I am sorry you take offense summer fashion -- I was just trying to point out that there are other places for this rare rose. As the grower of over 600 roses, many of which are rare, I try to do my part to keep some of these in commerce, and have given cuttings to many different growers. My initial question was simply directed at trying to figure out if I had the rose that was supposedly "the last one," and if I did have it, to get it out there to some distributers. FYI -- Cliff is the proprieter of Eurodesert Roses and he specializes in distributing rare roses. And to answer your question about Gregg -- no I do not think he would necessarily have driven down and gotten another one -- he has his hands full keeping all the roses already in his 4000 rose collection. I would be shocked if he were adding more, even if he happens to lose one. As for you complaint about "hi-jacking", I am sorry that you posted your Kudzu question on the rose board. Maybe you should have put it on the appropriate forum in the first place, rather than worrying about someone changing the subject of your post back to the subject of the board. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu on HMF

The common yellow oxalis we have here has tiny "bulbules" (sp?), which lurk 12 -18 inches under the ground. You can easily pull up the plants, of course, but those tiny bulb things stay under the soil, and up it comes again. I once had a gardener who decided to eradicate it from a flower bed which is about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. He actually dug up the top 2 feet of soil, and sifted it by hand to get all of the tiny bulbs out. That worked for the first year, but by 2-3 years after he did that, back the oxalis came. So, being lazy, what I do is just admire it in the Spring, except where it is trying to smother other plants. Then just pull it out around those plants. By late Spring here it has died down, and I pretend it is gone. Of course, it comes up again the next Spring. It is one of our first blooming plants to bloom (starts Jan/Feb), so I just regard it as such and let it be mostly. One of my cats likes to eat it (we used to eat it as children - we called it "sour grass"). Jackie

I watered him only when the top inch felt dry and gave him lots of indirect sunlight. However, in the past couple of days, I've noticed brown spots/speckles on the lower leaves and the stems. I have also been reading similar posts from other members and Al's explanations, so I'm assuming the problem is mainly due to overwatering, root rot and/or insects. I also am seeing the fiddle's roots on top of the soil so the best bet seems to be repotting. Having come to this conclusion, I am planning to repot the guy by following Al's famous gritty mix recipe. The brown specks on the leaves are likely oedema, which occurs when the plant's internal water pressure becomes high enough to break through cell walls. The cell's contents then burst and leak into intercellular spaces in the surrounding tissue, which causes a saturated spot that eventually turns corky. The elongated spots on stem structures are openings in the stem's young periderm (bark) called lenticels. Their job is to provide openings through which internal gasses can escape and oxygen from surrounding air can enter the plant's tissue, which requires this gas exchange to remain viable. There is one question, however, that I have not been able to find an answer to anywhere in the forums (or perhaps I'm not researching hard enough). When repotting, am I supposed to remove/cut off the affected leaves? No. A plant's only source of food/energy is the sugar it makes during photosynthesis (glucose). Since every leaf is a food factory, removing them leaves the plant very vulnerable - especially so if it has been growing under stress or strain, leaving it w/o enough energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage. None of my leaves have crispy brown tips, mostly brown speckles on the back of the leaves as well as all over the stems (petiole?). I have seen some people cut away parts of the affected leaves, but that doesn't seem like the best option for me as the speckles are not necessarily concentrated in specific areas. The lower leaves are also starting to droop. If I am not supposed to cut the affected leaves, do they eventually go back to "normal" and lose the spots after repotting and following the correct procedures? Animals are regenerative organisms and can "heal" by regenerating new tissues in the same spacial position as damaged tissued. Plants are not capable of doing that, so damage cannot heal. A blemished leaf will always have the blemishes until the leaf is no more. I guess what I ultimately want to know is, "how do I get rid of the spots?" Some trees are prolific back-budders, IOW, they form new branches from dormant buds above old (leaf) bundle scars and from adventitious buds that arise from the plant's meristematic tissues. Meristematic tissues have cells (STEM cells, thus meriSTEMatic) that are capable of differentiating into any of the plant's organs. You can get rid of spots by getting rid of leaves - by defoliating the entire tree in the summer and when the plant is in a very high state of vitality (has lots of stored energy); or, you can cut the plant back hard and train a new branch to a vertical orientation as the new leader. All the new leaves on the new branches that occur will be pristine, as long as you're able to provide cultural conditions that favor the tree. Your job, as grower, is to identify and eliminate those conditions that are limiting or have the potential to inhibit the plant's ability to realize its genetic potential. That's how I look at growing, and it's served me very well. You can start by making sure you're maintaining a healthy ratio of air:water in the root zone and are fertilizing regularly and appropriately. That air:water thing is by far the most prevalent stumbling block, usually related to a less than ideal soil choice, for most growers ..... and not just the new ones. And YES, you can still repot w/o having to worry about timing. I'd say you're good up until the middle of Aug, or maybe even the first of SEP if it was really important that you repot this year. Still, sooner is better. Al

Violets propagate via rhizomes ( if I recall correctly) a tough woody type root basically, a standard weed killer like 2,4-D will knock the leaves back but won't control them. They are pretty but are problematic when growing turfgrass as they tend to completely take over. I have had very good results using a product called Crossbow in a gallon tank sprayer for spot treatment, it is also effective for other weeds. Violets have a waxy coating on their leaves, a small amount of dish soap (the liquid) mixed allows the product to stick to the leaves, increasing effectiveness. Weedkillers are best applied when weeds are actively growing, after a rainstorm or irrigation. High temperatures and drouth put the lawn into stress, weeds hibernate, therefore, weedkiller applications under these conditions may cause temporary dieback of the grass plant, while leaving the weed almost unaffected. Violet control is not a "one and done" kind of deal, it will take more than one season. With good cultural practices over time a thick healthy turf will better resist weed infestation and require very few chemical treatments.