Having read all the postings ,i will add my bit,I live a stones throw from the beach in Port Macquarie ,and yes I do get frost in my backyard,I have been down to -5 on 3 occasions,rare? yes but it can happen,Now i mainly grow Vrieseas but i have found the plants that suffered the most where the plants with DRY root systems,as the air cools it loses the ability to hold moisture,but the plants still transpire,eventually the rate of transpiration is greater than the plant can supply moisture through its root system as the pot is dry the roots virtually suck in air , the cold then starts leaf collapse (going limp) then airlocks form in the leaf veins ,with moisture depleted the plants is doomed ,the damage is done before the frost get to the plant, its just the final straw,ever notice that in a group of plants there is one or two that suffered and not the rest ? bet that was a plant with dry roots. i know some plants are very cold sensitve and there is little you can do there,but it will be more suspect if the roots are dry. this sounds like it should happen in warm weather But moist air holds warmth so the rate of transpiration slows down.If the humidity is say 90% the plant wont transpire , You ever noticed that a lot of vegies go limp in your fridge ? but if you put them in WET the dont.yet your fridge is COLD This year it was cold but my back yard flooded (and the plants) 5-6 times the plants in my building stayed much drier (cause i could 'nt go out in the swamp) they suffered ,not badly but they did just the same ,the worst place for wet and cold is along my drive way where the best lookin Vrieseas are mocking me ,i have done some dilebirate tests on this and for ME it works, dry roots ? cold damage follows ,i am not saying this will work for you but you can easely test this, and it my not work for all genera, but my Ae.Chantinii's are ok with it ,but they suffer if the roots are dry,anyway i thought i would just mention it , best of luck ,i sympathise with all that lose their precious babies. Jack

Margot is one big attention hog Hawskitty. :) She sooo is, Jeff. Margot's pattern has always been referred to, to my knowledge, as the classic silver tabby, and that pattern is associated with American shorthairs. So Margot got those markings from her mum and the face from her pop, I believe, and shameful almost (but great) that she was pretty inexpensive to take home because she's not a purebred (purebreds have more health problems, and her American shorthair genes also make her more energetic, so I'm happy). And she's already spayed, and that procedure in itself is normally spendy. I might call it a sort of blotched pattern, because she's not marbled. 'Mackerel' I've understood to be much smaller patches of darker color--not necessarily spots as much as darker stripes, and not like the thick striping that you'll see on a classic tabby. Oh, actually, found an explanation of it... Here is a link that might be useful: explained!

Jo, the Mister Watson as a young hosta looks a bit like my Faithful Heart, which will stay in the small size. I got mine last year, and it is a beauty, hope it spreads more this year. Golden yellow surrounded by a fairly nice green border. Here it is last August Faithful Heart June Fever in May 2013 Fantasy Island next to Faithful Heart in June Jade Stone, a big ole fragrant new last year, in mid-August Hot Green Chilies another big ole fragrant peeking out from beneath the rain-wet bananas Heart And Soul, a sport of Vanilla Cream, and then Derriere sported from H&S--which looks like a big dude, but it is definitely NOT. Summer Music is an awesome hosta, sport of ShadeMaster and it wants morning sun, so it says. Here it is in May, then in August, holding its own as a standout among a lot of hosta where it gets some late afternoon sun too...in zone 9a! Dick Ward...did I do him already? cannot say enough good about this guy, had him since May 2011, my very first hosta order, always impressive. Hope he leaps this year. Paradise Island Justine in August Tick Tock and First Mate together in the pink boat in August, where they got a lot of sun, shaded barely by a potted palm Paradise Power sort of reminds me of On Stage in June, but not later in August On Stage, a knock-out in June Saint Paul leaf shot I omit my shots of Guacamole, Holy Mole, Emerald Charger, and other fragrant hosta with green margins since they appear in so many postings I make. Whew, am I done? yes.....

Hi Monarda -- You got me wondering about St. George and when St. George Day is. So, here's some useless (but interesting info about it.) With Valentine's Day coming up maybe we should adopt this system...... Taken from the net of course, St. George's Day - April 23rd St. George's day is celebrated in and around Catalonia. St. George's Day has been celebrated since 1436. St. George is the patron Saint of Catalonia Catalonia : In Catalonia St. George's day coincides with the Fair of the Book and the Rose. On this day every man offers a rose to his loved one (wife or fiancée), and in return she gives him a book. The book is in memory of Cervantes. This custom was started in 1926, to commemorate Cervantes death (authour of "Don Quiote"). Barcelona : Book and Rose Fair. The St. James Square and main streets are lined with stalls selling books of all shapes and sizes. There is also an exhibition of roses in the patio of the Palace of the Autonomous Government as a symbol of the arrival of Spring Sant Climent Sescebes : Procession to the magic rock According to a local legend there is a magic rock near the village that leads to a huge treasure and the spell may only be broken on the night of St. Georges day. The people from the village form a procession and bless twelve loaves of bread, then they share them out among the crowd. The Legend. The 23rd April is a date that has always been linked, either directly or indirectly, to literature and popular traditions. The Catalan knights that set off towards the Orient could never have guessed the repercussions that their tales would have with relation to a local saint: St. George. Later the tale would be changed to fit in with the mediaeval traditional Knight in shining armor fighting evil. The legend that was born is infamous: St. George fighting the wicked dragon that held the princess captive. Finally St. George kills the dragon and on the spot where the dragons blood was spilled a rose grew as a symbol of love and friendship. But what has really given importance to this date is that it is now considered to be the "World Book Day". The role played by the "Renaixença" in the resurrection of the "Jocs Florals" Thanks to the insistence of Antoni de Bofarull among others, the literary competitions were revived in Catalonia in 1859. It was from then on that there began to appear new authors and ideologists and there was an important increase in the number of newspapers published as well as political and ideological works. After the interruption of the "Jocs Florals" because of the Civil War they began to become very popular again from 1978. The idea of these annual literary competitions was basically to stimulate young people to cultivate and take a delight in the Catalan literature and language. Ever since then this tradition has been celebrated and is actually one of the most important in Catalonia, it has gradually spread to the Spanish language and also to the English language. In 1996 this Catalan tradition became an International one, taking one step more towards the unification of peoples all over the world, even the mythical rose was given in the United States, Japan and France as well as other countries when a book was bought. Why this date? April 23rd was not only famous because of the legend of St. George, but also because it is the anniversary of the death of two great writers:: CERVANTES and SHAKESPEARE. These grand writers have passed into history for their great works, becoming an important symbol in their respective countries. One way of acknowledging the work of these genii was to name this date as being the Book Day, and so it happened like that. On 23rd April books are sold in the streets on long stalls prepared specially for the grand occasion. Many people take advantage of this day, even though they may not normally be regular readers, to buy and enjoy a book. It is one way of encouraging people to read. This is also a popular date to launch new novels onto the market and many authors take advantage of the fact in order to promote their latest book. Last, but not least, there is nothing nicer than lovers exchanging a book and a rose. Carlos Estrada St. Paul's School, Barcelona ------Fascinating!