Hi Robert, I just gotta spread the fun :) Dabble at it and let us know what happens! Hi Elizabeth, Please do try again:) It wont always work but the chance is better than if you don't. Hi Maria, (((hugs))) Just keep on trying,one of them is sure to give it up :) That is Blossom Peacock in the photo, I bet you have her in your line up :O Hi Arif, I am delighted to see you back :) Yes, Bill had posted about it but it's lost somewhere back among the pages.Thought I'd bring this back around since it is the season. I put the pollen directly in without any wait. You have some very beautiful flowers to work with,I hope you have great success setting seed:) Hi Cheryl, I thank you. Home repairs are going very slowly :( I am still shoveling plaster,coal dust,blown fiberglass insulation and the assorted debris of the boy's bedrooms into big buckets for the trip to the dumpster. It raises a horrid cloud of dust that clogs masks but I don't dare work without one. It's also turned very cold and that is not helping. I did take today off from shoveling & went to Lowes to get a new sink & commode for upstairs. Our Lowes did have seedling heat mats for $38.99 with a tray,cover and inserts. I wonder if it's a regional item or if they carry them throughout the chain? I would go to the store and look in the seed supplies. The guy on the phone may not have a clue. For pollinating,yes,cut the stigma to a stub and put the pollen right on. I'm glad those seeds are starting up for you :) You know best what your weather is going to be and the nooks & crannies that are good for seed starting. Maybe Cindeea or Elizabeth can give you some warm climate tips ? For storing seeds,I put them in envelopes and keep them in a cabinet. It seems to be best to plant right away. If you hold them for awhile it seems they germinate slower but the count is still good. BTW, that Appleblossom pod is still growing :) Keep your fingers crossed for another 2 weeks and more seed will be on the way :) Hi Cindeea, Bolero is a real beauty! I don't think I've seen a double Bolero,where did you get it? Please do post photos if you can :) When the stigma flips up it's ready for pollen-are you crossing with Lemon Lime? That could be an interesting combination! Lil Pinkie has turned out to be quite a good mother.I believe she is a 4th generation selection & hard culling is definately paying off. I have seedlings that are holding 6 good size leaves after dropping the first 4 baby leaves,they are on track for blooming at 2 years,yippee! Could you tell me the aprox size of the bulbs you sent Robert? I've not poked in the troughs yet, I'm wondering how they grow in a warmer-better climate. I didn't forget about the puniceum seeds,promise! There are pods ripening as I type and you will get a nice fresh batch soon.

