Hi Donna, welcome to the forum - we're glad to have you. I'm kinda new myself and can't help with the red bloch, but I can help with Picasa pictures... in your Picasa album, click on the picture you want to add to the post so it's large, then to the right of the picture under the "Photo Information" click on the hot link that says "Link to this Photo". It'll display a couple of boxes with the url for the picture in it. Pick the size of the picture you want to use from the "Select Size" drop down box (medium is usually good) and then copy and paste the contents of the "Embed Impage" box in your post. If you don't want to embed you can copy and past the contents of the "Link" box into the forum post box labeled "Optional Link URL"

Hope that helps and good luck with the seedlings! If you wind up needing some replacements I've got way too many Red Lion x Blossom Peacock from this past spring and can send you some :-) Alana

Alana, Thanks for the help with the photos. Tomorrow I'll print your instructions out and try it after a good nights sleep! Up until 3 years ago I'didn't know the first thing about computers, I've still got a lot to learn! Thanks again, Donna

First... Welcome to the forum! The more, the merrier!

Second... I've had some minor trouble with these microscopic mites, myself. I use Schultz's 3 in 1 spray, which is an insecticide/miticide/fungicide all in one. I spray the leaves and bulbs, and about 2 weeks later, I follow it up with another round of spritzing with the 3 in 1 spray. I've found that if the bulbs aren't too infested, the spray will work.

However, these mites usually show themselves with red or rusty looking streaking on the leaves and scapes... not blotches or circle shapes. You may not have mites... you may have a fungal issue, instead.

Captan does wonders for fungal issues... in fact, I use it as a preventative when potting up any bulb. I use a small paintbrush and lightly dust some Captan powder on any part of the bulb that looks bruised or raw, and I dust a bit around the bottom of the bulb, where it connects to the basal plate. Then, I pot them up.

Dusting your bulbs with Captan before storing them for their dormancy is a good idea, whether you have fungal issues or not. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

If you've been doing some reading here in the forum, then I'm sure you've run into many posts that talk about the different mediums us bulb lovers prefer, and why we prefer them.

One of the main reasons I stopped using bagged potting soil is because I experienced a lot of rot and fungus issues. Since I've begun using a more porous, bonsai-like inorganic medium, I've had no rot or fungus issues, whatsoever.

Most regular potting soils are too fine in particle size, and decompose too quickly, which causes the soil to collapse. The roots literally suffocate. The soil may stay too wet for too long a time around the rootball, and because there's very little aeration, there's no exchange of oxygen to the roots and gases away from the roots. A plant's roots need to "breathe".

When you run into any of the links I've posted about mediums, please read the articles. They will explain in detail the relationship between roots, the soil, water... and they'll give you some very nifty medium recipes to try.

After much experimentation, I've come to the conclusion that my bulbs are happiest and healthiest in an inorganic medium made up of larger particles which allows for excellent and quick drainage, aeration, and I have complete control over moisture and feeding.

Anyway... glad to have you joining us! Keep reading... you'll be glad you did! There are a lot of very knowledgeable gardeners here, and we think we've got one of the greatest groups on GardenWeb!