Damn! Had a reply all typed out, but it never posted... Hopefulauthor: It is indeed my first cyclamen. Been slightly traumatic, watching those beautiful blooms and leaves turn to mush... How can you tell the difference between the natural dormancy cycle and true death? I might just be freaking out, but it went downhill just this week after I doused it. And there were new blooms. GB: Thanks for the info. Looks like National Pigeon Grit is a bust. AL: HOWEVER! When I went to return my MG bags I stumbled upon something called Pearl Stone Decorative Soil Cover, which is really just a silly name for some irregularly shaped rocks. The particle size ranged from 1/8" at the very smallest to just a little bigger than 1/4". The bag doesn't tell me the kind of stone, but it probably wouldn't have additives. The Mosser Lee website says, "Mosser Lee Pearl Stone represents the finest in quality rock bedding. The small particles are perfectly designed to loosen heavy soils and provide excellent bases for any gardening or craft project. Pearl Stone�s rich grey color and small dimension are designed for creative creations." Would these work? Well, I guess the point of the granite is that you know it holds water, and this might not. I also found lava rocks though, and other decorative rocks from Whitney Farms. Does anyone have any positive experience with these? If not, I'm officially throwing in the towel on grit and turning to pumice and course perlite. City gardening is *inconvenient*! Here is a link that might be useful: Mosser Lee Pearl Stones

wow, thanks so much for the feedback everyone, i really appreciate that, and this forum (as evidenced my all my requests for 'help!', lol!). well, as far as the good wishes for my health - i thank you so very much. i've had a little set back and head back to chemo starting monday (yay - NOT!) so i am a bit anxious to get as much info as i can to seem like i know a little something to my poor dear hubby so he'll have enough courage to get out there and take care of my garden while i'm wrapped around the toilet, lol! yes, i'm a lucky gal indeed. since i've started gardening, i've taken a gander at the seed packets and yes, they're a little hard for me to decipher, i sheepishly admit. i gave up after my first disaster at thinning. i thinned the poor things to nothing! so i didn't even bother to thin the basil and it's doing just fine. i've noticed the occasional mean spiritedness on this forum and well, i just guess they've had or are having a bad day. honestly, i've found that there's more wonderfully generous folks here than not, and i'm thankful for that. i don't mind the occasional 'dry wit' comments too, but some are a bit, well, mean. and that's sad, because life's just too short, and truly sweet for that. i hope you all have a wonderfully sweet day! be well :) angela (ladybugs momm!)

Eight years! Ain't nobody got time for that! I'm not sure I will be alive in eight years. Well, that explains a lot. Mine had an exquisitely perfumed, huge bloom when I got it. But it hasn't done anything (well, unless you count negative growth) since I put it in the ground about six weeks ago except to truly resent all the heavy rain and lack of sunlight since then. Madame Lombard, Madame Rebe, and Blush Noisette are within 3 m of her and they are all happy as clams. I would not have gotten it had I known. I foolishly believed that any tea would be bulletproof here in NC Florida. Live and learn.

I suspect that I have mites on some local garden store violets that I got. I only had a 10x jeweler's loupe, so I coludn't identify exactly, but the center leaves are small, white, deformed and hairy. I can post pictures, but my ebay 40x loupe won't be here for a few days, and I've tossed the offending 3 plants. My question is, I have about now 20 violets from Robs, all are doing fine, in another tray which are tray wicked together. I had the sick violets in another tray, but how likely is it that my other plants will get mites? i.e. how easily do they travel? They're not touching each other, but they have been a few inches away at some points, I can't remember if they might have brushed one or two. I bought a 1/2 oz of Forbid 4F, should I spray all of my plants? How do you spray, like I have a gallon sprayer for fungicides for plants outside, and then I have a 4 gallon mega sprayer for my roses. I only have like 20 violets, I can't imagine using that much, can I just use like a hair spray water bottle (that I never use again)? Should I get the undersides of leaves and soil? I have a full active charcoal respirator etc... and I can spray in a closed garage (too cold to open the door). Do mites travel via common wick? I don't see any signs on the other violets that I got from Rob, they're all doing great except for one with powdery mildew which I'm going to repot and treat with phyton 27. I'm still getting the hang of things!