Organization, or lack there of, deer, rabbits, groundhogs, slugs (up to 3", disgusting and voracious eaters) and clay ground that looks like the back yard "pond" in above photo after merest rain sprinkle. I've done the amending and mounding thing but that seems to have made gardens prime target for moles, voles and chipmunks. While side dressing perennials with compost yesterday found more than a few holes directed right at roots when I was moving foliage to get compost under there. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to fit in potting up perennials that don't have a home yet, plant all the bulbs after trying to amend the always soaked/compacted clay (tulips I planted yesterday have puddle over them this AM), what to do with perennials that look like they have lace foliage from slugs/bugs/insects and still try to get the hang of winter sowing so I have enough to replace what the miserable creatures ate and destroyed. I'm tied up in an anxiety knot my second year since I know it all doesn't work out well and it's so disappointing after all that work to get it going. Did I have germinating mix too wet, did I feed them soon enough, who needs light and who wants dark...on and on and on. Gotta take the time to make a chart and get organized. After marathon sowing (without record keeping except Sharpie notes on containers)I got lost in what all different things needed and how they wanted to be planted. I don't have the experience or personality to just hunk'o'seedlings them and let em survive or perish! My fenced butterfly garden has been decimated by groundhogs that climb 4' fence, rabbits that find the smallest opening to slither under and deer that are getting in there although they aren't supposed to jump fences without a lot of open space beyond fence. The only thing they haven't eaten in there is milkweed but that was moldy and losing most foliage long before the last of my Monarchs were released in late August. I also know there will be a plethora of self seeded monarda just waiting to spread mold coming up all over in there...LOL. Had to put Tithonia in huge container 3' high (was for onboard boat storage) with another 3' of chicken wire rigged on top of container. Groundhogs still got up there and repeatedly ate them to nubs, went away for a while and then pulled down 4' stems until they looked like they'd been struck and split by lightening. To add insult to injury not a single butterfly used them but the bees loved them. I should be asking myself why I've already purchased most seeds and have a few more to get for next year but it's impossible to fathom. This is supposed to be fun but I guess seeing at least some flowers that attracted lots of bees and butterflies who don't care about the rest of the plant looking like hell or know what's not there that was planted makes up for all the disappointment. Just to put in my 2 cents, I'd have wanted to explode if workers and/or neighbors were so inconsiderate to trample plants after all the work it took to get them in there! I'd just seethe but my head would hurt from keeping it in...LOL. You at least expect "humans" to have more sense than all the critters that plague your plants/gardens. I've spent a small fortune on bagged garden soil, potting soil, compost and amendments as well as critter repellant sprays. Started winter spraying regime yesterday on roses, azalea, boxwood, hollies and yews. Compared to people who have snakes in their gardens I think I'll consider myself relatively lucky on the critter front no matter how much of a continual fight it is. I could go on whining forever but it only makes me feel guilty for all the troubles I DON'T have that others battle daily on a more serious level. It won't stop me from whining or gardening but people "alive in the flesh" around here just walk away when I start talking about seeds, flowers, plants, containters or any gardening topic. Wait until I come home with bales of germinating mix when it comes in Friday at Agway 30 miles away that ordered it for me...LOL. Sorry for whining when "challenges" was topic! I need an attitude adjustment like they tell kids.

Yes the female flowers have set fruits these last couple cooler dry days. Just before that I had several male flowers, which have now dropped, so when the female arrived I only had one or two males which had been stripped clean by the time I got to it, thus the plant aborted the fruit. We has just gone through a hot day/night period with lots of rain, here just outside Fredericksburg, VA. It seems like either the bees, or cucumber beetles got to it first. I try to stay organic and had not heard about Neem Oil to control the cucumber beetles, so.... maybe next year? I have another female getting ready to bloom, I think I will bag out a couple males and the female and see what happens, I hope clear sandwich bags work. Sounds like Macmex's suggestion might be the way to go, although he tapes the flowers closed.

Formerly Snidely (cannot adapt to Elmer for you, lol), your first comment is very insightful. These situations are very complex, indeed. And because there is an emotional component, urgency often trumps due diligence. The fact is that aerial spraying is one of the least effective methods to get the pesticide to the target (mosquitoes), yet still creates the most problems for non-target animals like humans, pets, beneficial insects, amphibians, reptiles, fish, etc. Spraying from a truck is practically useless. A successful mosquito abatement program requires, demands, participation from each of us. Adjustments to landscapes, cleaning gutters, removal of all standing water, applications of biological larvicide to ponds and ditches, dumping of plant saucers and bird baths, etc. We should each be using a repellent of choice on our bodies or clothes, and the right kinds of clothes. I personally think that those communities in areas where Zika has been identified in moquitoes need to begin to fine people with untended koi ponds, clogged gutters, and other mosquito breeding grounds. Abatement funds should be used to apply biological larvicide to community lakes and ponds, to incorporate fountain aerators to those standing bodies of water, too. Bt-i (Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis), that biological control for mosquito larvae targets only the larvae of certain insects....some biting gnats, fungus gnats, mosquitoes, and a few other related species. I wish they could give canisters of the granules to each household. My city has mosquito trucks that spew pesticides. The last time, they sprayed in the late afternoon when kids were outside, people were taking their power walks, bees and butterflies flitting all over.