Hi Toni..... The plumerias I have are cuttings, that I bought and started rooting my self in December. They had no leaves. I had the mite problem before I got them. In fact I know where these critters came from, along with probably thrips and fungas knats. They came from a few Citrus trees I bought at my local greenhouse. I brought them all back within a few days of noticing them crawling around these new plants and unfortunately, thanks to my stupidity, not isolating them before I introduced them to my plant room, I infected everything in my room. I was so upset with the greenhouse, because when I brought them back for a refund, I was told by someone I know who works for them that they knew they were selling them infected...:-( That is why I got 49.99 dollar trees for 15 dollars at the end of their grow season!! So trying to rid my room all winter of these pests has been a challange, especially with so many plants grouped together on the second floor of my home. ButI have been able to keep up in a way in a small way, because I have never let this problem get to the point where they are out of control, it is just that I can't seem to get rid of this problem entirely. I am constantly spraying, examining, and doing what ever I can do to keep them at bay, thanks with the help with people that care such as you!! I put down towels on my wood floor, in the center of my room, then one by one spray the heck out of them with a mix of neem oil, dishwashing soap,and a small amount of alchohol all mixed in a sprayer every time I can get a chance, which is probably not enough times,it helps though. But Toni, they just keep coming back, not enough to cause webbing though thank goodness. I still feel like I am waging a war!!Even with my plants growing in the optimal conditions, I keep trying to understand why I can not get rid of them entirely. or if I ever will...:-( That is why I can't wait until spring, and then kick then all outside and then BOMB my plant room. I have alot of Palm trees, which I know are mite magnets and yet they are completely on the other side of the room and I have found none on them yet.:-) Hope this answers your questions and I hope you keep in touch until I get this problem under control..:-) By the way, it seems that I will need help in knowing how to winter Plumeria's by next fall. I will be looking for you on this too..lol Please pray for a quick WARM spring!!

The science behind the staling of bread is really interesting to study. You need to choose the right ingredients, don't over-bake the bread, and to choose the correct type of wrapping to help keep breads "fresh" longer than 2-3 days. Moisture changes in the loaf after it cools, and that contributes to staling through evaporation and moisture redistribution. If you leave your loaves unwrapped, you will quickly see a 10% weight loss, but usually less than 1% in tightly-wrapped bread. So how quickly you package your loaves after they are cool, and what you package them in can affect it's "freshness". Choose a close wrap - such as plastic wrap or a tight-fitting plastic bag, rather than a loose-fitting plastic bag. If you reuse plastic bags for your bread storage, make sure they are sprayed with a bleach/water solution (1-quart water and 1 t. bleach) to kill any mold spores on the bag surface. Adding coconut oil to your bread will also aid in preventing mold longer than using vegetable oil or butter, as well as using honey and agave nectar instead of sugar. When bread is wrapped loosely in a plastic bag, the moisture from the crumb of the bread quickly migrates through the crust and then into the air in the bag. Even more so if the bread has one end sliced, or if you slice the entire loaf. I only slice bread as needed so it stays fresh longer. The moisture level in the crust increases from about 12 to 28% when stored in a loose-fitting plastic bag, such as a zip-lock bag which is much larger than the loaf of bread. The worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. In one scientific experiment I have in my files on the subject, refrigerated bread staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six. Because of the ingredients I use, methods of making and proper storage of the bread, the 100% whole wheat bread recipe I make will stay fresh enough for a peanut butter sandwich after 7 days. We typically use one 1-pound loaf of bread a week. Those ingredients that aid in preventing staling and mold are agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil, and a mixture of chia seeds and water. Chia seeds hold moisture in the crumb of the bread. I also use an overnight sponge method to make the bread, make sure the dough is well-hydrated, use a long, cool, slow rise, and make sure I don't over-bake the bread. If you choose to make lean breads, they begin to stale within 2 hours of baking, which is why fat-free loaves like Italian or French breads stale so quickly. Fats slow staling by improving the loaf volume. -Sweeteners slow staling directly by retaining moisture. The better choices for sweeteners are honey and agave nectar, especially if you are going to freeze the bread. -Use emulsifiers, such as egg yolks or lecithin. Choose breads that are good keepers to begin with. -panettone -breads made with starters (acidic doughs) -breads prepared with cold slow rises -breads that include moist cooked grains (wheat, rice, etc.) or fruit (such as raisins or currants). -breads containing dairy products, potato, potato starch, mashed potato or other mashed cooked vegetable, potato water, eggs, oatmeal (dry or cooked), etc. -well-hydrated (moist) doughs - Slack doughs, along with optimum proofing and oven temperatures, maximize absorption and reduce staling. It's better to err on the side of a wet dough. If your dough is dry and you over-bake the loaf, this contributes to breads quickly drying out and going stale. Bake most panned loaves of bread to an internal temperature between 195-205°F. The higher the temperature, the dryer the loaf will be. Some of the more interesting aspects of staling breads... -Unwrapped bread looses moisture and flavor faster, but retains crumb texture. If you use a loaf of bread quickly, just up-end the cut side on a cutting board and cover the loaf with a cotton towel. This method is often used by people because they like the improved crumb texture from using this method. -Wrapped bread stays softer (especially if you wrap the bread while it's still slightly warm) and tastes better (especially when wrapped after the loaf is completely cool), but the crust softens faster. -The crumb firms fastest at low temperatures between 20-50°F, which are refrigerator temperatures. -High storage temperatures (above 95°F) affect color and flavor. -Optimum storage temperature for bread is 70-95°F. -Freezing at 0° to -20°F has the effect of about one day's storage time, but cold storage effectively stops all other aspects of staling IF the bread is tightly wrapped in one or two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Tight wrapping is necessary to keep the moisture in the crumb from migrating through the crust, creating ice crystals which are found when bread is stored in a loose-fitting bag in the freezer. -You can re-gelatinize the starches in stale bread by spritzing a slice with a fine mist spritzer (often used for plants) mist the slice with water. Warm the slice/s in a toaster for a moment or two. You can only use this method once. If you want to re-gelatinize a whole loaf, or a portion of an unsliced loaf, wrap it in foil and bake it for 10-20 minutes at 300-350°F. But you will need to use it quickly. -Grainlady

