Here in Southern California a garden can be year round "alive" and I am trying to make the most of this mild climate. Right now my camellias started blooming and the cymbidium orchids are almost ready to open their flowers. Less spectacular but also flowering right now are my alstromerias, and the bacopas open tons of her cute little white flowers. I just finished pruning my roses so there are no flowers on the roses grown in the ground in the moment, but I was very surprised that some of my one year old bands grown in 5 gallon containers and some of my newest bands growing in 1 gallon pots tried or are trying to flower already: Memorial Day, Mr. Lincoln, Sister Elizabeth, Heritage, Mme. Ernest Calvat and Iceberg had already flowers or have buds, that will open soon. I assume that the soil is much warmer in the pots than the regular ground soil and that enables the roses in pots to flower so early. Of course that is only a teaser for the spring flush, can't wait! Christina

If your fish have TB, it was probably present when you bought them as visable signs like the sunken belly as you described are the advanced stages of the disease. It is a bacterial infection that will not respond well to treatment. I would not buy any more fish for your aquarium. My suggestion would be to pamper the fish you have left, if they show any visable signs, they should be moved to a hospital tank untill they pass, because if they die in your tank and the other fish consume them the disease will be passed on. It can also be passed by other fish consuming deseased poop. (which im sure your cory's were doing) I am not sure if your tetras are infected, but tetra's are susceptible to the disease. If you loose all of your fish, I think the best thing to do is strip your tank, clean it really well (filter too!) and start over. Oh and don't buy any new fish from the dealer you used previously. They are probably selling a lot of infected fish and not even knowing it, because you can't tell if the fish are infected untill its too late. One thing you cold do with the fish you have left is feed them a varied diet. Switch things up a bit and see if you can tempt them to eat something different. If your bottom feeders aren't getting any food, try buying black worms, suck a few up in a turkey baster, then squirt them out at the bottom of the tank near the cory's. This would give them first dibs on the food. I had to do this with my little frogs, because the fish always ate all the food before it got to the bottom. Good luck, im sorry to hear that you are having all these problems with your tank. -Jessica

(Apologies for the length of this and the fact it's off-topic) Bahia, Here's what the Annie's sign says: "Well, weve figured out how to propagate it, but its REALLY IFFY, takes a REALLY LONG TIME, & we only get a few!" For some reason I had assumed they meant propagation by cuttings--maybe not? But if seed packets are $3 with 10-20 seeds per packet (I don't know if that's the case) then than roughly 5% germination brings the seed price per seedling to closer to $5 maybe (neglecting those insignificant things such as labor...). Annie's says the plants were $50 last time they were offered, so perhaps 5% germination could make sense? The whole story behind germination actually sounds quite fascinating and has to do with ants. Here's a long description: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Seed "Myrmecochory is the dispersal of seeds by ants. Foraging ants disperse seeds which have appendages called elaiosomes (e.g. bloodroot, trilliums, Acacias, and many species of Proteaceae). Elaiosomes are soft, fleshy structures that contain nutrients for animals that eat them. The ants carry such seeds back to their nest, where the elaiosomes are eaten. The remainder of the seed, which is hard and inedible to the ants, then germinates either within the nest or at a removal site where the seed has been discarded by the ants. This dispersal relationship is an example of mutualism, since the plants depend upon the ants to disperse seeds, while the ants depend upon the plants seeds for food. As a result, a drop in numbers of one partner can reduce success of the other. In South Africa, the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) has invaded and displaced native species of ants. Unlike the native ant species, Argentine ants do not collect the seeds of Mimetes cucullatus or eat the elaiosomes. In areas where these ants have invaded, the numbers of Mimetes seedlings have dropped." From what I understand the removal of the elaiosome increases the germination rate, and it's not clear to me whether there's a way to mimic it. Plantzafrica mentions that suprisingly smoke treatment does nothing. Actually Silverhill did have a different Mimetes species, M. hirtus, a couple months ago. Unfortunately I saw it described by Plantzafrica as a marsh plant which didn't seem too practical. However they did seem to like it: http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm "Sima Eliovson, author of Proteas for pleasure, referred to Mimetes hirtus as 'the most magnificent species of Mimetes, the most spectacular genus of the protea family'. Nevertheless, the future of the species is uncertain as it is also one of the most geographically restricted mimetes, growing only in boggy areas mainly at low altitudes. As a consequence of the latter, it is often out-competed for its preferred habitat by housing developments. Fortunately it is one of the less troublesome to grow in cultivation-an aspect that may aid its chance of survival as a species." They also add: "M. hirtus is a relatively short-lived member of the protea family. It grows rapidly as a result, and may start flowering after only two years of growth. Plants reach their peak by ten years of age and die shortly thereafter, at a maximum age of about fifteen years." Two years is pretty fast for a protea. Again, sorry for the length and for going off topic.

Hi y'all, Tracy,Heidi,Annie,cAROL,Alana and Mr. Dan the man! I hate that some of you are feeling crudy,Oh the winter. I'm waiting and lurking to see if my ghoulish monster will say somthing about itself that would help me fill it's box. But as fate would have noone is saying a whole lot. I'm having a sicko weekend, I was driving home about 7:30 yesterday and just as I came around this huge lake I fell asleep at the wheel and and crashed into someones huge brick mail box and trashed their yard aaaand trashed out my beautiful van which I always try to park blocks away from everybody so I don't get any dings. WeLLLL I trashed the passenger side real good. I was ok but did I feel sick to my stomach. Can you imagine falling asleep at wheel in heavy trafic??? I was so lucky that no one got hurt. I will be sending my box on Monday To my ghoulish secret friend. Look for your box to reach you about Wednesday. HAHAHA everybody will be checking their mail,including me LOL LOts of hugs and smiles Carmen