Cyn - I planted one in full sun (2008) and it melts by mid summer. BUT on the second flush it comes back bigger and better! I'm hoping this year, it'll be more tolerant to the sun, since it'll be larger. And yes, I water.

Fairegold, sorry I haven't been here for a few days: our DD took my girlfriend and I to Toronto for a Mother's Day weekend (my friend's two daughters live there), and we had a lovely time! I truly needed that! About your dear Mother: my Mom said the same things to me many times, and I know how it just catches in our tummys and makes us feel so helpless. When she asked me why she isn't dead, yet, I said that it was for God to know that, and she should speak to Him in her prayers; that if it wasn't her time, yet, there was good reason for it: maybe we just still needed her with us. Fortunately (and I think you know what I mean, here), her dementia has progressed to the point where she can no longer form those thoughts let alone vocalize them. I believe that's a blessing in a very convoluted way... I, too, suffer from high blood pressure, and just before Mom went into the NH, was put on another, a third medication to control it. I evidently wasn't handling things as well as I thought I was: my body was silently protesting the pressure I was in. Thank goodness I can tolerate those meds: in your situation it's much more imperative that you do something to control your BP if meds aren't the answer. It's easy for us to say "take care of yourself" but after being a care-giver for so long, we can only answer: How? You simply must find ways to bring your "fight or flight" BP down, and that may mean meditation using meditation tapes, listening to theraputic music (there are many out there), taking a yoga class, learning how to really breathe! There's nothing selfish about keeping yourself well...you'll be of no use to your Mother if your own health is deteriorating. Please look into some venues for yourself, okay? As for your youngest brother, pull away from that issue! It's his problem....he'll be the one who will feel the guilt of not doing more for her after she's passed (or he won't! But it's not your concern.) You can't take on the world's problems with your Mother...you CAN be there for her...make sure things that you want in place are put into place no matter what she thinks. She's 95...my Mother is 91...they're tired. They may indicate one day that all they want it to die, yet the next day it'll be different. Don't swing emotionally from one extreme to another. Approach it more methodically....it's not callous..it's life-saving for you! Smile and nod, then do what you feel is appropriate. As for falls, PeeBee is right. As usual ;-) My Mom fell in the first week she was in the NH, because she was using her walker, and my first reaction was guilt. Thank goodness for my friends here and at home, I was made to see that unless I stood by her side 24/7, there were no guarantees she wouldn't have fallen at home. She may fall. She may break something and end up in the hospital. She may pass away from it. Some do. But, Sweetie....if that's the way it may happen, then who are we to feel the need to control it all? We can't keep them with us forever. Something definitely WILL happen. The day, the manner of their passing is not for us to know. Just do the best you can without being SuperDaughter, and you will always know in your heart that you did the best you could. As for anyone else's failures, they're not your concern. My brother and his family always felt that sending flowers on Mother's Day and her birthday, phoning her, etc was enough. And it was enough for Mom. Maybe I would have wished that even ONCE in 12 years they would have said...Linda..you and your hubby need a break: we're coming up to care for Mom for a week (or even a weekend!), so you two can get away. In a perfect world, that would have been wonderful. But nothing and no one (even us!;-) is perfect, so we have to play the hand we're dealt and not worry about anyone else's cards. Fairegold: relax. Please take tangible, positive steps to take a meditation class, or purchase CDs, or do whatever you need to do to recharge your batteries and take care of that BP problem. Close the door and do what YOU need to do for YOU. You still have a full life ahead of you....be well. Blessings Linda

I intended to leave them alone as the first commenter suggested. Some of them grew multiple rosettes, both on top and bottom of the leaf, those ones I left as they were, but there was one that only had a rosette growing upside down, I eventually flipped that one over. The rosettes that grew on the bottom of the leaves eventually grew around it and changed to the normal direction, so in my limited experience they grew fine either way. But one person commented that they read that in an experiment some of the rosettes that were left upside down were not viable due to the awkward positions.

Since marble is used for steps and such on exteriors I would say it is not going to deteriorate faster. It may stain a little more easily. The reason I asked is because in the last place I had my marble shelf mounted high enough to be out of the shower spray and although it was mounted with the polished side up, I could see the underside standing in the shower.