olyagrove, tooooo funny about taking them to the swap and little interest was shown. I've done that myself. About five years ago, someone gave me a plant. Didn't know what it was; wasn't that interested, and it barely survived. I mean BARELY, because I completely neglected it. So this past winter, I finally take a picture and post it on the succulent website. Turns out, it is an orchid cactus (epiphyllum). After I saw the pictures of others in bloom, my attitude became "WOW! How cool!" Now I am loving this little stepchild, nurturing him along and hoping he will bloom. Take seedlings to the next swap and I bet they will be more popular now. :) Here is a link that might be useful: Images of blooming orchid cactus - if you are interested

Hi Again Gang, Quick couple of comments, otherwise, I'll come back for set-up later in the week (thx for yr. patience). Kerstin & Vickster, thx for yr. lovely comments. It's especially nice to know one's comments are helpful, that's definately my intent & of course, to help share the pleasure that Hoyas in particular have given me. Kerstin, if you haven't ordered yet, may I recommend H. Obovata. One of my favorites, really handsome, roundish, unusual looking leaves. A good grower yet entirely trouble free (for me anyway). Water roots readily & every time I make a new cutting to add to its pot they thrive; it's got new growth on every tip right now, really pretty, check out a pic to see if you like it. hasn't bloomed yet, but have only had it for 2.5 yrs. I'm confident it will when ready! Wire hangers are a great old trick, I have too many plants to spend money on accessories (180+ at least count 2 yrs. ago). I just open a wire hanger, fold it in half, form it into roughly a U shape & stick the ends down into a pot (using a pair of pliers). I save this for the big or heavy ones. Currently have wire hooped a Pubicalyx, the Obovata, my larger Lacunosa, my larger Bella, & a Findlaysonii. I'd say the bathroom Kerrii varieg. is next as it keep trying to grow into the shower stall. Orchid supports are also good, I have my Imperialis on one as tho' it's still small, it's quite heavy & I see it wants to get big. No Kerstin, I don't overlove them, tho' I see them every day 'cause they're in the kitchen, I really don't fuss at them much. Learned that lesson a long time ago. More for next time, but broadly speaking, I think my Lacunosa problems were mostly from drying out a bit too much, the current one is on a wick & so far, so good. Earline, what a fabulous display, & yes, I saw the blooms, while blizzarding no less, woo-hoo just marvelous! Makes me think I should bring mine over to the 'puter so they can see what they should be doing. My Tsangii buds should open in the next day or 2, wish I had a camera.

Thanks for your reply ademink. I agree with you. The easiest way to answer a question is to state the obvious, and then ignore the question being posed. What I am interested in though is knowing the difference between tardiflora and lancifolia, the proper nomencalture, their origens, and the differences between them. Ultimately, if such a plant exists I would like to find a true specimen of tardiflora, and hopefully not a tiny division of lancifolia being sold for $8. (The "We wouldn't begin to tackle these" mentioned in the description does not inspire great confidence in this nursery in me.) Do you think you can help with any of this? Does anyone have first hand experience with tardiflora, or can expound on the fine points of the destinction between it and lancifolia? Thank-you! Sincerely, Matt PS - this is a "high priority" thread - or at least not so unimportant as it may seem to collectors of the latest blue and yellow lsd-trip-esq variegated hosta. There are collectors among us who will waste money buying a plant they may already have if topics like these are not discussed and made public. I once wasted $100 purchasiing H. plantaginea - the fragrant August lily - from Hershey family nursery which turned out only to be some of the commonest green June flowering hostas. After much communication the owner resolved that, he always sold them as plantaginea, since they were a species, he thought it didn't matter and that people usually used them to hold soil on banks! When I sent them back, the louse refused to accept the shipment, resulting in the plants sitting in the post office, and returning to me as a pile of mush months later. (Incidentally, DO NOT order from Hershey Family Nursery; these people are incompotent as regards to knowledge of plants, and unscrupulous as regards to business practices.) Similarly, once ordering the Stout hybrid Hemerocallis "Autumn Minaret" I recieved instead some commoner June flowering orange daylily. The seller is a sweatheart though, and I kept them anyway. So as not to discourage you from buying with, the person selling the 10 eye clump of tardiflora - or what we think is tardiflora - is also a great seller to work with in my experience, and works hard I know to make her auctions accurate informative and honest.

Their store just off 301 is small & kind of sad. Go out the back door & under the covered area where it looks like they have 2000 doors. You really have to weed thru the stuff, but you'd be surprised. Their warehouse on Old Leonardstown Rd is only open Sat & Sun. I haven't been there yet. I never used to find what I needed at these places, either. Then I started haunting Community Forklift. I realized they got stuff in weekly and now it seems I almost always find something I need. I would really like to find old, paned windows that I could hang on my porch (after I rebuild it). The height of the screened area is 54", so tall is hard to find. I'm going back there tomorrow, though. They have a preemergent that's usually $30-some a bag for $5.00 and it's biodegradable. Cock-a-doodle-do. It's corn & chicken poop. Yummy. [LOL] Give it a try & keep an open mind. :) Christine