SK's like you. I still do this and cause myself more greif because I try so hard. I have noticed when I dont try so hard its usually a better outcome. The advise about planning something with your DD or freind and giving dad time alone with his kids is great. We went to a stepfamily seminar and that was suggested. Just be careful of how often you take that time. I did this before we went to the seminar, I hang out in my room to get some peace (still do at times)my DH did not like this at all. He thought I was trying to get away from his kids ( I was, lol)and it hurt all thier feelings. I work every other Sat which happend to fall on the wkends we have kids, the kids got offended that I did not want to be there on Saturdays with them. I figured out they want me there. When I get home they surround me and tell me everything that happened since I've been gone. So time away is good, family bonding time is good too. We have had a rough year, we have had really good times, and really bad times. I can say now I do love my Stepkids, I would do anything for them. The way they put it at the seminar is "Stepfamilies are like a good pot roast being cooked in a crock pot" It takes a while for it all to cook and come together but ends up better for taking the time to simmer than to cook it so fast. I apoligize for such a long post, but when I read yours it hit home and wanted to tell you my experiences. Good Luck!!

I just made an appointment with our local county ext agent for Monday. Early blight here in E. Tn. has been vigorous this year. Some of my determinates have been hit so hard every leaf is severely affected and the first fruits are just now reaching blush. Many of the fruit may just become chow chow. I'm having the ext. agent come over though to inspect 2 plants that are experiencing a different problem. I want to get a professional diagnoses to see what is hitting both the stems and leaves. He mentioned that many of the commercial farms (we are in a popular tomato growing region) have already been reporting late blight. :-( The large number of big farms all around me is partially to blame for the high incidence of tomato diseases in this area. So many tomatoes, so many spores. :-((