kaiimike- Can you proofread that link? It didn't work for me... For identification, pictures, especially closeups, are important, along with a a written description. I'll start the list of features and others can add: -NEW SHOOTS -- color; appearance/structure; presence/absence of auricles (little protuberances on the end of the culm leaf), and the presence/absence of fimbriae (hairs) on them; plus a description of the culm sheath and whether it's persistent -CULMS -- color (including variations as they age); presence or absence of a sulcus (groove) and whether the sulcus is a different color; striping or contrasting coloration of culms; diameter of culms; height of culms; approximate spacing of nodes and whether there are any variations (like closer spacing near the base); distinctive appearance of nodes (such as bulging/cupping, or whether there is any powdery residue) -BRANCHING -- pattern (number of branches, approximate angle to culm) -LEAVES -- color (including any variegation), size, and shape -RHIZOMES -- if you have any knowledge of the appearance of the root system, it would help in classifying the plant as a runner or clumper. Well...that's a start...

Am guessing on the last two, the 1st some kind of Rhipsalis, the 2nd some kind of Epiphyte. I'd suggest the pots for the last 2 are rather too big (tho' I see you got this nice, chunky mix which is likely to be fast draining). Pls. excuse me for not wanting to repeat all the tips for Holiday Cacti (both Thanksgiving & Xmas). Pls. search around here for the posts which include a link to "Holiday Cacti", the excellent link which is so often provided here. They explain care & culture better than I could. As to the Jades above, other than feeling like your BIL should not have watered in new cuttings, I'd leave the rest of that to others as well. Just pls. do a search on Jades or Crassula ovata in the meantime, as there are mountains of info. on this posted right here. My short answer on the Jades is since he watered them in, I would NOT water them AT ALL until I saw new growth, but perhaps others will feel differently. Good luck w/ them all!

Solarization may help with Early Blight or other diseases but LATE Blight needs a host plant to survive... if you removed your plants, be sure you leave no signs of them, like leaves or fruit that may have fallen off... clean up any nightshade family weeds that may be around too. Here is the some of the latest FAQ about the northeast Late Blight problem... "Some plants may escape late blight if the pathogen does not get on them. However, the chances of this happening this year are very low based on the fact occurrence of late blight is very widespread very early in the summer growing season. " "This year there will be a lot of wind-dispersed spores with so many occurrences of late blight widely distributed in the eastern U.S. this early in the season. These spores can be moved long distances." 3. Can plants be saved in a garden once late blight starts to develop? This depends on amount of symptoms seen, type of symptoms, how early in disease development symptoms were found, environmental conditions, proximity to other gardens or farms where late blight is developing, and management steps being taken. It is more likely possible to save plants in a garden if when the first symptoms are found: 1. There are very few. 2. They are on the leaves and not stems. 3. The garden has been inspected very thoroughly on a frequent basis (preferably daily) and thus the symptoms are discovered shortly after they formed. 4. Conditions are expected to be hot with no rain or lengthy dew for a prolonged period. (uh-oh!) 5. There are no nearby places with late blight that could be a source for more spores. 6. Further development of late blight will be slowed by regularly removing affected tissue (daily cut off and bag, preferably during the day when plants are dry and there will be sunshine for several hours afterwards) and applying fungicides (minimum of weekly). Additionally, success is more likely if fungicides were applied before symptoms were seen (thus there will be fewer initial symptoms) and spray coverage is maximized by using a pressurized pesticide sprayer to plants that are trellised. Removing extra branches will also help. Realize that even with an ideal situation (all above conditions met) there is no guarantee that success will be achieved. Late blight is a very destructive and difficult to manage disease. Impact can be great considering that tomato fruit and potato tubers that become infected can quickly rot. Plants can be killed quickly when late blight is not managed. A spot (lesion) can form within 4 days of when a spore lands on a plant (even faster, less than 3 days, with one strain of this pathogen) and a day later be producing spores that can be dispersed by the wind to healthy plant tissue resulting in more spots within a few days. Lesions that develop on stems are especially destructive. Late blight is not like most other diseases (e.g. Septoria leaf spot and anthracnose) that you can live with unmanaged because the plants wont be killed and all fruit lost. Late blight needs to be aggressively managed not only to try to save plants in the garden but also to avoid having the affected plants serve as a source of inoculum (wind-dispersed spores) for other gardens and farms. Promptly remove affected plant tissue on a regular basis. Realize that when symptoms are first seen, all points of infection likely are not yet visible. There is a latent period of a few days between infection and when symptoms are visible. No fungicide can cure tissue that is already affected, and this tissue will produce more inoculum. " "Fungicides cannot cure a spot that has already developed (disease control in plants is very different from humans). This tissue will soon die, but before it does the pathogen will produce hundreds of spores. The more spores, the greater the odds some will be dispersed to plant tissue that has not received fungicide. It is difficult to achieve complete coverage of plant tissue with fungicide, especially when a contact* fungicide is used, even with the best farm sprayer. The underside of leaves is an especially difficult area to reach (the pathogen can infect through either surface), " "After about 7 days the concentration (dose) of many fungicides can be too low to be adequately effective. "

You may have lost the identification tag which came with your clematis, you may have moved into a house with existing unlabelled clematis in the garden, or you may have just found out that your clematis cannot be what it was labelled as when you bought it. This last problem seems to be alarmingly common with clematis. However, if you have purchased your clematis from a respectable nursery, they should be happy to identify your mis-labelled plant and/or replace it with the correct plant. Certain types of clematis can be almost impossible to positively identify. That said, if you still want to try, make a note of the flower color(s), the stamen color, the leaf shape, the overall habit and size of the plant, and when it blooms. You can then try to place your clematis into the right 'group' which will help narrow down your search. See the FAQ entitled 'Clematis Types and Groups'. Then, see the FAQ entitled "Where can I find out more information? Clematis Books, Societies, and other resources" for a list of books and other resources that will aid you in your search. If all else fails, try and post of photo of your flower on the 'Gallery' of the Clematis Forum here. You never know, someone may be able to tell you what they think it is.