I found another article on Truth or Fiction about it. It says: Summary of the eRumor: There are several versions of this eRumor but all of them say that commonly sold cocoa mulch contains theobromine which can be lethal to cats and dogs. One version tells the story of a pet owner who lost a dog because of cocoa mulch. The Truth: It's fairly well known that some animals should not eat chocolate and according to the experts we checked with that warning applies to cocoa mulch as well, although the number of reported animal deaths is very low. The villain is theobromine, a chemical that is similar to caffeine. It can give a boost to humans but dogs and cats cannot always metabolize it successfully and it can be lethal to them. That is especially true of the shells of the cacao beans, which are ground up and used in cocoa mulch, and contain even higher levels of theobromine than the bean. Most packaging of cocoa mulch makes it clear that it's not for human or animal consumption. It also appears that all cocoa mulch is not the same. One manufacturer we checked with, the maker of Mirana cocoa mulch, said that their mulch is the result of a series of processing steps and that the level of theobromine in their mulch is barely detectable. We did find at least one documented case reported in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).. The report says that a dog that had ingested cocoa mulch developed convulsions and died 17-hours later. An analysis of the stomach showed ingested cacao bean shells and lethal levels of theobromine. The AVMA has issued a release because of this new eRumor about cocoa mulch. It says that according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there have not been any reports in 2006 of animals dying from cocoa mulch ingestion. In the years spanning 2004 and 2005 there were 16 cases of cocoa mulch ingestion reported, none of which resulted in death. The ASPCA says that the account of the death of the dog named Calypso that is in the eRumor is "suspect." The symptoms are not completely consistent with death from cocoa bean ingestion. The ASPCA says that although vomiting is a common result, the dog is described as having had a single seizure the next day during a walk and then dying suddenly, which is not what would be expected. Here is a link that might be useful: Truth or Fiction

4th, 5th, and 7th gets my vote, flower wise. They are all beautiful though. I also have a Charisma X Ludwig's Dazzler seedling that is putting out a scape...finally! Took me almost 4 years here in my growing conditions. Ughhhh! It is one of my 2006 seedlings that I decided to keep as I gave away most of my older "newbie cross" seedlings. With all that loving and caring and patience I poured in these seedlings, I bet it will be the "most beautiful flower" in my eyes once it's flower opens. LOL!!! As Carl has stated in his post, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". I kinda like full formed flowers,overlapping petals with good "wings" and colors (if more than one) that blends in a nice way. Of course the #1 category that I look into a Hippie is it's vigor as a whole plant. The flowers comes next. CHARISMA is a very good mother!!! My oldest Charisma, mother of the above mentioned seedling, waaaayyyy back in 2006.

Wow Susan, no wonder some of the emails I copied you on bounced back. Adding your new email address to my address book, thanks.

LuAnn & Cynic, IT IS NOT A SPAM! Nobody is trying to sell you anything, nobody mentions one American company name; nobody is telling you what & where to buy! I just like the message it is sending. Believe it or not there are a lot of people who do not think twice about the product they are buying, they don't check where it was made and often are very surprised when you tell them. Lynn_d is right - "we need to wake up & realize that are killig our own economy". Obviously, it is easier to go to the big-box store (won't mention the name here) and buy all your gifts in one place (all made in China), than drive all over the city looking for small businesses. I'm not trying to sabotage any company, I just think there is a lot of truth in this message. "The human side of me (and I might well be the only one person who thinks this way) knows that someone across the globe isn't starving because of dotting those eyes." Duluthinbloomz4, I absolutely agree! Just remember that those starving people (often children) are working in terrible conditions and the actual benefits of their hard work go to the big corporations and their owners!