Hi,I usually hang out in the brugmansia forum,but lurk here occasionally. I believe that what happened to your plant is that while it was still tightly rolled up in the p-stem,or just as it emerged,before it un-furelled,an insect,probably a beetle or a grasshopper among others,bit one hole in the leaf that went through a few layers of rolled up leaf.As the leaf unrolled the hole spread out,and it looks like a bunch of different bites,but it is all from the same bite. Sort of as if you rolled a piece of paper tightly,then took something and cut a small hole in it,then unrolled it,you would see a bunch of holes,all in a row,that looked like something ate it,but it was just 1 hole at first.Hope that makes some sort of sense to you,I know it sounds odd,but,I'll bet that's what happened. Dan

In the area that encompasses the Ozark Mountains and foothills (Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma) there is a subspecies or race of copperhead that has a lot of pink in its coloring - a very pretty snake. A friend of mine that works with reptiles at the zoo takes it upon herself to rescue as many as she can and when you visit she always has them in buckets or boxes or pillowcases in transit to someplace. Sometimes to be released, sometimes to other people who will house them awhile and then release them, some people to breed them I guess. I never ask. From all I've been told the bite is very painful but not life threatening as long as you end up in front of a doctor before too long. On one of my recent trips she picked me up in her pickup (the only vehicle allowed in OK) and we headed off to her place way out in the country by Lake Oolagah (I love those Native American names). On the way we had to stop and pick up her preteen daughter from school. We screamed through the school parking lot, shuffled some debris around behind the seat so that the kid would fit along with my luggage. It wasn't until we got out into the countryside that my friend mentioned we would have to stop so that she could release some snakes into the wild. I thought this would be great and that I could take some photos, since I had my camera with me. We stopped on an old country road in the shade of some trees and found a spot with a small stream - a perfect spot for a release, a rarely travelled road, shelter, food and water, a reptiles dream home. I had visions of a snake or two, maybe one poisonous in the mix. I was wrong. They were all copperheads, and there was a bunch of them. I don't remember how many exactly but it was more than 7. I also assumed they were in containers in the bed of the truck - WRONG! they were in tupperware containers on the floor of the kingcab, right at her daughters feet!!! It all came off as reckless to me but in all her life (and her children's) no one has ever been bitten - her horses have left plenty of scars on everyone and have proven far more dangerous than the reptiles. I've worked with reptiles in my past though I was never certified to work with venomous (and never wanted to be either). Snakes don't bother me like they do other people. When my vole population gets out of hand I've been known to haul home anything legless with scales to help with the problem - including copperheads. My tune may change if a person or pet gets bit, but until then they are all welcome in my yard. A problem with catch traps - glue traps, snap traps or bird netting left on the ground is that unless you check it every day the rotting animal stuck in the trap can really stink up your back yard.

If they are perfect circles, those are from leaf cutter bees. And if you are ever quick enough to spot them doing it, you will be amazed at the precision and speed of their operations. They will quit when they have padded their nests. Just have patience--I don't remember them being a problem for longer than a week or two at most. Kate

Comments - I have a couple, like the idea, but I do use them. 1. You do not see how much water is left. You need to lift one plant and check / refill. 2. Absolutely do not use a mason twine for wicks - it dries. Use yarn. 3. The distance between the pots is fixed. So if your plants are getting too wide - you need to remove them. 4. If you God forbid get root mealy bugs - you won't catch the infestation until everything is infested. They will swim from wick to wick. On the mats - you will see the buggers. Homemade alternative. A friend of mine in Tampa - I am praying for his safety now - came up with his own covers. You can buy a styrofoam in sheets - HD carries http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cellofoam-3-4-in-x-1-21-ft-x-4-ft-R-3-Polystyrene-Insulating-Sheathing-6-Pack-150705/205517302 cut them to size, it is pretty rigid - and make holes. The drill bits for making wide holes will probably work for Solo cups - but I found a neat DIY recommendation - https://davidneat.wordpress.com/tag/cutting-smooth-holes-in-styrofoam/ It is better to limit the amount of holes instead of crowding them all together if you plan to grow mini or s.m AVs. I.