Would love to trade! Have heuchera ruby bells, salvia new dimension rose, geranium vision violet & ur welcome to check out my tradelist. Would love the blue spruce sedum, the galanthus & the helleborus. Send me an email if interested since i'll prob 4get to check back:) also have other hardy sedums..

These plants have fat carrot-like roots that are water-storage organs. Soil that stays moist, soil devoid of air (all tiny particles like peat or sand,) and/or having tons of these 'carrots' filling the pot, smushing each other are conditions spider plant doesn't like. I've had an experimental plant that I kept when I dug up an infestation of this plant from my ground at my Mom's house last November. It had been there for a few years and some of the roots were a foot under the surface. One especially nice-looking plant got literally dropped in a pot and placed under some shrubs, where it still sits 9 months later. Oak leaves have fallen in there, but nobody has ever added 'dirt' or watered this plant. It gets a drink when it rains. I put it on the driveway to take a (pretty crappy) pic with my phone a few weeks ago. The babies have tons of roots (they were under the leaves/mulch in the under-the-shrubs area) but there's no brown tips or issues besides a few nibbles on leaves. These plants would rather have no soil at all if it's not chunky, porous, airy, no standing water in the bottom of a hanging basket that doesn't have a hole at the bottom surface (just a recessed hole in the middle, about 1/2 inch above the bottom) although also it's really humid here, so this "don't try this at home" without taking that into account. A pot big needs to be big enough for the carrots. The classic plastic hanging basket pot really isn't deep enough for one of these to be happy/look good for long at all, though the less water-retentive the mix, the better the results would be. If not using tap water, or there is rain used during summer, a bigger/deeper pot, one could spider looking great as long as possible. A wire thing with coir liner might work a lot better. This is interesting to hear also, I think. I kept all of the material I dug up in a plastic storage tub and brought it here to compost. It stayed in there for 7 months until I dumped the contents into compost area since it took that long for it to look dead. Last weekend I was pitchforking around in there, and encountered the roots, not at all yet decomposing, just storing water. I'm not (too) worried they'll grow because I've buried and done everything I could think of before with the 'carrots' to see if they could grow new plants but have never gotten one to do it. Not convinced it's impossible though. Has anybody? If/when repotting, the carrots can be cut to make room to put it back in the same pot with new soil. The more you cut the roots, the more effects you'll see after in the foliage, but it will be offset with new growth once new roots start growing. Whatever roots/carrots are left on should be spread/fanned out when put back in the pot, so each has as much room as possible to spread, and starts as high up in the pot as possible, using the space most effectively. After repotting, many times I've just sheared everything off just above the...

Well, I'm new to this forum and I haven't worked out how to get to the photographs, but I guess from the descriptions that they're in a pretty poor state and suffering from too much competition or poor soil. The biggest single problem that they cannot deal with is poor drainage. Thereafter you should be able to overcome most situations with a bit of TLC and an appreciation of what they like best, you do not need perfect conditions by any means but you have to give them a chance. Like any plant they need a good start, once established they are far better at coping with competition, drought and neglect than in their first season. They prefer a deep rich moisture retentive(but never waterlogged) soil. Thin stony soil or competition from either tree roots or too much surrounding vegetation will result in stunted dwindling plants. They prefer to be shaded from the midday sun but too much shade(low branches) will cause them to be stunted. They're happiest at the woodland edge, or where there is a high canopy, light shade but good light. They will survive in most soils but slightly alkaline will suit them best, so spent mushroom compost with it's lime content is good, otherwise aim for slightly on the alkaline side and you should be OK, they will grow in neutral to slightly acid as well. If you recognise some of these as failings in what you have, try lifting the plants, loosening the soil, adding humus rich compost, raise the level of the soil using logs or something and planting in fresh rich soil above the previous level, they need a depth of at least one spit(forkdepth) of good soil, preferably with the spit below loosened and enriched with compost before planting. Give them a good mulch in the spring when you cut the old leaves back. If you have good soil they will not need feeding, but if not, feed them during the growing season, immediately after the flowering season,May-July. Half meet these requirements and you should have good healthy plants in 18 months. Meet all of them and you will have self sown seedlings, an abundance of flowers, and life long friends. Get hold of a copy of Elisabeth Strangman & Graham Rice's book "The Gardeners Guide to Growing Hellebores" it's what got me started. Cheers, Greenmanplants

I take soy isoflavones twice a day - no night sweats - a few mild hot flashes, no problems with dryness - my skin is fine, now and then I get hot flashes - usually when nervous or stressed - never been on HRT's....really never considered it. I know many women suffer much more than I do...I do have problems sleeping, but always have and I rest when I need to....really menopause has not made a huge impact on my life - maybe a little dent once in a while but that is all. I do not want to be on any medication of any kind unless I absolutely have to....I had a bone scan earlier this year and I have no sign of or projections for osteoporosis. I'll just keep taking the soy - I'm 55 and have been in menopause for 5 years.