Hi, Kim, Welcome to the forum. Many of the experienced growers will give information about AV culture that is aimed at growing the best possible plant you can, using optimal growing medium, pots, fertilizer, lights, etc. There is not usually just one way, so you have to gather the information and pick what works for you. However, a lot of the wheel has been invented, and some 'standard' practices have developed over the years. You certainly want to remove the suckers, for they will distort the shape of the mother plant, which is very pretty, by the way. I find it much easier to do this after knocking the plant out of the pot. I use an x-acto knife on larger suckers, and large tweezers on smaller suckers. If there are no roots on the sucker, I remove enough leaves to give me a stub that I can put into my potting mix to root. I do cover them to increase the humidity. I do not use any rooting hormone. If necessary, I will 'stake' it using toothpicks to support it in position. About pots.....plastic is most frequently used for several reasons. They are cheap, come in an infinite variety of sizes, and they don't absorb fertilizer salts. A general rule of thumb for size is to have the diameter of the pot be 1/3 the diameter of the plant. Try not to get caught up in the idea of having the plant grow into the pot. AVs prefer to be rootbound to bloom their best, so if the pot is too big, they spend all their time trying to fill the pot with roots, instead of blooming. Also, since they are a shallow rooted plant, the use of a 'squatty' pot is better than taller pots. In a worst case scenario, the soil may stay too wet in an oversized pot, and the roots may rot. Clay pots can be tricky. They absorb water and fertilizer salts will build up on the rim, burning any leaves touching the rim. They can be hard to clean. As the water evaporates through the pores of the pot, cooling occurs and can affect the roots. Three ounce solo cups with drainage poked in the bottom work well for small plants, leaves, and suckers, and are used by many commercial AV growers too. A word about potting mix....a sdtandard mix consists of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite, in equal portions. You will see this referred to as a 1-1-1 mix. There is no commercially available mix of these proportions, unless you buy it from an AV vendor such as Cape Cod Violetry. But, if you can find the ingredients, it's very easy to mix yourself. Or, if you have a mix such as Miracle-gro, add perlite and vermiculite to it, treating it as the peat ingredient. If it has fertilizer in it, don't add fertilizer for about 8-10 weeks. Good luck, and thanks for posting the pictures. Barbara

Hi Connie, I am not familiar with Buttons n Bows. A new to me Camellia that I highly recommend to my rose loving friend is Winter's Rose. It is a dwarf camellia with lovely light pink flowers. It has been covered with flowers for the last few weeks. Winter Snowman is one that grows very upright for me. It blooms for about six weeks in November and December. I visited Camellia Forest in NC for their annual open house last year and picked up several that are doing well. They have a large selection of cold hardy plants. One that they highly recommended for cold hardiness is Gov. Mouton. I will have to check out Little Five Azalea Farm. There is also a couple who sell camellias at the Gordon Road Farmer's Market on Rt 3. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Winter's rose

The house itself is fine, we just have questions when it comes to things like the allowences. One thing I don't like is that we have to go through their vendors. I know I could do better on pricing the some of the things we've been quoted but we don't get that $$ back if we don't use the vendor. But getting the information is like pulling teeth. Our agent must have called/emailed their agent for a solid week before we ever get an answer. We're not the first house being built so I guess everyone else on the st has gone through teh same stuff though...

Well, I'm not really sure if this is worthwhile or will just be upsetting since these were your final plans, but there isn't much that I really like. The one thing that I was crazy about were the curved stairs, but you changed those. Anyway, I like the open floor plan for the living room, dining area and kitchen. Things that I would spend some more time examining would be the amount of wasted space in the foyer area compared to your private areas. The house seems as if it were designed to have a "grand" entryway feel, but the use of bifold doors in that foyer is very jarring (I'd absolutely lose those...stat). Also, the different sizes of the double front doors...what was your design philosophy here? That door is centered in the outside space, I see no reason for one door to be a 2'0" and the other to be a 3'0". If you also want the opening to be centered in the foyer space, it could be done without resorting to this option...I think your designer could have done better here. The foyer could be very nice (particularly if you had left that curved staircase), but it robs valuable space from your bedrooms. Which are, IMO, for a house this size all too small. Also, the intersection of the two bedrooms and bathroom on the first floor...way too much action in a small area. I think this area is going to look too busy. Also, again, the bifold doors at the linen closet and broom closet in that hallway...is there a reason why they are in your plan? I haven't seen these in new homes in a long time. Where do you plan for your W/D to be placed? I didn't see it on the plans. Also, the walk-thru the mudroom, through the foyer, around a corner, into the kitchen with groceries is pretty awkward. It comes back to the fact that the house is designed with a very formal entry, but then there is nothing else about it that feels formal. It is just an interesting take on a design. Where are you building? Some of the features that are off-putting to me may well be a regional thing. It looks like the exterior would be lovely. Best of luck with your project. Also, remember that this is just one person's opinion...if the house was designed for you and your lifestyle, that is the most important thing.