Thank you GP, and I apologize also, I did not mean to be sarky at all. I will try to watch my use of exclamation marks in the future. I realize after reading my reply, that a question mark would have been the proper thing to use! I guess a simple thing like that, can make it a bit ambiguous, when we read some of the posts/replies here. It can make you wonder if a person is miffed and sending a cryptic "Smarten up message", or just possibly trying to be helpful after all? At least this will keep your [?] question up at the top and hopefully, the person you are looking for will reply. My [?] is there as you don't seem to be the original poster,who posed the question in the first place? Unless you moved to the U.S from Canada and changed your user name? LOL Take care, "Horton"

Margaret, I followed the planting instructions for container grown lotus on the thread link I am posting below. The only exception is that I put half black cow and half of the cheapest brand top soil from walmart in each container. The more expensive topsoil brands have peat which will float. Also, I only put in 3/4 cup of osmocote instead of a cup but I have lots of pond fertilizer tabs I got cheap on ebay that I will add later in the summer. I did them the same way last time with good results. Lotus tubers are only sold usually March through the end of April so you will need to order early. Once they break dormancy they are very fragile and so people won't usually ship them. Last time I got mine off ebay and a few were not what they were supposed to be :/ This time I ordered from Texas Waterlilies and I got way bigger tubers and I have always received the correct tropical waterlilies from them so trust them to send the correct lotus lol. They also have some planting and care info on their webpages. You can start from seed but you may not get blooms the first year just depending on when you start them. Lotus will go dormant in the winter and are quite hardy even in freezing temps as long as the tuber itself does not freeze. I break up mosquito dunks to prevent mosquitos and throw a piece in each tub. You could also probably grow the Hardy waterlilies in tubs as well I have a yellow one that went crazy in a tub. They won't freeze and you don't have to protect them in winter like you do the Tropical waterlilies. I have found Hardy waterlilies in Petco & Petmart (by the pond products) sometimes Lowes also has them in late spring. Hibiscus::: I ordered Tie dye, Plum Fantasy, Heartthrob, Jazzberry Jam, Berrylicious, and a red dinner plate un-named one. I do like that Cranberry Crush I almost got that one as well LOL!. So many pretties out there.... It seems like the hardy hibicus should be easy to root from cuttings- have you ever tried that? Good idea on the wintersown seed method. I soaked the Luna Swirl seeds and started them indoors on the heat mat. I think the seeds came from Parks Seed. Here is a link that might be useful: Barrel Lotus This post was edited by sultry_jasmine_night on Tue, Mar 25, 14 at 11:46

Re: RHBC I am from the home town of Jenny Lind in Sweden originally. She is a National Treasure for us there. Many things have been named after her. But we heard nothing of this Jenny Lind or Golden Jenny Mellon. Then I found that there are these melons in Austria and Germany even today. But then, they are further south of our Nordic country climate. The singer of this recording that you suppose is of our Jenny Lind (actually is by Elizabeth Soderstrom) and can not be Jenny's voice. Only Elizabeth singing songs Jenny either wrote or sang herself. Elizabeth was also a Swedish singer and did record an album of Jenny Lind songs. Even in Jenny's home town there is no evidence that she ever recorded anything at any time in her life. These are just sagas or fairy tales. After her last child was born she did not appear in public. Even in Switzerland where she had bought her parent's a home to retire in after her tour of America. They were the only ones she would sing for (and of course her children after that around 1865 or so). Even this Victor Talking Machine Ad you speak of here, demonstrates that Edison never contested Jenny Lind having never been recorded singing or talking. Otherwise he would have informed his competitor Victor of this error. The Ad pictured Jenny Lind singing with two violins in the World Renown Castle Gardens. This was to emphasize that if she had been born later, her great voice would not have been lost for all time. This NYC location is where 30-40,000 people gathered for the event of the century. Where they were even selling row boat seats outside for $25 each in 1850 for what would be called Jenny Lind Mania and wasn't even accorded the Beatles American arrival over a 100yrs later. Even so, after her parents died, she wouldn't even sing for her own children or her grandchildren. She was a very proud lady, that also suffered greatly from stage fright and dare not attempt to sing after she reached a certain age. Just stage fright alone might bring upon her and embarrass her. None of the great Coloratura Prima Donna's ever sang past 40 to 50yrs of age anyway. That's when they begin to lose their high notes past 40yrs old. Amazingly only the late great Norwegian Coloratura Soprano, Eide Norena ever recorded the Norwegian Echo Song (Kom Kjyra), that Jenny so loved to sing along with other Traditional Nordic songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLoWmUagivs Like Lullabies, Ballads and Kulnings (the word we use for maiden cow calling in spring), with some of the high pitched tones you'll heard in this song. For the echo part of the song the singer tightens their throat forcing the voice into a chamber adjacent to the back of the larynx of some females. It's a form of throat singing actually or ventriloquism. In this recording Eide also demonstrates voice "Shake" (one of the many vocal techniques Jenny also used and taught as a teaching Master). Although Eide was an amazing singer, she was not capable of the quality of voice, Kulning and Shake (nor the vocal agility of high notes) that Jenny was. Though both Eide and Elizabeth did master the masked (hidden) breathing techniques that those listening to Jenny Lind took for granted. The Shake was a technique of rapidly Kulning (singing at the front of mouth-head tones loudly for cows to hear far far away) and Echo sounding (throat singing) the lower note alternately like a Nightingale (that could also be heard as if far away). Extremely difficult to do properly and not recorded in any way since Eide. There is a recording of an American Opera singer performing Norwegian Echo song at one of the many Jenny Lind Gala events over the last over 150 years. But I'm afraid "Shake" and many other vocal techniques Jenny had mastered are now lost, never to be heard again. Her name is Elizabeth Parcells singing it here in the 1970's Live (in Jenny's English Translation version of this Kulning); http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=2365390&song=Norwegian+Echo+Song+tradiational+folk+song Swedish folklore or sagas speak often of some magical powers in the high notes of the female voice to communicate with wildlife. That in every girl or maiden hides a Nightingale waiting for May Day to sing of her yearnings for warm summer days. There are tales of Jenny at a very young age mastering the call of the Nightingale. This is what she patterned her voice "Shake" technique after. Ultimately this is why she became known as the Swedish Nightingale even as a young child. Even her great great grandchildren know nothing of any recording ever being produced. Sorry! Here is a link that might be useful: Elizabeth Parcells singing Norwegian Echo Song

Thank you all...Yes I am a very proud gm. He's our only gs as of yet... Carol, I bet you can't wait to see your new grandbaby...It wasn't soon enough for us to see him when he was born...I think it may have been close to a month...they are so precious... We've had him stay with us quite a few times from a week to two...And what a handful...I think though now that he's older and walking well, much easier to take care of... Once again 'thank you all' for your comments.... Juanita