Jodi, this is a lot of fun! It must be so great to have so much going on in your garden. Part of the reason why I got my hipps was to make up for the fact that I no longer have regular access to a camera, computer, or deluxe cable TV. Josh, thank you for that bit of info. Many of the other bulbs have some roots to show off now. These are from one of the reds. Time for an update. Temptation is blooming right now and I LOVE it! Two scapes, same height, 4 flowers each all at the same time. I tried to self all of the flowers except for one, which I put Lemon Sorbet pollen on. Lemon Sorbet is blooming in a more sequential manor and the blooms don't last as long. I selfed two of those flowers, but I may do something else with the last two now that Gervase is not really Gervase. Maybe some green x green action soon. Too early to tell if seedpods are on the way? That's right, I got my first mislabel. The flower is pretty much the same color as Lemon Sorbet and is bigger. I'll get a better picture of its shape when it is fully bloomed. Even though it's a very beautiful flower, I was really looking forward to Gervase and I'm really bummed. Everything else checks out so far though, and my next set of flowers to bloom will be Royal Velvet, Red Lion, and Benfica. They'll offer great contrast sitting next to the green flowers. The Gervase mislabel. Here are Red Lion, Benfica, what should have been a Gervase, and Royal Velvet. I'm glad the reds are blooming all at the same time so I can compare them all together. Still nothing but leaves from Orange Sovereign. Here is Temptation with Lemon Sorbet. A group shot of Lemon Sorbet, mislabeled Gervase, and Temptation with flash against a white piece of cardboard. Without Flash If I were to start this project over I would do many things differently. 1. Only 5-10% of the Hydroton that I have soaked for 2+ weeks still floats, so I'm assuming that the rest is fully saturated with water. That will improve the wicking ability of the LECA when used in semi-hydro and is less disruptive to the roots while watering. 2. I should have kept the bulbs a third of the way buried (like how I originally had them before I removed the rotting roots). Unless you have very high humidity, not much of the moisture wicks its way to the top in tall pots. You can either increase the humidity, or use shorter pots. For now, I just spray the top layer every 2 days or so. 3. I would have left the rotting roots in the pots. They would have made their way out eventually because of the constant flushing when the plants are watered, plus they help anchor the plants for a while. I also messed up many growing roots that time I did remove the rotting ones. Hydroton doesn't hold the plants very securely at this point in time, not a good thing since I have to move the plants to the sink to be watered. 4. Heat mat. I should hade one to put the plants on the day I planted them. They encourage new roots and increase the wicking through the medium. That really helped Joker and Lemon Sorbet. 5. K-L-N. I should have had that at the start too. I'll be soaking the roots of any future bulbs I get in K-L-N instead of water before I plant them. By the time I got my bottle of K-L-N, the bulbs already had rotting roots. They would have absorbed more of the hormone had I given it to them sooner. In short, I should have been more prepared with the materials and researched more. Thankfully, hipps are forgiving. I'm glad I didn't jump into semi-hydro with orchids. I still have yet to move any of those plants over, but at least I have all the supplies to do so now. Jared

Jodik says: The coir might look dry on top, but down in the center of the pot, it could be quite moisture-laden! I have found it helpful to insert little wooden skewers carefully into the soil to about root level, and leave them there... I take them out and press them against my cheek to test for dampness... if they feel at all damp, I wait to water... but if the skewer comes out dry, it's time to water. My coir is 4" deep in a closed pot. I put the skewer to the bottom of the pot. When I take it out how many inches of bone dry top "soil" should there be before it's time to water again? Is it 1", 2" or 4"? I just went 10 days without water and only 1" of the top was dry so am I supposed to water this direct sun pot once every two weeks or so to avoid over watering, really? And how much water for my 6" closed pot? I had been watering 1 1/2 cup or so once a week and my plant was fine but I'm now worried that was too much so I'm re-evaluating. I know what conventional wisdom says (water deep, not shallow) but that advice doesn't seem to apply to my situation. Also how long should it be before I see new leaf growth in the summer time (first season outside)? My 18 month old Red Lion so far has only grown new leaves once a year. At potting and at dormancy end.

