Tracy - just to add a bit - A. some plants are designed to sucker - they are trailers and should be grown multicrowned B. Some plants have the tendency to sucker when they are young - and if with a help of Fred's technique you keep removing the suckers as early as possible until they mature - you are home free. C. Some plants will sucker in your conditions no matter what - pass them to somebody else - very possibly they will behave better. D. All plants sucker when stressed - exactly as Fred explained. Try to baby them a bit - and if it doesn't help - you can call them category C - and get rid of them. TGIF Irina

Use a 4-1 mix. Mixing the nectar 1-1 or 2-1 or 3-1 will NOT get more birds! Just put half of the water in hot from the tap and either stir or shake with the sugar; when it has dissolved, put the other half of the water in and stir again. I mixed my sugar water about 3 1/2-1 for over 20 years (just a waste of sugar). I used to think mixing it stronger than the neighbor's would get me more birds (no way!). You just need lots of feeders or lots of red to get the birds to your feeders. They don't care if it is 2-1 or 5-1! Studies have shown that the stronger you mix the nectar, the less often the birds will come to get the neccessary calories. I did my own test with the nectar recently and they came much less to the 2-1 mix although it was probably just location. The birds drained the feeders exactly the same with 4-1 mix in all feeders. The more sugar will probably mean faster molding. I don't understand the fly-bys, but if a hummer dips into one of your feeders just once and flys off, there is a problem with the nectar (unless there is something to scare him off).

My thanks to all of you who posted comments, both good and bad. I can't begin to tell you how feedback about my florals opened my eyes, so I was able to change things for my next set of photos. I'd never think that removable "props" would turn someone off. I also have to say that you're taking it well and seem to appreciate the feedback. Those of us selling can now see our house through strangers eyes and what a potential buyer might think when seeing our house online. How the photos look will dictate whether they take the time to actually walk our houses. The last time our house was for sale we did not get any feedback, so I'm very thankful for this forum and hope that the feedback you got helps you. I noticed that the wallpaper in my home got some of the most frequent and critical remarks and it's left me wondering about something. Is wallpaper no longer in vogue in new or remodeled homes or is it that my particular wallpaper is not to the liking of most of you? I've walked a lot of new communities with model homes and can say that here they are still using wallpaper but not in all of the rooms. You might pick the nicest rooms to keep the wallpaper. I love the foyer wallpaper but not with the door color and not with the flooring. You might think to leave some of it up and paint other walls, using it as an accent. Back entrance wallpaper - I would take it down. Half bath - I like the wallpaper but not with the light fixture. Study - I've seen similar paper used in homes I've walked. Utility - dislike the walls - would sheet rock & paint 1st floor master - would paint 1st floor master bath - I like the paper but not for a room like this. I would paint and think about putting up beadboard 2nd floor master - while I like the top paper, I think it would look better painted. The wood on the door is much too dark. I'd also think about putting up a scarf on the windows, then opening the blinds for the photo. While I like pink, others do not :( Second floor vanity/dressing area - this paper you could get away with leaving. Bath 2, second floor - I would try to lighten this room up or leave the picture out. Living Room - I would paint this I also realize that the paneled family room is dated but my thoughts on that is to either paint the paneling a neutral color or rip off the paneling, put up sheetrock and then paint. I also want to install engineered wood flooring in that room and perhaps extend it in to the foyer where, I admit, the tile color is also dated. Another area of critical comments was due to my home having so much carpeting. Has carpeting also gone out of style or do I just have too many rooms with carpet? We just did this in the master bedroom. I would sheet rock. The carpet wouldn't bother me here. I'm one of the weird ones that actually likes carpet, especially for my bad back. Walking on wood floors kills me. BTW, the Saint Bernard that appeared in at least one photo and brought about a comment or two that some people wouldn't even consider buying a home where a dog had been passed away on June 10 much to my hurt. I'm in the process of cleaning up all traces of his presence here. That is, everywhere but in my heart! Very sorry for your loss. After 22 years, I still miss our German Shepherd.

Everybody talks about too much N. Let's discuss too much N. In the gardens, I toss organics, and feed weekly with my own mix (mostly urea) at a rate of 0.25 pounds of N per week per thousand square feet. It's a grand total of well over 2 pounds N per month, or far beyond the recommendation. The pots...succulents, perennials, and bulbs are treated rather gently and with organic feeding. Annuals I feed the absolute heck out of. Miracle-Gro plus organics every two weeks. Plus some other stuff I throw in, like some extra urea. And kelp. The result of "too much" N is a lot of blooms--just on gigantic plants (photo below of a strictly average year, August 10th). The difference here is that I've had the soil tested, balanced the garden soil to a decent pH of 6.3 (with a proper calcium-magnesium-potassium ratio, or, don't use a home test which tells you exactly nothing about the right balance), set the phosphorus levels high and balanced other resources high to compensate for phosphorus antagonism, etc. It's not everybody's cup of tea, and some plants absolutely do object to too much N. But...most don't. And in the past, petunias, lantanas, have all been amongst those in my garden that haven't. Actually, ask me about the three foot tall lantana with the tap root I couldn't get out for two years. Gorgeous. Sturdy. Never repeated.