Ron is one of my favorite Ebay sellers. His plants are always healthy and a decent size for the price. I got my Miner's Claim from him and only paid about $10. My Candy Corn vine (Manettia inflata), from Ron also, froze in the GH last month. I cut it back but don't know if it will return from the roots or not. I'm at a swim meet in Delaware this weekend but found out that Pepper's Greenhouse is very close to the hotel so I'm going tomorrow. They have Candy Corn vines on their site and I will get another if they have them in stock. I've never tried taking cuttings but will be happy to send you a piece when it warms up. I can't wait to go to Pepper's. I've ordered from their online catalog but have never been to their greenhouse. I'm glad we don't have much luggage in the car! lol Karyn

The Black Sea region of Turkey is famous for a bitter honey they call "deli balý," which is honey with various proportions of Azalea nectar (Rhododendron luteum). The really strong stuff has an intense Azalea scent, and after the initial sweet taste, goes bitter in the mouth. It's considered medicinal, and many people swear by a spoon of it every day. If your're not used to it and get too much, it can make your head spin. It also makes your urine very fragrant.... In another vein - I once planted a huge patch of Greek poppies in my Seattle garden. P. rhoeas var. pusillum -- like normal corn poppies but really deep red, with a more dusty colored foliage. The bees went nuts, and several times would bite the stamens, getting (evidently) a mouthful of the sap. They would go completely drunk. I also saw this in Greece; many of the flowers had incapacitated bees weaving around in them; sometimes they would attempt to fly out and couldn't find their way. They'd just go round and round inside the flower...

You better get "Babka sticks" under those to keep the unwanted roots out of those pots, as well as improve drainage and keep many bugs out too) (3/4" x 3/4"x whatever the pot needs, 3 or 5 inches long). If the sticks touch soil they may rot in a couple seasons, but at least the tree roots won't get in there. Of course, just lifting the pots up a couple times a year off the ground would work...well, maybe, except that you have a LOT of pots. Hope you find an answer to the root problem. I so envy all your space. ;-) -Babka

Hi McMann... SY (Second Year) males hatched the year before, migrated to Brazil, and returned this spring. They are considered immature, but some will breed. This is what their coloring looks like. From a distance they sometimes resemble females, but their throats are dark and mottled, and there will be at least a few black feathers on their chests. Some are heavily spotted, some have only one or two dark feathers. This is a very light, and lightly spotted, SY male. Here is a much darker, and much more heavily spotted, SY male, although they are both the same age. They hatched the privious season. This fall they will again migrate to Brazil and go through their molting into fully-mature adult plummage. When they return next spring they will be called ASY (After Second Year) males...and they will look like this! Big, bold, dark, beautiful, and iridescenting purple. Once they make this transformation, they will look the same the rest of their lives, whether they're two years old, or 15. These are not my photos. I only wish I could get shots this great. They were shared by other PM lovers.