Yeah, our pH is way up at about 7.2. In terms of alkalinity, it is only worth mentioning given the generalization that eastern US has acid soil. If you look at a soil map, you will see pockets of lime both in the highlands and in low areas that get soil from the eroding limestone highlands, and spend time under water when glaciers recede and thawing waterways are dammed with debris. (We've been out of water for thousands of years now.) I don't know what Rosa canina's optimal pH range is. I've seen it happy on both sides of neutral, but more extreme than that, I can't say. Rosa multiflora on the other hand, looks unhappy in soil that is barely above neutral. How is this unhappiness manifest? The foliage shows signs of chlorosis. The plants are also more prone to powdery mildew than they are in more acidic soil. We see the same behavior in roses with considerable multiflora ancestry. To be honest, we haven't had a problem with roses budded onto multiflora. Maybe the roses run off onto their own roots faster than they otherwise would, but this is speculation.

I would say as a guess the plant I removed the bright Hosta from was at least 5-8 years in her garden? Just guessing by the size it was when I separated it off. As to the possible blue boy, I thought the pics on Hosta Library for blue boy look more like Halycon then what I have. My plant never shows any waxy blue, it is green to be sure.. I guess it isn't that important as I really like the big green leaves. Its the only plant I have with that look. As to the flowers Ken , I don't recall.. but it seems it flowers late. I can't really see pink that well being a little color blind. I will try to remember pics of the flower to update this thread..

"The condo probably will not reach the original $490,000 value again because the reason that real estate values went so high was the ease of lending which probably wonÂt happen again because lending is more regulated now and lending institutions are not as heavily backed by the insurance industry so heavily hit when the bubble bursted as a result of the economic downswing. " I'd give the odds of this statement being true at about 0%. 50 years from now, your friend will look back and tell his grandkids how people used to be able to buy a house for "ONLY" a half mil. The question is IF property values will rebound but WHEN. Unfortunately, nobody knows the answer. BTW - your friend really needs to consult a lawyer. California law is pretty strange for foreclosures and short sales. The recourse rules change if you refinance but I'm not sure if they treat the loan restructuring the same way. He may be right about being able to "get away with it" but I wouldn't assume that is necessarily true.

Hi Wasamkins, Welcome to the forum. I'm not the greatest painter compared to some on this forum but I do have fun with it. It gives me peace and relaxation. I'd like to contribute to the sites for free project by giving you this site "quickandeasypainting.com" They are a monthly mag in the stores and always have a different monthly free pattern. Have fun painting and please post some pics of your projects when done. As for buying painting books, do you have a Michael's or Joann's craft stores near you? Michael's has coupons in the Sunday newspaper here and at Joann's you can sign up for their bi-weekly flyer and get 40% off coupons so a $10 painting book is only $6, good deal. You can use the coupons for paint and other supplies too. As for other freebie painting sites or even wood cutouts, just type that in your web browser line and I'm sure you'll come up with a ton of sites to look at. Again, welcome to the forum, sure glad you joined. Sal