FPT. It's too bad your marginata had/s Scale. Unless your other plants have bugs, scale/eggs were probably on the plant when purchased. BTW, did you isolate your marginata? I don't know if you want to spend time ridding scale, return or replace with variegated marginata. ???? People here have different methods ridding insects. Some work, some do not. There are two things I do to prevent/kill insects. I dislike chemicals, avoid using as much as possible. Therefore, my plants are sprayed w/a home-made insecticide. Since your plant has scale, I'll explain what I do to rid and avoid those brats! lol Did you ever hear of Fish Emulsion? FE is an organic fertilizer, high in N. It also works, as an insecticide, by spraying foliage. Kills Scale, big time. The owner of a Citrus Nursery in FL once told me they spray their trees w/FE as a Scale preventative. Because my plants never had scale, I half-listened. lol. Then, in 1999, I ordered an Olive Tree. On Day 2 while misting plants, I noticed a brown bump on an olive leaf. I approached the Olive, and discovered, not one, but hundreds of brown bumps. That's when it hit me...SCALE! I immediately phoned the Citrus nursery owner, asking the proper dossage of FE and water. (BTW, olive was purchased elsewhere.) She said, one capful of FE to approximately 16oz water. I mixed FE and water in a 16oz spray bottle, shook thoroughly and sprayed away. 1-2 days later, all signs of scale were gone. A week or two later, 'can't recall,' I applied a second application. FPT, I swear to God, since that day, my plants never contrated scale again. Ever. 2. Every 2-wks during winter, my plants are sprayed w/natural ingredients such as garlic, hot pepper, citrus rind and a few other things. Once a month FE is added to other ingredients, then sprayed. Works like a charm. Forgot to mention. The Olive tree sat between two Citrus trees. Citrus closest branches were loaded w/scale. The morning I sprayed olive tree, neighboring plants were entirely sprayed, too. Can't hurt, right? And, while spraying leaves to rid insects, the plant is also foliar fertilized. The only con about FE is an odor. It has a fishy smell that lasts 2-3 days indoors. There is an odor-less type, but I've never used it so can't comment. Fish Emulsion cost is about 7.99 for a 32oz bottle. Good luck, Toni

ruby came from petsmart this time but my others have all came from walmart in the past. the first one i bought in pa had dirty water and they didn't even have enough water in the container it was about a half inch of water that was dirty that is all. that one died sadly because of the moving to pa and back to nm am staying put for now and don't plan on moving anytime soon because it is so hard on my animals ruby included. the ones at petsmart were in clean containers with nice big holes at the top so that they could breath better. i hate seeing them in really small containers. mine was so happy to get into the 2 gallon round tank that i put him in with the snail i had(he has since died and left ruby all alone) picked up a ten gallon tank at a garage sale for 5 dollars hood and all then i set it up properly for my betta and now he is very happy in the ten gallon with plastic plants and decor for him to hide in plus one corner of free space for swimming. i take him out and put him in a vase and completely clean out his tank with hot water everyother week. i rinse his plants and decor in the dirty tank water first before i empty the tank so as not harm the good bacteria that has built up to keep the tank stable. he is doing very well have had him for almost a year now. i love him to death. and yes i really do feel sorry for the fish at walmart. i wish there was some way to get the stores to start promoting the bigger the better on the tanks when someone buys a betta. i think if they promoted bigger better tank sizes for the betta when someone buys one then they would actually make more money because the bigger setups cost more than the bowls and vases and people then would have to buy gravel and food and decor and such and they would actually make more money that way. but they don't do that probably because they are lazy and don't care. if they did then at least the bettas would have a better chance of going home to a nice big proper size tank to have a better life than they do at the store.

I could have snapped a pic, but I'm 90 miles from home today, maybe when I get back? Yes, I'm sure it's not the biggest I've seen, but still, it's a good one, vigorous, trunk diameter is at least 14". But, it's growing on the side of a hill, under a canopy from an oak and it doesn't get the direct sun they like. Therefore, I only get the long pollinating thingie followed by a single flush every year. The tallest, largest sago I can ever remember seeing is in Honolulu, Waikiki right in front of the Red Lobster Restaurant. It's in the middle of town, not hard to find and worth checking out. But, I think it's twice the size of mine, in height? When I get back home, if I don't forget, (visiting girlfriend right now) I will try and post a photo. El Bee

LOL! I hope Ann doesn't mind my posting her recipe. When I said I had an awesome one, I meant I had one from another source which I couldn't remember off the top of my head. This is what I make quite often and it is delicious! Cioppino (Italian Fish Stew) ============================ Recipe from Ann T As, Faye suggests, this stew wants a loaf of crusty bread, a jug of Pinot Grigio, and a tossed green salad. I'd like to be able to tell you that some swarthy Italian invented this but this was probably dreamed up somewhere in San Francisco. Here it is with Faye's variations. 2 tb virgin olive oil 1 lg green pepper, chopped 1 lg white onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, diced 1/2 tsp white pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1 bay leaf 1/2 to 1 tsp Italian seasoning OR 2 tbl chopped fresh basil 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper 1/2 cup parsley, chopped and packed 2 cups fresh tomatoes, with 1 cup of water OR 1-15oz can of tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water 1-8oz bottle of chicken stock 1 cup of white wine 1/2 lb sea scallops, cut into quarters 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled 1/2 to 3/4 lb mussels . "Using a large soup or stew pot, saute the peppers, onions and garlic in olive oil, do not brown. Add the tomatoes, stock, and the seasonings and cook for 15 minutes. Then add the wine and seafood EXCEPT the shrimp and cook an additional 15 minutes or until the mussels are open. Add the shrimp and parsley and cook an additional 5 minutes.