I am not trying to be argumentative, Mark. I have been a novice trader and so have you, and have been lead to believe a plant was 'easy', when it wasn't - I was out a plant AND money. I was just being honest with my experiences in trying to root these cuttings, so a newby wouldn't be upset if he/she traded for the cutting and it did rot. I was merely mentioning that this cutting is not as easy as it sounds to root. You are turning this into a negative when it is meant to be a positive. WHY would this information NOT be relevant? Are you telling me you wouldn't want to know if the possibility existed that it could rot instead of root?

Mark, The question of what makes a "good" houseplant is an interesting question, am curious to see peoples' responses. Maybe is we give folks a little time, at least a day or two, they'll start weighing in w/ some considered responses. [don't be surprised if someone first suggests we might have to define the term "good" for this question]. I believe we'll have to disagree completely about Exchange restrictions. I know what I read & just to be sure, I went back & read it again. I don't know how to invoke bold or underline in here so am quoting the entire text where I suggested you go to the area marked "Special Instructions for Exchanges." I draw your particular attention to the SECOND & PENULTIMATE items. I've highlighted those several items by using BLOCK CAPITALS (Copy & pasting it in here lost the bullets as in the original, I've inserted paragraph breaks in here from memory, my apologies in advance to GW/IVillage). "Special Instructions for Exchanges: This area is for the purpose of exchanging seeds or plants of the type covered by this forum. The exchanges were created to facilitate the arranging of trades of plants and seeds between members. PLEASE DO NOT use them to solicit donations, ask for free plants or seeds, or ASK FOR ITEMS IN EXCHANGE FOR POSTAGE. ALL REQUESTS MUST BE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARRANGING A TRADE. If you have nothing to offer at this time, please wait until you do. All exchanges are restricted to users from a particular country, region or state. If it isn't indicated otherwise, the exchange is restricted to residents of the U.S. To find an exchange for your location, check the the exchange index. Each post must have a type of trade, subject and a message. Trading is done at users' discretion. GardenWeb has no control or responsibility over trades arranged here. Keep in mind some traders may let you down, so it might be wise to keep your initial trade with someone limited to smaller items. Messages addressed to or meant for particular users should be sent via email and are not allowed in the exchanges. If you have trouble with another person coming through with their end of a trade, you must deal with it privately. It is the consensus of the forum users that this type of thing be kept out of our forums. Any public accusation in this forum, or elsewhere at GardenWeb, will result in the accuser being banned. To avoid problems when shipping across borders and some state lines, it is best to ship plants bare-rooted and to label the container as such. It is up to the users involved to determine what is legal and what is not. THIS FORUM IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXCHANGING MATERIAL, THERE SHOULD BE NO NEED TO MENTION MONEY IN ANY POSTINGS. IF MONEY IS MENTIONED, THE POSTING WILL BE CONSIDERED AN ADVERTISEMENT AND THE POSTER WILL BE BANNED. Trading of patented material is unlawful and is strictly forbidden."

Hi Aggie, I think I've mentioned it several times - moved into my new home in mid-June, and I've been planting solidly since (!). My biggest mistake was to place too much faith in the huge Poincianas at the back of the block - the angle of the Winter/Spring sun and the semi-deciduous nature of Delonix has left me with some pretty sorry tree ferns, and my mature palms (2m plus) have all suffered with wind and sun damage, but they seem to be coping. Its not all natives - I've been seduced by a lot of exotic tropical plants - but I've tried to plant natives where possible. Carpenteria, Macarthur, Solitaire and Bangalow palms over an understorey of lillipillies, cordylines, ferns and a mishmash of Austromyrtus, Backhousia, Nandina and other species, with Lomandra, Emu Bush and Liriope at the bottom. Give it another year or three :) Cheers, Artie

In some cases the use of a plant hormone isn't warranted as some plants eg. Correa will strike "in a lot of cases", just in the ground. But using it doesn't have any nasty effects on the cutting as such. I use IBA 3000 ppm in talc and get very good strike rates on my correa's, but a lot has to do with the propagation mix, available warmth, water, temperature fluctuations, luck etc. During spring/summer when temperatures are above 20c I use a misting system, as cuttings need to have a warm root system compared to the foliage which needs to be kept moist/cooler. When all these factors come together you get roots and hormones do not neccessary mean you get good strike rates. I've currently got hundreds of cuttings in my hothouse, one cutting per 2" tube, all dipped in IBA 3000 and from this total I expect to get over 90% strike rate. What works for one person, may not work for another. As for honey "It's good on toast"