My computer froze up after writing my glorious ramblings so you'll have to settle for a recap. And Wildchild covered some of the things I was going to say. However, don't confuse chemical mace (which is a form of actual teargas) with pepper spray (a lesser irritant) as they're two completely different things. AFAIK, pepper spray is legal in all states for most anyone to use, where mace is more tightly controlled, unless you're using the name generically, like Kleenex, Jell-O or the like. Chemical mace is not pepper spray, however the manufacturer of CM makes a pepper spray too. Let's see, what all did I try to cover? My aunt in Houston used to use hairspray but that was for car invaders. Not good for outdoors. However with the assortment of perfumes, body sprays, hair sprays, deodorants and colognes that some women wear, the gas smell would choke off many attackers! One thing that is quite effective is a Tonya tapper. A friend of a friend used it a few times in different situations. But it needs to be quickly and easily accessible and you need to know how to use it. I won't look up the links again, but check snopes about the email. Again, (ARGH!!!) quit believing everything in email!!! If it comes via spam, it's more likely wrong than right. Pepper spray, at least what I sold, would shoot from 15'-25' and spray a "spray" rather than a "stream" so accuracy is far more important with wasp spray. Plus, seeing a stream that doesn't hit the perp accurately immediately, only gives them reaction time. This business of using keys is also dubious. IF you can get the perp to stand still while you poke them in the eye, and IF you're at sufficient height to go at their eyes, and IF you have the arm reach advantage to get to the eyes, even with the 1/2"- inch or so of key sticking out and IF you hold it enough and IF the perp doesn't just grab your then vulnerable arm, give it a twist and while you're going down on your knees your keys beat you to the ground, and IF all the other variables are favorable, then maybe it could be some advantage. If anyone has had success in doing this, more power to ya but normally it's best to keep a distance. I'd think it better to stomp on a foot than extend your arm to them. And consider your footware in situations where you're not comfortable. If you can't run in them at your top speed, probably not a good idea to wear them is it? Better to be aware of your suroundings I think. Did she call the police or security (if any) about the loiterers? As pointed out it could have been someone coming home and standing around chatting, or neighbors out doing crime watch. Learning to be aware of your surroundings and such can avoid some paranoia. She could also use her cell for other things, assuming she has one and if not, get a prepaid, they're cheap. Does she know any of her neighbors? She could call one of them when she is coming in and feel safer, or they could meet her at the door or something. Is it that she's afraid of the dark? I wonder because of the only time she's afraid is after dark. Crime happens at high noon on a sunny day too and if she's no more prepared in the day than at night, she's setting herself up for problems. My suggestions: Take a self defense class and also get involved in crime prevention. Has she ever talked to management about putting up some lighting? Perhaps some of these fears can be alleviated by a simple light bulb or two. Some other comments on stun guns. There was a great one I used to sell that had a lanyard with a "key" that if separated, rendered the gun useless. So if a perp took it away, s/he couldn't use it against the owner immediately. They'd have to get the lanyard off your wrist, figure out how to enable it and the like before using it so it too wasn't perfect, but a great idea IMO. I really liked that feature. Plus as mentioned stun guns and sprays don't always work on someone wigged out. Pepper spray has a shelf life and it's rather short unless it's improved since I sold it. Stun guns require fresh batteries and maintenance and do no good buried in the purse or left on the table at home. One of my favorite cautions: In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field. "We advise that outdoorsmen should wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them," a spokesman said. "We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear". It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear paw prints and scat. A grizzly's paw is larger and its claws are longer than that of a black bear. Black bear scat contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear scat has little bells in it and smells like pepper. Let's see, what else? "Non-lethal" is a feel-good term. People have died from stun guns. There's a mound of evidence that pepper spray has caused death too although it's not as easily proven. What is non-lethal? Point a gun at someone and not pull the trigger? And keep in mind if you have any gun, firearm or stungun, ARE YOU WILLING TO USE IT? And probably more importantly, do you know how to use it correctly? You'd be surprised how many people have sprayed themselves in the face with pepper spray! And of course pepper spray is not good in windy weather. Advertising your fear and being oblivious to your surroundings is bad news for you but good news for the perp. You prove yourself an easy mark. There's a lot more to self defense than getting a gun or pepper spray. It's knowing your surroundings, not making yourself an easy target and more. If she does choose to get spray or stun, tell her to educate herself well first. Don't just buy the $1.99 can at "Bulk Club". There's different strengths, different aerosol power and shelf life to consider (and more) on sprays. There's different voltages and other features to consider on stun guns. Remember on a stun gun you must have CONTACT with the person for it to work! You have distance however with something like an Air Taser. And don't expect the perp to loan you a battery because your 25¢ battery from the dollar store is dead. Some of the other things, like the keyfob with the "alarm" might attract some attention and the like has been covered and I'm sure I forgot some things I was going to mention, but this should suffice for now. Stay safe and use common sense. And don't even open spam!!!

I use the same, and I spray on the leaves as well as saturating the mix around the bulb. I apply ever 30 days now exactly as the bottle says it works for that period of time. The 2013-2014 I lost almost all of my bulbs to NBF, I had never seen them in my area but for some reason my must have looked mighty appetizing. Afterwards I pretty much gave up on growing Hippeastrum considering my collection was basically devastated. I lost so many cherished bulbs, many that aren't offered anymore. I decided this year that I wouldn't let it stop me so I'm back!