I give NO QUARTER to ANY bugs except the ladies !! HEY !! You don't have to tell me about lobbies !! I live right next door to the idiot city !! After all the years in this area I've finally figured it out !! It's that WIERDLY shaped off-white house on Pennsylvania Avenue !!! It's an IDIOT MAGNET !!! It pulls the idiots from all over the world !!! It's that strong !! You know what they say about mob intelligence ?? Gee, I wonder what the intelligence level at the capitol is ??????? I'd venture a worm has them beat by a long shot !!! Chryss, a-since-you-brought-it-up-dedicated-fan-for-razing-all-of-DC-and -building-a-bigger-zoo !!

Mee too. You can only control them. You never get rid of them. I got tired of the high price per lb from home depot etc. So I went online and got sluggo snail bait in a 25 lb bag. Not cheap but much better than the 1 pound box. You will need to shop the web and factor freight. Also you will need a hand broadcaster. Or spread it by hand. The active ingredient is iron so it is very safe. There is a type of slug go that adds a poison but is not needed. Your neighbors have the snails too so they may want in on the buy. I've heard of the giant snails invading South Fl. Very nasty. Be aggressive as the snails can create great damage to your orchids but with sluggo they can be easily controlled. Good luck...

Bal, I cant testify to the Neem OIl...that is suggested to treat black spot and mildew on roses; you might try it. But the oil you are familiar with when applying to your outdoor deciduous trees, shrubs and roses..."dormant oil" is another suggestion. Do read the label. Also suggested is the "lime sulfur"...the other half of the dormant oil application. Smelly stuff this...so open a window and do read the label. No success with soap. Perhaps you didn't do the routine as best prescribed. A 40 to 1 solution dishsoap and water, spray from top to bottom, bottom to top, leave on for 10 - 15 minutes...then rinse well in clear water. To avoid overwatering the surface soil, you might tip the plant to a 45 degree angle or cover with plastic when applying Anytime you have a problem with a pest, it is usually prescribed to treat the plant as many times as needed to break the cycle of the pest's ability to produce larvae. In a 20 day period, treat the plant 3 times. Scale insect does not as far as I know, ever go to the roots, they feed on leaves and stem, sucking the juices there. They leave behind their secretion called "honeydew"...a shiny appearance on the leaves can be seen.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words, glad you like them. I've had a lot of fun figgering out some of these guys over the years. I think I'm at least as obsessed by researching/reading about them as I am by growing them. The most satisfying thing is to see one you've had to baby for a number of years finally flower. My kentuckiense are putting on lots of growth this spring and look like they may flower next year! "Is that a true calceolus and not a pubescens?" good question Ross. The first pic looks like parviflorum (the small native one) to me too but was sold as calceolus (the european one) by a very well known and reputable source so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, as I say it's in it's first flower and calceolus/parviflorum are hard, at least for me, to figure out. All the other yellow photos are pubescens (the big native one) but I didn't label them. I have a better pic of the henryii somewhere, still getting the hang of taking, organizing, posting photos so I'll try and post it if I can ever find it again. Should have photos of reginae in a few weeks.