I found some nasty-ness on my bulb today after the scape looks to be drying up and the leaves look redish and ugly at the bottom...little black bugs were running up and down in there. OH NO! My guess is that they are mites of some sort? I've tried to read and figure out what I should do, but I can't decide between spraying something down into the bulb that could harm it, or doing a hot water treatment. I am not entirely sure how to do said water treatment either... Does anyone have a tried and true method of ridding bulbs of mites? Pat, what became of your bulbs and situation? This poor fella was labeled 'Minerva', but was blooming when I bought it. It clearly wasn't 'Minerva', but I found the bloom to be quite pleasant and with another scape to come I thought it was a good buy...Here are the photos: When purchased: EEEEEK...Now: From Amaryllis that needs HELP! From Amaryllis that needs HELP! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! -Frank

palmcoastgarden we get an unusual amount of gnats and ants in our pool cage in SW Florida. One thing I found to be quite helpful is pet shampoo with pyrethrines?(spelling) I add a few drops to my watering can and a few to my water spray bottle and it seems to do the trick. I will also have to try the peroxide. Your are in Florida, right? Last year the gnats seemed like were literally going to fly off with the whole wine bottle when we'd entertain on the lanai. They were getting into everything! Nasty buggers!

TriangleJohn, Yes, I saw the same report on tomato growing. There are several other ideas kicking around. This summer I plan to try one. Plant two tomatoes in the same hole and then lightly secure the two base stems together so they will graft onto each other. Probably I will use regular florist tape for this purpose as it is lightweight and stretches plus being easy to remove without harming plants. This method is supposed to increase fruit production, also. Maybe others will try our ideas and provide us with their observations. Surfactants (wetting agents) seem to be very misunderstood by many here on GW. All contain soap with yucca extract having its own natural form of soap (saponin). But I shudder when someone states that any detergent can be used as a surfactant. Not true as many detergents contain degreasers and/or anti bacterial agents, both of which will kill plants. My suggestion, for tender leafed plants is to use either yucca extract, baby shampoo or Nitron A-35 as wetting agents. Yes, John, surfactants should be used once a month, especially on clay soils. Surfactants not only help soils to 'open up' and drain they also help plants to absorb fertilizers. You should be able to reduce your fertilizer needs by one half using a surfactant on a regular basis. Try the following on your indoor plants...everytime you water add 1 teaspoon of a surfactant to a gallon of water along with whatever fertilizers you use. In a few months you should note a difference in plant growth. By the way, John, this is how you win blue ribbons at State fairs. As I said above, Simple Green, applied once a month, appears to be an excellent surfactant for clay soils. Give it a try.

How fun!! I do it the old fashioned way. Lock 2 ferrets in the bathroom while cleaning their cage. Leave toilet seat up, leave xtra tp rolls in the cabinet. Ferrets in their boredom will get the xtra tp from the cabinet, put it in the toilet, and scrub the bowl with all the tp lumps that they peel off. lol Thanks for the smiles!