Al and Nathan, I hope that you don't mind my sharing a humorous story about Turface, that really highlights your points and underscores how respected a product Turface is in the industry. My son is a Turf Grass Agronomy major at a large Southern university, and did an internship last spring/summer at one of the major league baseball spring training facilities in Florida. Turface is used for excess water on the fields that occurs during rainstorms, especially those "popcorn" showers (downpours) that occur frequently in Florida. It has helped prevent many a game "rainout" due to its effectiveness. It takes many bags of Turface to do this (for one game), which can become a bit pricey---so it's a protected commodity in the baseball industry. During one sudden torrential downpour, the Grounds Crew quickly pulled the tarp over the infield, and then took cover in the visiting team's dugout to wait out the storm. The Turface bags were kept to the side in the visiting dugout, near where the Grounds workers were standing. The visiting team's pitcher had a bad inning just prior to the rainstorm, and came into the dugout kicking and throwing things, as they sometimes do. As he looked for things to use to vent his frustration, he eyed the bags of Turface to the side, and the Grounds workers caught his glance, and could tell that he was tempted to kick them, also. They immediately, in *unison*, said "don't even think about it!". Throw your glove, knock over some bats, kick the bubblegum containers over, but don't mess with the Turface...unless you want to take on the Grounds Crew... :)

Robert - I think what you see is a result of your fertilizer overload, may be cold water some time and change of the environment- from the greenhouse to Walmart- to you. Otherwise your violet looks very healthy and it will grow out of these damaged leaves. You can break them off if they irritate you. Usually if it is wet rot - you better remove them ASAP. Dry rot - I think it is a result of the break in culture - and new leaves are coming nicely. It is not dangerous to get leaves wet - they actualy like to have a shower from time to time - just let them dry in a warm palce without direct light and remove the water from the center with a touch of cleenex. It is important to have your watering and washing done by a tepid water. Not too hot and not too cold. Since you didn't repot it - the soil is too heavy - that's how they grow them for sale. It is tolerable - just do not water it too much. This soil can get waterlogged in a hurry and drown the roots. Do not put any spikes any more - get some violet food - Miracle Grow, Shults, Peters - and fertilze it very sparingly - better about 1/2 of the recommended strengh. Good luck - and your plant really looks good. Irina

The sprouting of the presumably sweet cherry rootstock could certainly be taken to indicate something has happened to it and it is responding to that. And we already know the rootstock is thought to have been attacked by borers and subjected to various treatments in recent years. If the scion looks good now I wouldn't worry about the vacation it took last season. I would remove any sprouts that appear to be coming from the stock. I wouldn't remove any upward-growing branches that are being produced by the scion, as weeping cherries may grow at the same level for years and then suddenly start hoisting themselves higher in leaps. This adding of layers can only enhance the beauty and interest of the tree, a significant improvement over it being a big mushroom with a flattish top. Such shoots, although rather erect at first soon arch over. They have the same leaves and shoot diameter as the rest of the weeping top, unlike the often much stouter and bigger- and broader-leaved rootstock sprouts - which may also appear high up on the trunk - if the weeping scion was grafted on top of a tall sweet cherry stem. If yours is one of these "high grafts" everything coming from the trunk below the branches of the weeping cherry will belong to the rootstock.

To wild acres: First, it has been interesting to review the sudden reappearance of the discussions re using 'cornmeal as a plant fungicide'. Thanks for your Liriope report and your desire "to really know how this (cornmeal) works"? To answer this question is to refer back to the original university studies with peanuts for a possible answer. They reported that cornmeal encourages the growth of Trichoderma fungus which feed on mycelium and sclerotia of Sclerotina minor, Sclerotina rolfsii and all Rhizactina species. Since that report we have received enough information to add Pyricularia grisea (gray leaf spot) to the list and now, thanks to your report, possibly Phytophthora palmivora (Liriope crown rot) to be trialed and tested. The bottom line to all this is: If cornmeal does control this or that fungus, we have to test for and identify the responding fungus using scientific methods. To date academia is sputtering around this subject mostly in a negative manner. Those of us who have been testing know that cornmeal does control certain types of fungus. This would be an interesting and badly needed doctoral project. My final thoughts...Got a plant fungus? Try tossing some cornmeal on and around the problem, misting it lightly with water. It may control the fungus, repeated monthly, or it may not. If it does try to figure out the name of the controlled fungus and if it fits into any of the varieties listed above. It is always interesting to read the comments of others on this subject as they use the 'trial method' experimenting in their own backyards.