Mike, First I want to say, the plants I received, beginning Jan 1, 2010, were in 3-4" containers, bulbs and cuttings. Only a handful were larger, meaning 8" to 1' tall. Total: 58. :) :( Marguest, your Banana Tree is beautiful. The colors amazing. There's even a pup. Did you find it on Ebay? Mike, to answer a few questions. I MUST stay away from Ebay..It's one addicting site. Not only do they have great deals on plants, but plant supplies. There's also a few online nurseries I browse every other wk or so. The internet makes it too easy to shop for such an exciting hobby. A few clicked keys, next thing, a package is at your front door? One word of Warning for those who really want to stop buying plants.. Well, an attempt. Do NOT sign up for nursery News Letters. It's convenient, swaying us to their site, displaying their wares. Hear the clicking keys to Paypal? lol. As for local nurseries, fortunately, there are two that sell very very nice and rare specimens..luckily, opposite directions, both a long distance drive. An hour on non-congested days, 1.5-2 hours during 9-5, Rush Hour traffic. Although, traffic has gotten so heavy the past five years, the only time to go anywhere with time to spare is between midnight and 5am. Problem is, the stores are closed. lol. Our grocery store, Jewel's, always has plants for sale. Mostly, basic plants like Spaths, certain Dracaenas, etc. My problem arises when they have dollar sales. 3-4" potted plants for 1.00. Every so often, they'll have a rarer specimen. Buy 3, pot them up, and you have a lovely plant for 3.00. Four years ago, they had, mixed in with other dollar plants, Schefflera 'brassaia/actinophylla, a plant I hadn't seen in years...last one) I grabbed it up fast. lol. That's about it. Not too bad for 9 months. lol. Toni

Hi Bill, I would have loved to hear what Tom had to say... Lots of great cuttings and other gifts... You all are so lucky!!! I'm Hoping to make the meeting in July and then the open house. Do I need to be a registered member or can I be a guest for the meeting? I can join now...if I need to!!! Thanks for the pics... Night, Laura

Chelsea- Go to an Armstrongs Nursery (I think they have in SD) and they sell the Growmore Hawaiian and Tropical Blend Fertilizer which is about a 5-50-17 or they have the bloom which is a 10-52-10. Both are in a water soluable form and are mixed about 1-2 tablespoons per gallon every two weeks from March to October in SD. I would suggest you go to Casa del Prado Room 101 in Balboa Park from 10-4 today and tomorrow for the So.Cal.Plumeria Society cutting and plant sale. It is a big club of collectors and the members sell cuttings from top quality named plumerias that you would never find in local nurseries or HD. This is their big annual plant sale and people come from Arizona and So. Cal to pick up the bargains. Another big sale is in Costa Mesa at the Crystal Court part of South Coast Plaza Mall on April 26-29 in the big garden show. This is three stories of hallway booths by growers and clubs selling all kinds of plants. You have at least a half dozen booths of exotic plumerias and on the third floor is the So.Coast Plumeria Society booth with tons of plants. both events are free. Both represent the two largest plumeria organizations in California. When you have hundreds of people who are plumieaholics, you have hundreds of varieties available usually at about half the market prices. You also will find members from both clubs are very happy to help you with suggestions or problems. Bill

This is really a great, free show. The SCPS booth is on the third floor down to the south (toward the 405 freeway). Last year there were some great deals at all the plumie booths. There were some excellent Thai cuttings at Andy Zukowitz's booth for Aloha Plumerias. Two booths were selling very good named cuttings for under $20. A number of booths sold rooted plants in the $20-$40 range. If you are anywhere within range of South Coast Plaza (405 at 55 in Costa Mesa) I highly recommend you give it a visit. The exotic plants, from hibiscus to plumerias give you an eyefull of delightful plants. The open feel of the three story mall gives a great view up or down in a stylish environment. Go if you can. Bill