Maybe we can repost this with a note NOT to reply that way it stays at the top? Is there a way we can sticky this?

I am not using tobacco tea on aloes. I'm sorry that it sounds like I spray tobacco tea willy-nilly around the yard. I use it on ants in orchids in my trees and aphids on roses with a lot of success. Have never seen any adverse affects from it. I don't use it often but in summer in Florida aphids are rampant and I don't use commercial pestacides because of the butterflies and honey bees who inhabit my yard. I don't use it on any host or nectar plants. With exception of kitchen herbs I don't grow a table garden. My gardens are to attract birds, butterflies and bees. In my reading and talking with some horticulture people I've found little can be done about the aloe disease showing up in my aloes that have always been healthy. I simply wondered if anyone has had experience with this....I never have seen it before. I've had lots of experience with herbals and natural remedies and certainly understand that organics are highly toxic. Like I always say "just because it's an herb doesn't make it safe.....poison ivy is an herb". Sorry, I wasn't clear.

Sorry to hear that your Penny Mac is not doing so well, ditnc. Some of mine are starting to show the behavior that you are describing. In my case, it appears to be caused by excessive winds and higher temperatures. For me, this is a problem during the summer. The winds cause large-leafed shrubs to loose moisture thru the leaves faster than they can absorb thru the roots and I get wilting. Days with winds around 25mph or more may trigger this problem so I keep an eye on weather forecasts and water extra the night before days with Wind Advisories by the Weather Service. There are some things that you can do to alleviate the problem. Placing the shrub in an area that is not windy, obviously, will help. Maintaining a lot of mulch (3-4") will also help. Surround the pot with another object so the sun does not directly strike the pot. And water the soil early in the morning on windy days (or water the night before if you do not have time in the mornings). If I see a wilting episode that looks really bad, I immediately water them. Otherwise I check the soil to see if it is dry, moist or what. If the soil is dry, I water. If moist, I leave them alone and water if they have not recovered in the morning. If the soil is wet, I try to see what is causing that. Normally, hydrangeas in moist soil will recover on their own by nightfall or by the next morning. If they do not recover by the next morning, give them a full extra watering or maybe half a watering. However, if you notice that they never recover and remain wilted -even on days that are not windy- then this could indicate that they are starved for oxygen or have developed root rot. Root rot, a fungal infection, has similar symptoms as those of insufficient watering or windy days. The leaves wilt but stay wilted forever. This is normally the result of the roots not being able to absorb moisture for the leaves above because they are rotting due to too much standing water or water that does not drain well. An example of this would be if the pot's draining holes are clogged; the plant roots cannot absorb oxygen and begin to decay. If they stay in wet conditions for long then they rot. If you catch it early, the shrub can recover. So keep an eye on the wilting episodes and on the soil moisture. Make sure that water does not accumulate on the bottom of the pot. Give the shrub about 1 gallon or so of water if the soil feels dry or almost dry. Plants that are stressed should not be fertilized but.... the other side of the coin is that plants in pots need to be fertilized more often because the frequent waterings tend to leech the important minerals out through the drain holes. So if you want to know whether the soil does not have enough minerals, you can get one of those soil test kits found in nurseries. They are useful for checking if the soil pH is ok and if the soil has enough N-P-K. They are cheap and not particularly accurate but eh� close enough. If you are following the instructions on the fertilizer labels, you should be ok. Do not go overboard with some of the products used to turn the blooms blue. You could end up damaging roots if you apply too much of the amendment. Too much sulfur causes the problem because iot can burn roots. Espoma is a good company with good products. Good luck, Luis

Oops sorry my intent was not to confuse or to incite "wonton lust" it was just pure ignorance. Mindy its good that you brought this up because I think I added the same frustration and confusion to the plant swap. Think I am going to move on to Mid Atlantic.just a square peg. Katy Mindy, Answering this one is like choosing which one of my three daughters is my favorite, which like every good parent I say is impossible. Then again if I had to chose right now as of this moment it is my oldest who is coming home next weekend for a non stop marathon in Excell instruction in the hopes that I will be able to combine records from junk drawers, sweat shirt pockets, ect. and put together a concise record and maintenance plan for the yard that extends beyond the present "Oh you mean the big bush in the front yard." Oops once again I digress here is my list of favorite shrubs as of November 6 at 10:00am. 1. Myrica pensylvanica I have fallen for the quiet elegance of this plant Zone (2) 3 to 6 suspect to 8 2. Ilex glabra compacta & shamrock I love how these shrubs work well in both full sun formal situations as well as shady woodland. Zone 4 to 9 3. Ilex koehne Wirt L Winn beautiful large leaf and great berries Zone 7 to 9 4. Ilex pendunculosa Zone 5 5. Ilex meserveae all blues??, and Nellie R Steven- Zone 6-9 6. Ilex Rock Garden Zone 6 - 9 7. Spirea pink flowering - what a color work horse Zone 4-7 (8) 8. Hydrangea macrophylia Altona great depth of color vivid blue/purple, good fall color, nice leaf, consistent bloomer. *** 9. Hydrangrea macrophylia Niedersachen great color and delicate petals. *** 10. Hydrangea Lilacina nice lacecap lavender petal blue center with added interest of great fall leaf color *** 11. Hydrangea quercifolia both Queen and Snowflake Zone 5-9 12. Vaccinium corymbosum Blue Ray Zone 3 to 7 (8) 13. Vaccinium angustifolium Zone 2 to 5 (6) 14. Clerodendrum trichotomum Zone 6 (7) to 9 15. Callicarpa japonica Luxurians just when I think all of the excitement has left the garden. Zone 5 to 8 16. Viburnum nudum Wintethur great fall color 17. Viburnum burkwoodii really formal shrub and the flower scent in spring is intoxicating Zone 4 to 8 18. Viburnum setigerum Aurantiacum wow the orange peach berries in the fall next to the burgundy leaves of Hydrangea Quercifolia. Zone 5 to 7 19. Chamaecyparis obtuse Nana Zone 4 to 8 20. azeala Polly Hills Yuka 0 to minus 10 degrees 21. Rhododendron Cunninghams White re-blooms in the fall - ? Check with your local nursery This is a great thread I have already added too many selections to my spring wish list. I am particularly lusting after the swamp azalea. Katy *** I grow more varieties of hydrangea macrophylia than I want to admit to either my DH or you and considered to the best of my ability what I thought was a special macrophylia that to date has been under used in New England.