LTG, yes I think SuperBloom and Bloom Booster do the same thing, as long as they have that high middle number they're promoting flowering. Home Depot, Lowes, garden centers all have those products. I feel your pain - during the heat of summer only one of my brugs flowered at all, and she kept going and going. Only when it started to cool down did the others attempt to put on buds. I have 3 now that waited all summer and are either flowering or budded out. Two are snuggled up to my south side brick house, keeping them warmer at night, one is in my family room dropping leaves and some of the buds b/c it's not getting the amount of sun it would have outdoors. My summer bloomer got hit by frost and I ended up cutting it back and I'm in the process of letting it dry out so I can store it. Since I'm in the north nothing can stay inground over the winter, altho I keep hearing a mild winter predicted here but why chance it? These plants are addicting b/c of their beauty, but they can be a real frustration. I can't wait for the ones with buds to flower so I can take pictures, enjoy, then cut back and store. Enough for the season already! I have plenty of houseplants making me happy enough with flowers that I can wait for a while on these guys. Happy Fall Back!

Aloha all, my surgery went very well, so TY very much if you prayed for me. :) The surgical staff were only expecting one problem and they found 2. They did a great job, everything considered. I am still healing up and sore in spots, but despite this I already feel tons better than I did before I had the operation. :) I'm very grateful my health is turning around. About water chestnuts- I don't have a water garden (or water chestnuts) right now but I used to grow them when I lived in Calif. Some large cities such as San Francisco, CA and Houston, TX have a Chinatown. In Chinatown there are Asian veggie markets that sell fresh, unpeeled water chestnuts when they are in season. If you put an unpeeled fresh water chestnut in a water garden it can grow and multiply. Also, water chestnut is sold by a website that specializes in water plants. If you want the specific info please email me, so I can avoid spamming everyone with a merchant URL.

BigMama - Don't forget to look at the link Fran made and make some requests from the lists also. I will do my best to get you some of your requests. Becky - I will also be posting some more toward the end so keep checking back I am trying to get to the nursery but just haven't made it yet. Fran - I will be happy when Im back to being me again also. I have one more test at the hospital on Monday. I am praying everything is alright because 2 weeks ago there was a problem and if its not corrected at this ultrasound they are going to have to do another dnc. So not looking forward to that. I just realized I missed your offers completely. LOL. Marian - I noticed noone requested your coontail moss I would love a sm piece of that also. I am looking for a couple oxygenators. NEW REQUESTS marian - coontail moss fran - Litrope, Thalia, orange canna, wild daffs.

Oh Michele, hon, you're not going wrong. I have a big problem with both the "N" and the "W" words. My kids learned really young with the "N" word, I use to smack them in the back of the head for it and they would even hear me say something to my parents, who are very old, deep southern, about that word. Like you, I find it degrading and rude as all daylights. It's used in the derogatory fashion, not the true definition of the word, which has no racial connotations.So they know well and better than to use it, but to be honest, each of my older boys tried it again when they hit pre-teen and at about mid-teen and still got smacked. Tiffy still hasn't tried it since she was young and heard her grandmother spout it. She's almost 15 now. I don't doubt that Vincent and Devin will try it again at least during one phase or the other. And they'll get smacked and talked to seriously at that time. Tommy and Jarret tried the "W" word when they were young teens, it had just become the latest "hot" word. After trying,and failing, to convince me that I was just behind, they never said it in front of me again. I told them that I found it as degrading as I did the "N" word and the "B" word to describe women in general. I don't physically discipline my kids very often, so when I do, they know it's serious. And more so once I explain the meaning of the word and why it's degrading and show them the correlation between it and other degrading words. Like Tommy likes to wear his ballcap backwards, does that make him the "W" word? Jarret likes rap, does that make the "W" word apply? They all use slang any more, so the same question again. Once they realize that it doesn't really apply to them and they wouldn't want others applying it because it would hurt their feelings, they stop using it... at least in my hearing. The same as using the word gay. Some people live the way they live regardless of whether others approve or not, as is their right in this country. Applying a label to them doesn't help the situation. My kids eventually learned to use a person's name when speaking about them, not applying labels, at least when talking to me or where they think I can hear. I keep adding that part because two of them are completely grown, so their choices are their own, but if nothing else, perhaps they will remember what I've taught them :)And at least I can sleep at night knowing that I did what I could to prevent another bigot in this world. And once they're grown, that's all we have. Hugs, Kathy~ getting off her soapbox.