The thing about wrongly labeled trees is you want to keep the original tree and get another. Usually nurseries don't guarantee the correct identity of the tree, only survival. It would be a can of worms, in a way, to guarantee true to name as it would be difficult to verify. I used to manage a site where 50 Green Gage plums from Adam's County Nursery were planted that turned out to be a J. plum sometimes called Japanese Green Gage. Adam's take was home growers wouldn't know the difference and they weren't selling any to commercial producers so no harm no foul. They also said there was no established true Green Gage. Pretty shoddy reasoning from my perspective. These clients had tasted real Green Gage plums in France so the trees weren't worth much to them but the installation and maintanence cost them thousands of dollars. I consider Adams CN to be a good source of trees and like other producers for commercial production, they are usually reliably true to name. Stark also produces trees for com. pro. so my guess is that they are more reliable than many outfits that only serve home growers. I'd order from them way before going to Gurney or Millers for instance.

I believe I owe y'all a huge apology! I never meant to start a war among friends...honestly. It was an innocent enough post...wasn't looking for advice...it was just an observation...although I did ask why they use multiple mediums, for heaven's sake...LOL I just this morning closed on my house up north after 3 LONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG years and have been busy on the phone all week with my honey, the title company, Realtors and of course, the new home owners, GOD BLESS'M!, so I haven't been back online. Sorry...it was not my intention to start a thread...never to respond. My honey is on his way home as I type with my other green obsessioncolor=green> ...hehehe! Firstly, I want to say that the plant was great looking the first week until the remaining buds blasted. I can't take any of the credit for the decline of this plant, because apparently it was in bad shape when I brought it home. Who could tell it was in peril unless one had x-ray vision and could view the roots and medium? Furthermore...I neglected to post that the reasoning behind my re-potting and not just waiting it out, which I know works for me, was the condition of the growth. I wish I had taken a shot of it to show you. The base of the entire plant, at 'soil level' had turned to mush overnight...that was why I felt it needed drastic action. I misted it and gave it very little water while under my care, so the mushy base didn't make sense...I felt it had to be that the store had over-watered it and the medium was probably retaining too much water. (This is the time of year where I withhold water from all my dens, BTW) It was the sudden failing of the plant that lead me to pull it just to see what the heck it was growing in. Now, I could be wrong, but hey!...better I learn from a grocery store chid than on a $200+ imported beauty, I say! I am still learning, after-all. :) Yes...I live in Florida...I grow my orchids outside and although I read & digest all of what everyone here writes I tend to 'listen' more to those who cultivate in like climates such as Olya, Sambac and a few others do...Not because I don't value others' opinions, but because well...its different in Flarda. I know nothing about FC's or light meters and which window's best...probably never will. Doesn't mean I can't grow orchids. It may take me longer to get the hang of it simply because its new to me...but when one of'm blooms big time or shoots up new growth at an alarming rate all the while smilin' at me...I figger I AM learning. I thank each and every one of you for all your help, even if I do hafta kinda sift through what might or might not work for me. Just because what 'A' or 'B' might post doesn't necessarily apply to me and my region, doesn't mean I learn nothing from the advice. Please stop attacking each other. Y'all have so much combined knowledge to share...it'd be a shame if this board lost any one of you! OK! On a lighter note... Anyone remember my V. Mote from last spring? She has two spikes this season so I reckon she loves me...or Florida...hehehe! This was last year... Film @ eleven... Oh...and SCOTT...KETTLE ONE, my dear...KETTLE ONE...LOL

Used to live nearby in a slightly town, dry, no chain stores, no bars, no liquors. People leave doors unlocked all the time. Police are few as is most crimes. With so much going on daily, I never have any time to sit and wonder what to do next. I guess its all due to up bringing. Today kids get bored very easily, and many tend to be very lazy, and lacjk even the slightst dermination and drive. Curiosity for me is always an adventure no matter what. Here, school kids act as 'volunteers' at local hospitals as transport patients around. I spent a weekend a few years back to find some canning jars in a hurry, as it was a batch sitting on my stove waiting to be put in a few more jars. My last hope was a 100 year old True Value hardware store on Main street and lo and behold JARS! Also wax, and a few pickle mixes!! It was amazed as this was in mid August. The jar cases were just $6.99 each for quarts, and %5.99 for pints. They also had boxes of 25 lids at $2.50. Since then, I now know they are still local, and oddly enough I could have walked there, over the train tracks, as it was less than 1/4 mile away! My town here has only two cops on duty out on the roads every day. The third is in the office answering calls and dispatch. I sell and buy on eBay all the time. ANYONE can do this!! Craigs List is also similar, but there you must be very careful. At least eBay and their partnership with Pay Pal, the international bank can help get you satisfation. A recent purchase I made there was for a specific LCD screen for a computer I was fixing. It was not as described and even after receiving it, I had to battle a bit with the seller. I was sure not going to pay the costs of shipping the wrong item either! After several attempts of a an unacceptable solution with the seller, I notified Pay Pal and was almost immediately refunded my money. Pay Pal also informed me that if there were insufficent funds for the refund it would suspend all the sellers finacial transactions until I got my settlement. Two years ago, it was worse case, and after not even being able to reach a eBay seller, I was given a $100 gift certificate for ANYTHING I wanted to buy on eBay. The seler was n banned, and shut down. I was involved with eBays original pilot program for toll free 800 number assistance, and that is now in place permanently. Many times a seller may not be exact in the first page of description, but once a price is entered and you see the next pages, it can usually tell you that there are more than one of an item, and asks you how many you want. Mozilla is quite basic an bit limited right now, and even Netscape (I still prefer to use) is being killed fast, now that AOL owns it. The latest is of course MS Internet Explorer 7, but I much prefer I.E. version 6 which is still very stable. There is also FIREFOX, which is fast becoming a big favorite (especially for anti- Microsoft fans!) I'm still waiting for the local Big Lots to get their Golden Harvest jars and maybe lids..

What happened to the Smurf Idea!? Donna Brining has the loveliest plants, her own hybrids. She gives them lovely names, "Mother's Love," "Stardust." I also love the Allegro series of names. Or the guy who came up with all the Italian city names, was that "B-man?" I would have gotten the plants just for the names alone. I don't think they are easy to find anymore. As for Rob's, .... "fuzzy navel "... is another one. The fastidious ladies from the white gloves and hats era would have been fainting behind their fluttering fans. Ma Robinson comes up with nice names you are not embarrassed to say out loud. I know I was complaining a while ago that every white plant created by the east coasters seemed to be named after snow. Violets have nothing to do with snow. I like the Optimara Crystal names, violets are often sparkly. Well, now that I am at it, the Silverglades names are nice. Roses sometimes used to be named after glamourous female movie stars or distinguished statesmen. American Beauty was for a movie star, as an example. The Dutch bulbs are named after royalty. We don't have royalty in the U.S. so I guess we might name them after our pets. Or sometimes, pets are named after people. Joanne