Thanks for the information Leafhead. Great amount of damage and no natural enemies is not a good picture. I looked up what their damage looks like and that's exactly how the leaves on my roses can look mid summer. I check the rose and night blooming jasmine leaves and I can never find anything. My Rose of Sharon bush is next to the roses and has stayed okay. Leafhead, have you ever tried or had any luck with diatomacious (sp?) earth? I tried it on ants and it didn't phase them. I threw it all over the navel orange tree, and I think it did slow the problems down. It might be worth trying. So unfortunate that world commerce has spread so many foreign invading species around the globe, harming natural habitats, our agriculture and gardening! My milkweed leaves have several different insects right now I think partly because there is not much other tender new plant growth around this time of year. I pushed my MW growth by cutting it back and fertilizing heavily-just to guarantee a food supply for all the late eggs being deposited-a serious problem-hard to pretend they aren't out there (for me). The second instars are TOO cute! Am still finding a few eggs and first and second instars daily! (help) I'm worried about running out of MW for the 30 Monarch larvae in the house. Without the black mildew (or mold?) and insects on the MW it wouldn't have been a problem. Next year I'll grow potted milkweed in the house for back-up. Then no worries about bugs, mold, cold temps at night, OE, etc. I'm thinking about covering the plants at night--I see the cold night-time temps are beginning to slow new growth. Had I never let that "weed" go into seed a few years back ...... :)

Merci, Pug, Mike thanks so much. You all made me smile today. Merci, I've been doing quite a bit of praying lately, I'll add one more prayer and hopefully HE will hear. BTW, Belated Happy Birthday. When was the special day? It was very nice of your mom giving you such a beautiful plant. It's healthy, lush, and very green. Does your mom enjoy plants too? You mentioned a problem adding vinager? What happened? It's too bad you can't summer your new Gardenia outside. Those nasty mites are terrors. I thank God my plants have been bug free, well, all except one. A succulent called Tiger's Jaw. I spotted white gook a couple months back, cleaned w/rubbing alcohol, but those little sh*t's won..Mealy are the worse. Mersi, what have you used to rid mites? Do you use chemicals? My plants are showered, but never left in tub/sink filled with water for days..I do soak African Violets and a few other tropicals like Anthuriums, but after the top of soil is wet, plants are then air dried then placed in their spot. I've also learned, the hard way, soaking shouldn't be done at night, especially if chilly/cold. My new Gardenias, for the most part, died. I'm not saying I'm not to blame, (in part it's my fault) but when they arrived, after thorough inspection, leaves weren't in the best of health. Most had light brown, soft spots. Is anyone familiar with these spots? Could it be a fungus? If anyone here grows roses, and have dwelt with, think it's called brown or black spot, the gardenia leaves looked simiar to rose spots. Merci, I looked at the photo of your new gardenia, and she/he? looks very very healthy. You are so funny though..Don't fear your plant..I honestly think, like pets, plants sense our feelings. Did you ever hear stories about dogs who smell fear in someone, and even though the dog is gentle, will actually harass that person? This happened to my little sister at a picnic one time. Or ever see the Andy Griffith episode where Aunt Bea takes care of a baby. Everytime she lifts the child, the little girl screams. At the end, Opie fed the baby blueberry pie. Aunt Bea comes home and thinks the baby's face turned blue, isn't breathing. She swoops the child in her arms, calling for Andy to notify the town doctor. But this time, the baby doesn;t cry. The reason was because she sensed Aunt Bea was no longer afraid of her but for her. End of story. I'm sure everyone reading this is happy hearing about Aunt Bea. lol. But I really believe plants sense our moods. We show them who's boss, they'll respond with a 'beauty pageant.' Flowers and healthy leaves. As for sun, my tree gardenia lives out front facing mostly west, some south and north. It gets a lot of afternoon sun, 'when we have sun, surely not this year.' I set it out some time in April. Some nights were in the 30's, and a few 80F days. Thank the stars it's doing fine..no flowers, but I think the reason is, too much rain, no time to dry out, no fertilizer or Superthrive, but the foliage is find. It gave me a big scare when still inside. That's the reason it went outside. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTDAY.. Pug, I hope you're well too..and the pups. With spring, I bet your plants are beautiful. lots of flowers? How are your fruit trees doing? And Coffee tree. Citrus. etc, etc. Mike, it's always great hearing from you. How are your plants doing? Any new additions? If so, please post. And how are you coming along? I hope everyone is well, it's great talking to you guys again. I missed you all. But things happen, life isn't always a bowl of cherries, unfortunately. My husband had surgery last week, the same time I came down with stomach flu, not to mention my puter kicked the bucket. All in one week! Oh Butterfly, before I forget, how in the world did your plant fly out of a car window, on the highway????? That's so sad. And dangerous, too. Thankfully, no one was hurt, other than your plant..Wow! Take care everyone..hugs, luv ya all..Toni...Amen

I love praying mantis. Years ago when I was in Tyler for their rose festival, I was photographing some of the roses at the Tyler Rose Gardens. I took one with a praying mantis eating a honeybee. It isn't as good as yours, but how many times do you get to see a praying mantis eating - a bee of all things too! I'll look for that and post it if I can find it on one of my photo cd's. Oh, and I like your blown glass flower. Not sure how many insects that praying mantis will get there, but he will eventually figure out he should be on a real flower. It makes a good picture though!

Hello marinfla, I use E.B. Stone Organics "Ultra Bloom". It is 0-10-10 and is derived from Bone Meal and Potassium Phosphate (I think). It also has beneficial bacteria and fungi. If I remember correctly, avocados are pretty heavy feeders so you should give it some nitrogen but just not too much. You may want to try Neptune's Organic fish and seaweed fertilizer which is 2-3-1. It will give your plant a lot of micronutrients that it wont get from the Ultra Bloom. Keep an eye on your avocado and hopefully withholding some nitrogen and giving it more potassium and Phosphorus will help it with fruiting. If you see the leaves losing its green color, you may have to increase the Nitrogen a bit. Let us know how it goes! I think I purchased my organic fertilizer at Armstrong Nurseries. I'm not sure if you have those in Florida. rodneys is correct, bone meal is a great source for phosphorus.