Morning, Woebegonia..The soil has to be sold in my area...Last spring, while repotting, I went to several stores looking for certain mediums.. A couple weeks ago, maybe longer, I phoned several of these stores asking if they had EarthGro, but they all said, they never heard let alone sold this soil. Feel like I'm in a Twilight Zone episode..lol. BTW, I reread your post..you said, I said I knew of 4 mediums w/actual soil. Maybe I said I pot using black soil, sand, Perlite and bark? The last three are soil=less..I can't recall the thread you mentioned..hmm??? Charlie..I'm so sorry about your health..You'll be in my prayers... Gotta give your son credit..he wasn't about to give up, even if it meant breaking a couple ribs. Hopefully, the docs will find the correct meds and whichever treatment works best for you. Gone 7 minutes! God in heaven. Personal question if you don't mind...did you see any lights, tunnels? You don't have to answer if uncomfortable. Yep, certain TC are very expensive..the sellers realize this and take advantage. I'm sure several people bought 'Aspen' segments so they too would be able to sell cuttings once their plant is large enough. Yes, time for reading and working w/plants..but don't overdo it..follow your docs instructions. Please, Charlie. Hirt's sells numerous in and outdoorplants..Insects, supplies, seeds. If you go back to their site, check the left side of screen, click on plants, then scrool down to House Plants and/or Succulents. Other plants they sell are annuals and perennials..garden plants. Thank you..Seek help, lol. Charlie, I normally buy small plants, too, but the 6" Sansevieria was the only size available. I first saw this Sans on Sans forum, liked then ordered..lol. If I hadn't seen one on GW, I'd never have went to Hirt's, and sought out the SAns..lol. Don't blame you..I don't fiddle with rooting leaves/stems. As long as the leaf/cutting looks healthy, it's alive. Tampering w/roots isn't advisable. When your Jade grows new leaves, and your really curious, only then should you peek at roots. I knew a girl who killed more cuttings by disturbing roots. Then she'd ask me for more cuttings..That got stale after a year or two..She and I no longer talk..lol. LOL, I'll have to checkout Liza's house...lol.. First have to figure what's wrong w/my email, then get ready soom..have a doc appt today.. Take care, Charlie..hugs, Toni

Stompoutbermuda hit the nail on the head. I've gardened in the middle Rio Grande valley area for 22 years and each of those years has been not only challenging, but difficult and discouraging. I seem to be in a continual state of burning out. And I know of gardeners who have thrown in the towel and moved on. One was quite active on the forum some time ago. In the interest of disclosure I will note that my fit here is uncomfortable as I am a very hardheaded and limited gardener in that I, for instance, loathe xeric gardening and rarely use native plants--love 'em in their natural habitats but not in my garden, thank you. So I'm the author of my own misery. When I joined the forum ages ago there were a number of interesting contributors from the area--I exchanged seed with some of them--but I dropped out for a long while and now I see there are hardly any of them posting anymore. I don't know, maybe when you've said just about all you can say about your type of gardening, shared your general and specific gardening experience(s), learned what you could from others (actually less than I'd hoped for--books still rule), there's not much more to do but check in now and then for area-specific tidbits. And not a lot of those anymore.

I don't have a lemon, but do have a satsuma...did the best I could to protect it but snow and prolonged temps at 17 degrees are just too cold for even a cover in the middle of a yard. My tree is young, but lost all of it's leaves and looked dead for a while. It has slowly put back on leaves....I did give it several fertilizer spikes for citrus trees. It did not, however, bloom. I think that was just too much for it to do. I wouldn't give up yet if it's still green. Baby it and make sure it has enough water and see what happens. I didn't prune the dead leaves after the snow because I felt like that would encourage new growth that would get frozen anyway.

I am in window hell. Being on Texas Gulf coast, I am subject to new specs by TDI ( TX Dept of Insurance) -- apparently put in place after Hurricane Ike in 2008. I can only use windows that have been specially tested and show up on TDI website. DON Young is out -- horizontal slider has not been tested -- $12K NT Windows -- only double hung tested -- $13.5K. I want single hung. Now looking at Vinyl. Gulf Coast Windows -- $23K Home Craftsman -- $9K Window Mart -- $9K I have a Bay and a Bow window, Contractors tell me they will have to install two 2x4s at each mullion. So , I will go from 3inches between windows to like 8 inches! This will be a significant change in the looks -- beefier! Plus less glass. The four windows making up the bow window currently have 21 inches of glass each. Will be reduced to about 17 inch width! One guy suggested I "outlaw" Bay and Bow by not including them in inspection. He would do a wedge configuration on 2x4s to narrow the mullion. Not approved installation by TDI. Somehow my 40 year old windows have survived every hurricane to date! HELP! Opinions of vinyl options, please. Opinions of "outlaw" installation. Why are Gulf Coast Windows so pricey and are they worth it? If I outlaw Bay and Bow windows why not do the same for 2 sliders and go with Don Young, my original choice? This post was edited by betsyelise on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 13:52