saccharum: No offense--I am a natural exaggerater, but do my best to restrain myself. As for the copper fungicide's toxicity. I have noted in these forums before my suspicion that it has some toxicity to sapwood if it soaks down inside a tree and gets at it from the inside. I have not reported all the things I have tried with this, but I did try applying this stuff to real extremes, and at what I would call almost ridiculous over applications I suspect some marginal toxicity. One pine tree that I poured this stuff on in amounts I cannot accurately document had a portion of the side of the trunk under the application zone die. But this was a tree that a storm broke half of off, the broken part being about 14 inches in diameter, and where it broke there was a sunken area where I could actually pool this stuff. But in my experience, the part of the trunk under this really huge broken area may have died anyway. In another instance where I applied it very, very liberally I noticed some bleeding beneath the cut, which was a cut to remove half of a forked tree and the cut was about 5 inches across. I did this experimental overapplication on this tree, a Norway spruce, because it was a weak tree growing in the shade of other spruces and a white pine. A stronger tree growing in full sun may not have shown the same symptom. The tree, however, is still alive and has not shown any loss of vigor. It is in substantial shade but is "plugging along" nicely considering that. Both of these instances were cases where the cut or the break was across the grain and the cut or break faced upwards and absorbed all the rain that fell also. I noticed no other instance of anything I would suspect was a toxic effect, and for a while--until I learned better, I applied more than needed. So I think it is in all probability safe. As for research--I have been talking to people for at least 20 years in several universities trying to get someone interested, but no luck so far. This liquid copper fungicide is the third thing I tried--it seemed obvious very soon that it was working, so I have tried nothing else since. But of course there are other things one could try. Part of my reason for trying this liquid copper fungicide is that it was my understanding that the copper itself was the active agent, and I thought that the copper would have some stability in the outdoor environment and would not break down so fast as other fungicidal compounds. Also, it is my understanding that the "liquid" copper fungicide is, in fact, a true liquid solution, and as such it would soak into the wood in a way that a wettable powder would not. A great many trees get fungal infections through injuries to the trunk or from pruning cuts made to remove very large limbs. It pains me to see this and I am convinced (I understand research needs to be done, if only to convince others) that it can be easily prevented. Many of the trees are trees loved by their owners, and in many cases these trees have a monetary value that would exceed several thousands of dollars. What a waste! Oh, I must note--even though I admit to a frequent tendency to exaggerate, I am not exaggerating about the ability of this liquid copper fungicide to stop fungal infections. Just to be clear--over the last 20 years, I have probably used this stuff on 200 trees. About 60 or 70 of these were spruce and pine trees (Norway spruce, white pine, red pine) that were forked. I cut half the fork off, leaving big ugly cuts, mostly sloping, but not always. Some of these cuts were at least 6" across. Many took 10 to 15 years to occlude, and some, after 20 years have not yet occluded. I have seen no evidence that I could recognize of any fungal infection whatsoever. And the wood at the surface of these cuts is as fresh and hard as a board in a lumber yard. I am not exaggerating this one tiny, tiny bit. I have also used this stuff on logging bumps and scrapes, some really huge, on various species of hardwood trees and hemlock, and as I reported above--no trace of fungal infection that I could detect. I have tried to renew this stuff every year--in some cases I missed a year or two, especially on the logging wounds which require a lot of walking to get to every year. One thing I would like research to show is how often it is necessary to reapply this stuff. I have wanted to be on the safe side, hence my reapplication every year, as far as I have had time and energy. Getting to all the treated trees over the 300 acres I have is a four day job, and an exhausting one at that. --Spruce

Sorry bk, I sometimes rush to type out an answer and don't pay enough attention. They do have a lot of mislabeled plants at the Lowe's nearer me, but not at the location where I made the purchases (Dartmouth, MA). Jo, Maybe I will put SSs on either side of the bench to highlight it, give some focus to the somewhat isolated bench, lighten the spot a little, if they do well it may encourage me to create a meadow around the bench of lighter plants and relieve the growing pressure I have from the building consensus to lighten up a little. Placing lighter hosta in the area of the ravine itself will draw the eye toward the light. Right now the rocks are light colored (for the most part) and that is where the attention should (must) be. I'm sure you might understand that after hauling tons of boulders and rocks to form the Ravine, I want it to command attention. Turning into quite a temperamental artist, Jon

A couple of things about Oasis: It is the nursery industry's standard method of propagation, and can by purchased in sheets already pre-formed with a hole in each square. I found some on eBay after learning I had to buy a case of sheets from nursery suppliers. You can also buy big blocks from any florist, and I like it better because it's deeper and the cutting is more secure. Oasis is designed to wick moisture up to cut flowers, and I think it's more important to make sure the foam never dries out than worrying about it standing in water. (Of course, I live in the desert, so nothing stays wet for long.) Different species are willing to root at different times of year, according to the hormones in their systems, which is why some refuse to root when they're blooming, but will root (from woody cuttings) when their dormant, and others root anytime (soft cuttings, tip cuttings). You can experiment till you want to cry, or look up the specific plant and see how and when the professionals propagate it. My greatest discovery is Tea Tree Oil, a fungicide and bactericide, available in health food stores. A few drops in the water ABSOLUTELY prevent mold, fungus, and other diseases. It works on humans; I figured it would work with plants, too, and I haven't seen mold or damping off since. Good luck!

My big mistake was waiting for the cotyledon leaves but the seeds mushed up before that ever happened. I did partial water changes. Maybe I should just have left them alone. The only one that I have had to root was stuck in the gritty mix.