jeff_zephyr, when I say "heavy feeder" I mean in my yard, I need double or triple the dose of fertilizer to get the same results (a good flush of new foliage and flowers) as a "light feeder" requires. The amount of fertilizer you need depends on your soil and growing season. Of course, always follow package directions. 2 T seems a little light, but your plant is still young. I give my 5 year old (well established) Peter Mayle with many broomstick-size canes 2 cups of alfalfa meal or Dr. Earth type fertilizer in February and June, plus koi-pond-filter-gunk full of biologically digested nitrates which can be readily absorbed by the plant. In contrast, little 'Gruss an Aachen' reblooms all year on 1/4 cup of alfalfa meal once in February. So Gruss is a light feeder and PM is a "heavy". Makes intuitive sense--it probably takes 10 Gruss flowers to equal the weight of 1 PM flower. Of course as Henry in CT points out, you don't want to overdose your roses with fertilizer since it can damage the root system. Organic fertilizers such as alfalfa meal are considered safer than chemical fertilizers because they break down gradually in the soil via soil bacteria or earthworm digestive system to the point where the plant roots can absorb the nutrients. Chemical fertilizers provide a quicker stimulus. Like whole wheat bread vs. a candy bar.

Would you be interested in either named plumeria cuttings (Madame Poni, Intense Rainbow), an unnamed plumeria cutting (unnamed red), or a 1' tall pachira aquatica (Money Tree)? I just moved to North Port (originally on GardenWeb from St. Pete several years ago) and had to pare down my plants to move, so this is what I've got left to offer (sorry it's not more). I will offer to root the cuttings but that would delay trading by a month or two. I'm assuming that since you specified in Florida trade only, you are willing to ship, not meet in person. FYI, I was a member of GardenWeb several years ago (think the last trade I went to was in March 2001 or 2002 down in Englewood) and had to reregister because my id/password was so old that it was no longer accepted. I'm not exactly a newbie, just inactive for quite awhile. The last few years in particular have been very crazy for me and I had to let go of much of my gardening activities as a result (was laid off from my job in fall 2003, in spring 2004 got a new job 45 miles south which meant I needed to sell my house in St. Pete, find a new one--decided to build--then the builder took 21.5 months to build, and now we're finally in our new home with an almost empty yard). You probably didn't want my life story but I wanted to let you know that I've traded before in the past (through mail and also in person), so I've had some experience with sending and receiving plants. Please let me know if you're interested. I can send photos if you'd like. Thanks for reading, Natalie Zone 9 (is it 9a or 9b in North Port?)

Sorry about the orange peter photo. I cut the photo down a couple of times trying to get it smaller, but it wouldn't paste in smaller. hmmm, not sure how to take that last post Ronny (not sure if I trust you ;-) I'm trying to find the hidden innuendo. ;-) Hahaha. I've been threatening to try to create one for years. But that is a LOT of work. I admire those who have the stamina to come up with crosses and grow them out generation after generation... but then again I've got a pasilla plant out in the garden right now. ;-) pam

..I sympathise Sue, empathise even, as I also have a cat problem here...so many neighbours all around have them, and I think a few are feral that pass through... even with my dog it doesn't seem to deter them...although some have been given a mighty fright if he's about when they show up... ...I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve in dealing with it... one is to plant ground cover... I have Geraniums everywhere, so that very little soil is available for them to dig... ...where I have removed plants, and have not yet replanted, there is lovely fresh soft soil, ripe for digging... so what I do is to chop up pieces of bamboo cane, about a foot long each piece, and stick them in the ground a few inches apart, so about 6 inches is sticking out.... I might need a dozen sticks or more... doesn't look nice but the cats don't have room to squat... I find piles of earth where they've dug a paw in, but they give up and go somewhere else... ...however, I also have shingled areas - no lawn here - and one cat will just dump it on top of the shingle.... there's isn't much I can do about that one... ...so I do know what you mean, and I find it quite distressing at times, especially when it used to happen more frequently... it has subsided for me somewhat lately...since I've been using these methods... ...glad you liked the Heleniums.... hope you get some eventually.... I love them too and would like to try different varieties...