jeff_zephyr, when I say "heavy feeder" I mean in my yard, I need double or triple the dose of fertilizer to get the same results (a good flush of new foliage and flowers) as a "light feeder" requires. The amount of fertilizer you need depends on your soil and growing season. Of course, always follow package directions. 2 T seems a little light, but your plant is still young. I give my 5 year old (well established) Peter Mayle with many broomstick-size canes 2 cups of alfalfa meal or Dr. Earth type fertilizer in February and June, plus koi-pond-filter-gunk full of biologically digested nitrates which can be readily absorbed by the plant. In contrast, little 'Gruss an Aachen' reblooms all year on 1/4 cup of alfalfa meal once in February. So Gruss is a light feeder and PM is a "heavy". Makes intuitive sense--it probably takes 10 Gruss flowers to equal the weight of 1 PM flower. Of course as Henry in CT points out, you don't want to overdose your roses with fertilizer since it can damage the root system. Organic fertilizers such as alfalfa meal are considered safer than chemical fertilizers because they break down gradually in the soil via soil bacteria or earthworm digestive system to the point where the plant roots can absorb the nutrients. Chemical fertilizers provide a quicker stimulus. Like whole wheat bread vs. a candy bar.

ines, after really looking at my H curtisi, I have to take it back. It will grow as an epiphyte on the mount quite easily, BUT the leaves don't lay FLAT so I really can't call it a shingler. But it is definitely a CREEPER! The term for plants that shingle is "IMBRICATE" so I have to assume that's where Hoya imbricata gets its name. I have a friend in Ohio who does grow her plants (many different types, including mounted hoyas, mounted orchids) inside during the winter and does fine with them, even finicky South American species and stuff like Draculas and Masdevallias that require exceptionally high humidity (they are cool growing Cloud Forest species). They have a breezeway that they move plants out to in the warmer months, but you know that Ohio is pretty brutal in the winter and winter is long there relative to my brief 3.5 month foray into slightly cooler temps with only an occasional frost/freeze here. They get feet and feet of lake effect snow, slush, sleet and ice. If she can do it there for the winter, I believe ANYONE can do it. But as this very subject prompted such an arguement from the more northerly apartment dwellers and some others on the forum who insist that it "can't be done" last time it came up, you would just have to try it yourself and report your own success or failure. Its important to keep in mind that, while I have been lucky enough for the past 4 years to have a really nice greenhouse to grow in recently, for the 11-12 years BEFORE I had it, I maintained my plant collection inside in the winter. That included mounted plants as well as potted plants, including a collection of almost 400 orchids many of which were mounted or otherwise completely epiphytically grown which I managed to keep growing and thriving inside part of every year with a spray bottle full of water. It used to take a full day (8-10 hours) in winter to bring all my plants into the house and get them situated for the winter, and another full day in Spring to move them all out. So yes, I believe it is totally possible. I have a friend here in FL who lives 15 minutes away from me and has a 2000 sq ft greenhouse, but she still keeps some mounted plants and epiphytes in the house year round in her master bath, which has a large "garden window" over the tub.

I am on this yearÂs third...yes third generation of bunnies, Joe and I noted that this brood is right now about the size of a chocolate bunny in an Easter basket...very cute but equally as destructive. Call me Mrs. McGregor but I am often out there telling them to go away and find a new home. I have been using Bobbex for rabbits and I must say it has really been worth its weight in the great amount of gold I have been paying for it. This is the first year that I can remember where all of my daylilies are actually blooming. A note of caution Bobbex although *organic* is (to me) so foul smelling that when I spilled some on my hand after spraying and washed my hands over and over again with every type of soap that came to mind I considered the possibility of gnawing off my hand. When I mentioned this to a nursery owner he told me he once got some first on his hand and then wiped his mouthÂthere was no toothpaste, mouthwash, or drinkÂyes by that time alcoholic drink that could remove that foul taste. The ingredients say it all; putrescent whole egg solids, castor oil, cloves, garlic oil, paprika, vinegar, meat meal, fish oil, urea, water, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, aluminum magnesium silicate, glue. Are you gagging at the thought of it?

haha, they threatend to subpoena me on youtube when I complained about the diseased plants they sent me. They are rip off scam artist that somehow is still in business. Stay Away from them like the plague, and post reviews everywhere. They may spend all there money on fancy lawyers but none on there plants. They can there name removed from watchdog site, but they cant do it to all other sites like yelp, ripoffreport, etc.