Just curious thanks GG, especially in the context of being too cold to ship plants to where you are or not. Serious cold kicked in to NYC today, 30s, w/ windchill in 20s. I've been sick so stayed in today playing w/ plants, cleaning up lots of pots, quilting, & then OOPS!! My Bldg's alternate energy sources (generators) pooped out at 7:30 pm. Too early to sleep so I came all the way outside to find Internet to play. No more Hoyas for me 'til Spring I think -- Happy Holidays everybody!!

mickeddie...r maximum can get pretty big (although slow growing). Like 8-15 ft. If you don't want something quite that large, try R carolineanum (spelling is wrong I am sure!) or R minus (which blooms about 2 monts later). I think they go about 4-5 ft high at most. Try Edge of the Woods Nursery in Claussville PA (north of Allentown http://www.edgeofthewoodsnursery.com/) or just google it and check out all the mail order sites. I wanted a couple good sized r minus this year...could not find them anywhere so took carolinianum instead. Found it at Gardens of the Blue Ridge online for $35 for 3 gal pots. (about 18-24 inches high). Gardens of the Blue Ridge (www.gardensoftheblueridge.com) definitely has it (and they are wonderful to deal with). Edge does not list maximum on their plant list but sometimes has things not there. Although rhodies seem to have been hard to find this year in the native varieties. I have been dealing with Louise at Edge and she is the bomb! Robin

They were probably made by Keeler Brass Co. of Grand Rapids, MI. Keeler Brass was the leading supplier of furniture hardware for most of the past century. In 2006, Hickory Hardware brought together five of the finest hardware companies in the world  Belwith, Keeler Brass, Wright Products, Madico and Faultless Caster. It appears that myknobs.com is the exclusive vendor for Hickory Hardware. Chances are slim that you will be able to obtain an exact match. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.myknobs.com/hickoryhardware.html

aas178- As I understand it, you have a chrome-brass piece that looks like it goes through the escutcheon plate, but is so short that not enough thread sticks out the backside of the plate to provide a non-leaking connection at the wall. Here is what I don't understand: It sounds like the company provided you this threaded piece; but why would they send you something that clearly doesn't work with their escutcheon plate?