HI Vanessa, Is the gunk only on the tubers that have been floating in water? I've never had gunk. My lotus are still buried in the ground. I'm thinking in the next couple of weeks I'll dig them up. I hope I don't start seeing aerials growing out of the ground before then! I'm not quite as intimidated by them now, now that I've had the experience of dumping them out and cutting out tubers. The one I thinned last spring I think I'll leave alone. The other one will be in its 3rd year, but only put out 1-2 blossoms last summer and put out nothing its first year. I can't decide if I should thin that one or leave it alone?? Vanessa, sometimes well water can make slime. I don't think I'd worry about it. Who knows.....maybe its good for the tuber!

these are all so good! Michelle Kwan - I think it would be a graceful silvery-lavender hybrid tea with long stems and a sweet scent Margaritaville - a lime-green tinged white floribunda that has big blowsy blossoms and a citrus tea fragrance (for Jimmy Buffett) Mother Teresa - would be a warm white with golden yellow reverse that would seem to glow from a distance, with a classic rose scent. Nolan Ryan - a bright cardinal red climber that throws long canes, blooms up a storm, is extremely tough and loves sunshine (fragrance not important) Katie Couric - would be a petite hybrid tea with yellow and hot pink striped flowers, covered with abundant blooms all season, and a sweet fruity fragrance Jeri in Texas

MissSherry, Hee hee, I had to laugh when you said about sneaking over when nobody was looking and get the pots. :) There is a town about 10 miles from here that has a big trash day and now I remember how someone described how people cruise the streets looking over other people's junk to see what they can use and jump out of their cars and grab what they want. Ha, that sounds like something I could go for. I think they might have already had their trash day this year though but not sure. Yes, I bet that nursery was glad that you took care of their unwanted pots. I'll have to look at Lowe's and see if they have any broken bags of potting soil. Sometimes they do and put it on sale for half price. Yes, I think I probably do have enough milkweed to feed an army of cats and so I'm not worried that I won't have enough this year. :) tdogmom, You make it sound like your hubby likes his Plumeria as much as you like your Monarchs. :) Does he raise them to sell or he just likes to grow them? I bet between his plants and your butterflies, people passing by your place must think that they're in some tropical paradise. That's cute how you both have your nursery friends and nice that they save containers for you. It sounds like cleaning those pots was good therapy for you. Hee hee. It also made hubby happy at the same time. We don't have a Home Depot around here, but we have a Lowe's and sometimes they'll have broken bags for 50% off. I'll have to check that out. I forgot all about that. Susan, You sound very resourceful and I could do that too if I can't find any pots anywhere for free. Yeah, I saved my plastic pots too that I purchased plants in. I don't even know anymore how I ended up with 20 some one-gallon pots. Those already have swamp milkweed growing in them (they're just poking their heads through the soil...just soil that I used from our place). I don't know why I didn't even think of the gallon size jugs...we have some of those that we bought milk in and I could use those. Jill, Yes, I'll definitely have to buy the potting soil. I just hope I can find some for half price. I know the SuperWalmart has real big bags of it for something like $9, I think. I never heard of Freecycle. I just learned something new again. I had been buying the small bags of potting soil for convenience. I have back problems and can't lift a whole lot like those bigger bags of potting soil at Walmart, but surely I could get hubby to do it. MaryAnn, That's a good idea too, using the half gallon milk and oj containers. I imagine that some of the plants that I'm starting later than the others won't get real big and I could put them in those. I wish I could get big bales of potting soil like you describe. I never saw anyone around here have those. They'd last quite awhile! Well, for me, that's a month or so. Ha. That's for sure, at least starting the plants myself is much cheaper than buying all of them. I can just imagine that if I'd go to buy all the plants that I started from seed this year, they'd cost hundreds (maybe even a couple thousand) of dollars. Paul, I wonder if I'd be able to keep milkweed in pots up here year-round without them freezing considering that I live in PA. I'd do that if I knew it would work. It would save some time. If I'd try keeping some over winter and find out that they don't make it, I could at least use the soil over, I guess, rather than keep buying new every year. I wish I knew for sure if I could keep them over winter without them dying. That's a good idea you have about mixing the potting soil, sand, soil, lime, and fertilizer granules. I do that sometimes when I feel adventurous. :) I also built a new cage but didn't get it finished because of all this plant stuff. I hope I can find time to finish it this year yet or else I'll have tons of caterpillars on our back porch this year. THANKS, EVERYONE, for your excellent advice!! :) Cathy

Yes, SIDS still happens in the most careful loving homes. The last "S" stands for "syndrome" and the term is used when a child under the age of one has an unexplained death. Parents should know the recent statements from the AAP re SIDS prevention are receiving enormous criticism from medical and lactation circles. The controversy is complicated but you get an idea from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee statement linked below. (I thought this link was more readable but you'll find the statement on the net through many resources/professional organizations.) The papers cited within are well worth following through links. It may well be that down the road different recommendations regarding bedsharing etc may be offered for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding infants. Risk factors for SIDS continue to include exposure to cigarette smoke and not breastfeeding. The controversy stems from the fact that both separation and pacifier use compromise breastfeeding and, ironically, breastfeeding is one of the most important steps in protecting infants from SIDS -- in addition to many other well-documented protections. Mothers and babies are physiological regulators of one another, and breastfeeding assures this physical relationship in simple ways. Of course not every mother and child share a nursing relationship. Still, both nursing and non-nursing parents deserve to know the thinking behind the theories and the research, however incomplete. Too many mothers and fathers worry when they may very well be doing exactly what their babies need -- instinctively. The time with little ones is so fleeting! Many documented SIDS deaths involve some combination of alcohol / drug abuse, obesity, inappropriate bedding. And sadly, some babies die under the most loving and thoughtful care -- and we don't know why. I'm posting in the hopes that someone passing by will worry a little less, and enjoy her child a little more easily tonight. For those with interest, you can find some studies on the internet to catch more details. I have a friend who lost a baby to SIDS and I cannot imagine her heartache. She would say sometimes you do everything and your baby still dies. My heart goes out to anyone here who has lost a child. To protect our babies today and to come, we need more controlled research and accurate information free from bias, economic or cultural. (Re authors of letter below. Dr. Naylor heads Wellstart International and has an interest in anthropological understandings of breastfeeding. Dr. Lawrence is the editor of the classic reference, "Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession," now in its 5th edition.) Here is a link that might be useful: U. S. Breastfeeding Committee response to latest AAP SIDS statement