You can't defy retrogradation of amylopectin - staling - especially where it comes to the crust. The best way to prevent it is to eat it quickly because staling BEGINS within 2-hours of baking. The crust softens in wrapped bread and the moisture level in the crust increases from about 12% to 28%. This is when that dry, crisp, pleasant texture of fresh crust changes into the soft, leathery, not-so-pleasant texture of a stale crust. gina w - FYI - the worst place to store bread is in the refrigerator. That's the fastest way to make bread stale. In one experiment sited in a class I took on Retrogradation of Amylopectin, bread stored at 46°F (refrigerators are usually around 40°F), staled as much in one day as bread held at 86°F did in six days. You may find freezing it in user-friendly amounts, tightly wrapped and stored in a plastic container, will work well for infrequent bread use. -Grainlady

Okay, here's the quote from William Alexander, on pages 80-81 in his book, 52 Loaves. He's quoting an answer he got from a neighbor, named Heloise Ledbedder. "Refrigerating bread actually hastens staling. To see why this is, let's back up to examine what happens when bread bakes. As the dough warms, starch granules absorb moisture from the gluten, swelling and giving bread its structure. This is what keeps the loaf from deflating after it comes out of the oven. After the bread cools, the action begins to reverse: water gradually moves from the starchy walls back into the gluten, leaving the crumb dry and crumbly. This process is highly temperature-dependent, occurring much faster at 34 degrees F. than at 70 degrees, so keep bread out of the fridge! and out of plastic. "The best way to store fresh bread is on a breadboard, cut side down. A whole loaf can be stored in a paper or cloth bag, or frozen in a plastic bag and thawed in the oven, or on the breadboard. And remember that stale peasant bread makes great french toast." Anyway, I thought that was interesting, since I've always allowed my bread to cool, then put it into a plastic bag, just like store-bought bread. If I freeze it, I wrap it in foil, then plastic, and freeze it. Sally