Are these still available? Where do you live? I would love to dig a bunch this weekend for my synagogue. Would you like some daffodils in return? you are welcome to email me at my home account ltitle2003 at yahoo.com Lynn

Hi Amelie, I have seen some magnificent Elites, well over 3 metres tall and extremely bushy (right to ground level), and I've seen some pretty sorry examples. Mine are currently doing well, but they are still young (new garden). I guess we all know the drill by now : tip-prune regularly, and give the entire plant a tidy-up (no more than a third off) in Spring - thats about as complicated as it gets. Psyllids havent been a major issue with my own lillipillies, and I havent found them hard to control with Folimat. Given the huge number of potential pests that plants like Gardenias can attract, I think the psyllid is a small price to pay for a species which gives us so much. Good luck, Artie

Possibly scale, check the branches and see if there's a little, hard, bug infestation that's hard to remove, though you can flick them off with your finger nail sometimes. If there is, there's also likely to be ants travelling up and down the tree, they 'milk' the scales for their secretions. 'White' oil is the treatment - it chokes the bug and prevents it from sucking. You should also apply a ring of petroleum jelly around the base of the bush to stop the ants. I sometimes use a commercial insecticide but a lot of gardeners believe that's a no, no, now-a-days on account of possible damage to friendly insects.

Hi nartfocker, Welcome to The Plant Exchange. I'd suggest you try posting to a regional forum, and putting the city and state in the Subject of posting line. Here is a link that might be useful: Regional and state specific forums