I'd remove that red mulch in a heartbeat. Wait to summer's over and give it a real grandulated fertilizer. To me, the spikes just don't give a young growing tree what it needs. Also, are you planning on walking around this tree. I can tell you, mine has a 25' spread. You need to "limb it up" now when the lower limbs are still little. At least 4 feet. And don't forget the saying - buy 3 rakes. One for you and the other two for your neighbors. They throw down a lot of leaves! and this time of year, I'm raking up the old flower pods. Two garbage cans full this week........cheryl

Hey guys, Thanks to all that took the time to answer. I appreciate it. I know my post was long and I'm not very good at communicating this way. Yes, costs are a consideration... but not the main thing. We have had communication "issues" in the past with this vet and her office staff and we are trying to rectify this. Although, I don't think we are getting anywhere. For instance, when we took the new pups in for the second set of shots (the rescue shelter had given the pups the first set of shots, but we missed the time frame by 6 days (it was unavoidable on our part) so the vet insisted that the first shots wouldn't count). After the exam she sent in a vet tech to finish up and we specifically asked what would be needed on the next visit for puppy shots (what we considered the 3rd set but the vet said they were the second set) and we were told that there was no charge for the actual visit because there was no need for an exam, it was considered just a follow up visit, and then given a list of shots needed. I had it figured at 57 dollars... and that is after i told them that it wasn't just the money due that was the problem, it was not knowing ahead of time and we are not willing to face surprise charges (when possible, of course, we are not talking about emergency situations or diagnostics). So... here we are with the pups in the exam room, on time, according to the vets strict shedule for time allowed between sets of puppy shots and just to be doubly sure I mention this to the vet tech who sees us and the pups before the vet does. She tells me there must be some confusion (picture heavy sighs and eye rolls from DH and I.. here we go again) and I explained to her that the confusion must be on their part, not ours, because we specifically asked on the last visit about this. She tells me this is "impossible'. I tell her it is not only possible but, sadly, highly possible and par for the course. Geesh! She then asks me who the vet tech was on that visit. I tell her I don't know her name (it's hard to keep track, there are new and different employee's, including this one, every time we visit and this is, again, after we have told them that we want all communication on record and that we neeed to know what to expect, moneywise, beforehand... surprises are no longer accepted) but it should be on the record, no? Silly me, eh? We tell her we want to speak with the vet.. she scurries off and comes back just as quickly...says things will be straightened out. Starts to leave again, as she does we spot the vet tech from the previous visit. We tell her that is her, she's the one that gave us the info. Much wispering and not so whipering conversations going on in the hall. At this point it is bordering on the absurd. I open the door and ask the vet to talk to us.. she says take it up with the office manager and walks away. My DH was boiling. Anyway, office manager tells us same thing... it is impossible that anyone could have told us this. At this point door is opened and i see the vet again... she tells me that this is not up for discussion and that if I don't agree with the exam fee and a few other puppy shots that we were, also, told previously that were not needed, that we can go to petco! I was furious and told her that even petco has scheduled shot days and if we left now, the pups would, again, be off the allowed puppy shot period, thus forcing us to negate the 2nd set of shots just as we had to negate the first set. Her reply was that a week or so wouldn't matter!! My DH had taken us to the vets office directly from work... he works construction, very hard work... he had not even had a chance to take his boots off. He was tired to begin with. Now he was exhausted and pis*ed, too. We gave up in sheer frustration. What was supposed to cost 57 dollars now costs us 147 dollars! Ugh! We didn't even have 147 dollars. It simply wasn't in the budget for that week. Don't forget, we did try to budget for this. Also, on the Rimadyl thing, I struggled with the issue when Toby needed it. I knew it was a risk but he was in so much pain that if there were no relief I would have had to put him down. He was crying at night and could never find a comfortable position. The Rimadyl was a miracle drug for him. My concern for the pups is because the vets office says that there isn't much risk for young pups. I'm not sure I believe that. And I do know that there are lots of other meds out there. What I need to know is which ones to ask for and which ones will work with less risk. There, surely, must be standard meds for post surgical pain? As to folks who say that the pups won't need pain meds? Maybe not for 5 to 7 days...but I do believe that they will need some pain meds. I don't subscribe to the thought that they (animals) don't need them even for such things as dew claw removal, neutering and tail docking (as newborn pups or older) and such. I remember when hospitals routinely did circumcision (no anestectic) on human babies. I didn't understand THAT thought process then, never mind that it came from doctors. It took a nurse to prove just how excruciating the pain actually was/is. She instinctively knew that the cries from these babies were cries of pain. Nobody listened to her. She taped recorded the different cries of babies. Clearly, you could hear the terror and pain in the cries. It seems so foolish to me that doctors would think otherwise. I know that when I had abdominal surgery I was very, very sore and in pain for more than 24 hours. I won't over medicate them. I'll observe them and see what they need for how long. But I also won't under medicate them. Hey, maybe I will end up taking the pups somewhere else. Still, I'd like to know ahead of time what pain meds are effective and not risky. Thanks again, Silly

I have a year old female (born in the "wild") we started feeding her mama last year and about a week or so after she got food again, her milk came back in, and then appeared out of the weeds, a very small kitten (her's) and she weighed a pound! I took her in immediately, she was not more than 4 weeks old, half way weined (more out of survival than anything, since her mama had no food and hence no milk to nurse her). Anyway, this cat has had the life of luxury, she's got full run of the place, other cats around, NO KIDS, a big 75 lb pitbull she loves on relentlessly, we have a very quiet home. Nothing to startle her, except the dog barking when the door rings, that sort of thing. She to this day runs away when my husband attempts to pick her up. And it's rare that she lets me pick her up without an attempt to bolt. There is no good or logical explanation for it. To the contrast, 2 of the other ferrel cats (her mama and one younger cat) have also become part of our cat family, they stay inside at night and sleep on the deck during the day, never out when it's cold or rainy etc. They BOTH will come up to us and "ask" for affection, no running, no bolting etc. The younger cat was so wild when she firt came around that you could not get close to her at all or she'd flee. Forget about touching her...now, she sleeps on the bed between us... meanwhile the pampered puss is a fraidy cat, go figure.

Yes I have them in full sun and I have been feeding with Tapin root once a month and also I water with my earthworm tea :) and on very hot sunny days, all my Adeniums get misted with the earthworm tea (I've been doing the tea for 2 years now and my plants love it). I wish I could get rid of these spidermites quicker, but I am conquering them :) Those Plumeria cuttings/plants are looking great. I have the 2 Plumerias that I rooted right away (one was the white one...it now has an inflo) and they are growing well. Plus most of the others I let dry for 3 weeks, seems to be all rooting/growing leaves, except for one (it was a cutting from my Hawaiian Plumeria), but I will try again:) The mother of the white one is growing well and is sprouting leaves on all the 7 stems, but not putting out new growth where I took the cutting from. I will be ready to send you a cutting of the white one, but how short is too short for a cutting? The longest of the 7 stems is right at 6", would that be a long enough cutting? I usually cut at around 7" or so, but I can cut it and send it if you think that's good. They have been well away from my greenhouse (where the spidermites are), but maybe once you receive the Plumeria cutting and the small Bromeliads, you might want to keep them away from your plants for a while....just in case! Happy Gardening, Jeannie :)