I was wondering about the TP rolls, too! Oh yes, there's thousands shells all over the house. For years we went to Holden Beach, NC for Christmas. When you're the only people on a barrier island, the shells are ABUNDANT! There are still shells from NC that are packed in boxes in my shed. Tons of big cockles, olive, clams, scallops, venus clams, baby ears, kittens' paw, jingle shells, turrets and augers, so pretty! Also have shells from vacations in Norfolk VA, and Hilton Head SC. At HH, I found a lot of sand dollars caught in the tide pools. Then there are the FL shells, oh my. Every piece of clear glass I can find is filled with them, and we've found a TON of great ones on Cape San Blas, just SE of Panama City. We like to camp at the state park there and took a golf cart once and made it 7 miles down a sand path to the end of the island. Wow there were shells in the bay! You're right about throwing the live ones back in, most of the really pretty shells in FL have marine hermit crabs in them (which are not the kind kept as pets, marine crabs need an established salt aquarium.) We found a ton of purple urchins, horseshoe crab shells, big scallops with pink and purple stripes, and others whose names escape me at the moment, pounds of them. My favorite are the tiny coquina shells though. After many years of picking them up, I still have only a small jar full but we add more often, it's only 90 minutes to the beach from here. An especially good haul from a camping trip last spring:

The difficult thing about controlling mealy bugs is finding all of the egg stashes that the adults lay, sometimes quite far from the spot where you find the actual infestation. No chemical will kill the unhatched eggs. You have to be very diligent and treat every 7 - 10 days to kill the newly hatched young before they mature and start laying eggs of their own. Eventually, you'll deplete the eggs and be rid of the buggers, but it will take a while. I would treat with Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub (BATS), but you have to treat EVERY plant you have. Also, remember that the active ingredient in BATS, Imidacloprid, does not move into the flowers or fruit of a plant so you need to remove all of the flowers and fruit or the mealies will continue to multiply. One other important point is that you need to quarantine every plant you receive for at least 8 weeks, plus treating it before you move it into your collection. You may not see any bugs on the plant, but they can certainly be there and if they are, you have to start all over again. Once you get rid of the mealies, it's best to not acquire any more plants after that. (not realistic, but the best way to guard against future bug infestations.

Hello all, I was taking a look back through my old posts and saw this and just wanted to share some newer pictures (February). My TC responded phenomenally to the bark mix and is looking great. Unfortunately, I misunderstood and used coarse orchid fir bark instead of fine, but when I repot next I will break what I have to smaller chunks. Live and learn! Josh, I think you mentioned 2 years to repot in this mix? If anyone reading this is curious, here is a link to Josh's repot post that Laura mentioned above ("CC Repot"). It is a great read and there's a ton of good information. Anyway, here it is (and yes that is a ton of snow in the background--almost all melted now): This 'little' one consisted of one 2-segment cutting and one 3-segment y-shaped cutting when I originally started this thread. I can't believe how much it has grown in the last nine-ish months! This is still in peaty mix, I'm going to repot it this spring. It's the one on the right! :-) Just out of curiosity, does anyone have thoughts on why the larger plant is cascading more while the cuttings are growing more upright? Most of the pictures I've seen on the forum tend to be more upright before cascading. Also, I'm thinking about turning the pot with the cuttings into a mixed container. Any suggestions for plants that may be compatible with TC or this soil mix? If they're ok with a slightly more water retentive mix, I'm thinking a cascading sedum (burro's tail) or senecio (string of pearls) along with a kalanchoe (paddle plant). Looking forward to another year of growth! Nathan

Thanks! I should have explained - I took the vinca out its pot to check there weren't insects in the soil/on the roots as well as around the drainage hole, then I put it back in the same pot after sterilising with boiling water, with a little bit of new soil. The plant was well established (but yellowing) before this interruption. I'm more worried about the little grey bugs laying eggs all over things - especially as they're moving in on the other plants! Will attach pics.