Not long ago on the Container Gardening and Houseplants forum, there was considerable disagreement about houseplant 'dormancy' that may have seemed wide spread, but that had actually come from primarily two members who argued vehemently and against all reason that since houseplants went dormant in winter that fertilizing was inappropriate. That some of their earlier posts referencing many of their plants enjoying good growth during the winter were pointed to as invalidating the arguments had no effect, other than to illustrate the arguments were ad hominum rather than against the facts. Unfortunately, some of the fallout from the lengthy period of disagreement lingers in the form of those few who might have believed that houseplants do go dormant. Some houseplants are genetically predisposed to slowing down or 'resting' during the winter months. Those neutral or short day plants that are not so affected can still be slowed by diminished photo-intensity, decreasing photo-period, and low temperatures, and those cultural conditions can also contribute to a genetic predisposition. The bottom line is: Houseplants slow growth based on genetic and cultural influences, both of which vary considerably - but they don't go dormant ..... to which all posters to this thread thus far will attest. I think it's easier to say you shouldn't fertilize in the winter when your vision is narrowed by your individual choices, or if you make assumptions. Make the assumption that all are growing in a water retentive soil that requires you to water in sips to prevent root rot, and you're much closer to being accurate in suggesting others following suit refrain from fertilizing in winter. Watering in sips ensures that solubles (salts) from tap water and fertilizer solutions accumulates in the soil, so of course contributing to this accumulation is a bad thing. By the same reasoning, and because a major source of salt accumulation is tap water, we should also stop watering. It's not the act of fertilizing in winter that causes problems; it's soil choice/watering habits, and to a significant degree - fertilizer choice. The goal of container gardeners, when it comes to fertilizing, is easily defined. Our plants grow best if we maintain all the essential nutrients in the soil at all times, in the same ratio as that used by plants, and at a level just high enough to prevent any deficiencies. Since plants don't stop growing in winter, they need all the essential nutrients in the soil to grow normally and to keep their systems orderly. It is extremely difficult to manage this when you can't water properly, because you can't manage the o/a level of salts w/o risking root rot. This is one of the more serious disadvantages of using heavy soils. Look now to the grower who uses a fast soil that allows him to water copiously w/o worry about root issues. This grower is free to fertilize every time he waters if he wishes to do so; this, because he can continually flush the accumulating salts from the soil every time he waters, and replace them with a low dose of fresh nutrients in a favorable ratio. This allows the grower to maintain the lowest fertility level possible w/o nutritional deficiencies. It doesn't get any better than that, and it is the best way to ensure the most attractive foliage, within the limiting effects of other cultural influences. A brief word about NPK %s. Choosing a fertilizer with an inappropriate NPK % because it says "Houseplants" on the label is a fast & sure way to end up with badly skewed nutrient ratios in the soil. I'll use the popular Schultz 10-15-10 houseplant fertilizer as an example. This fertilizer supplies almost 5X as much P as plants can use in relation to N. This ensures an excess of P in the soil (solution) that by Liebig's Law of the Minimum is harmful; and it would be particularly harmful in situations where the grower is required to water in sips. In fact, the accumulation of P to 10-20-30-40 times the amount required for a healthy plant that results from watering in sips, is probably more harmful than the potential deficiencies caused by withholding fertilizers in winter. Is it a wonder some think it inappropriate to fertilize in winter? Choosing a less than ideal NPK formulation is much less a problem when using a fast soil and watering correctly, because that combination prevents the accumulation of 1 or more nutrients; but it's still better to use an NPK ratio that most closely mimics that used by the plant. Bottom line: low levels of a full compliment of the nutrients plants assimilate from soils in the same ratio as that used by the plant are not only acceptable, but desirable. Personally, I fertilize all winter long, every time I water. I use the gritty mix, water until the water flows freely out the drain hole, and use 1/4 tsp of slightly diluted (from full strength) FP 9-3-6. I don't plan on changing soon because my plants have looked better than ever since I fell into this regimen. I even fertilize my succulents this way with no sign of rebellion or wayward habits. I hope this effort makes it to the thread - I somehow lost my first two attempts at a reply as I was approaching the end. Grrr! ;-) Al

RE: BEATING THE TREE TRUNK I've done some googling on the subject and although I found no HARD research I have found many references that indicate that hitting the trunk of the tree (with anything from baseball bats to chains) just hard enough to sort of "bruise" the trunk works. The prevalent theory is that the damage to the tree triggers some survival instinct to quickly produce seed/fruit much like deadheading some flowers will produce more flowers. Below is an excerpt from a page on the STARK BROTHERS site which pretty much parallels what H'man, FN, FN and others have said here but uses root pruning (like growing in pots?) and scoring/notching to stress the tree by inflicting some slight damage. Also below is the link to the entire STARK BROs page. STARK STARTS HERE: ---> ------ Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures There are some extreme solutions that should only be attempted if all else fails: root-pruning or scoring your trees. Root pruning: Bring a spade or shovel out to the drip line of your trees. The drip line is where the tips of the branches are, but straight down on the ground. Take the spade or shovel and push it straight into the ground and pull it straight back out. Do not dig out any dirt. Move over a foot or two and repeat the process. You are essentially creating a dotted-line circle around your treeâÂÂs root system, which will clip the feeder roots and âÂÂshockâ the tree into blooming during the next growing season. Scoring: This has the same result as root pruning, but scoring should not be your first step to getting your tree to fruit. Consider it a last resort. When scoring your trees, bring a small knife (like a pocket-knife) out to your tree. Locate a spot low on the trunk and cut a single horizontal line into the bark, only halfway around the tree. Move up several inches and repeat this, but halfway around the other direction. Do not let these lines connect to one another or you will destroy the phloem tissue and completely disrupt the vascular system of the tree, which will lead to its demise. See the animated image as a reference for examples of properly scoring the bark halfway around a tree. [video - Demonstration of Tree-Scoring] Mike Here is a link that might be useful: DEALING WITH FRUIT BEARING PROBLEMS This post was edited by mes111 on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:50

I get the impression succulents putting these out is a sign that the growing environment needs to be modified. This kind of kalanchoe is not the world's best house plant, like many flowering house plants needing particular conditions to bloom - as with Easter lilies, poinsettias and other flowering pot crops appearing at floral departments they are sold as basically a bouquet in a pot, to be discarded after their season is over. Rather than as something most consumers are going to be able to keep going from year to year, without the use of a greenhouse. So I suggest looking up the specific conditions your kalanchoe needs, seeing what you can do to approximate them. As a rule most indoor succulents need a lot brighter light to grow normally than is typically present in ordinary household interiors. It is also true that flowering house plants in general need more light than is adequate for foliage house plants. And with this kind of kalanchoe there is also supposed to be a certain temperature regime needed in order to get it to bud and bloom.

If you do get a rash from poison ivy, the very best treatment that I have found is Ivy Dry. The photo is of the 'Super' version. I have the old version bought several years ago. Had to ask for it because the drug store kept it behind the counter. Not sure why, maybe because of one of the ingredients? At the time, I thought that the reason they hid the stuff was because it works so well & they wanted you to come back & keep buying other, less effective products. I have to give credit to my mom for finding it years & years ago after us kids got into a patch of poison ivy. (Comes in several versions; I've always used the liquid spray.) Usually two or three treatments is all it takes to dry up the rash. I just noticed that it is supposed to be good for bug bites, too. I'll have to try to remember to try it the next time I get mosquito bit.