I have two different colored ones that I received in a trade in the fall of '06. Much to my surprise, they are still going strong. Both are the size of small shrubs and they bloom profusely every year. My soil has lots of clay and when planting them, we dug a nice sized hole and amended the soil. Both plants have definitely outgrown the original hole by now and don't seem to mind what they are growing in. One has started to gift me with several seedlings every year, which I try to find homes for since it's so hardy and such a wonderful plant. Definitely the seeds from this one are fertile. I have never found seedlings around the other one though. And I do heavily mulch both sights. I only trim off the dead ends when the plants leaf out in the spring. That's really all I do for them. Linda

Diane Pertson came up with a cure for chlorosis that includes lime since a pH that is too low also causes chlorosis. Here is what she wrote: Diane Pertson, Otter Point, Vancouver Island, wrote: "I have found the following foolproof formula for chlorotic leaves or a rhododendron that isn't looking healthy: Purchase a bag of Epsom Salts crystals (magnesium sulfate) (available here in bulk at farm-and-feed outlets), about $4.00 for a 5 lb. bag - and a bottle of FULLY Chelated Iron & Zinc (this is a very concentrated liquid - the chelation means it is in a form that can be readily absorbed by the plant), about $7.00 for 1 quart; In a one gallon watering can, put in 2 Tbsp. of Epsom Salts crystals and 2 Tbsp. of Iron and Zinc liquid - fill with warm water and stir to dissolve; Sprinkle this over the rhododendron - by that I mean drench the leaves with the solution and pour the remainder around the drip line of the root ball. In 1-2 weeks, the leaves should be nice and green. You could repeat the process at this time if the leaves aren't fully green. This works even better if, a month before, you have sweetened the soil by sprinkling a little Dolomite Lime on the roots. Very acidic soil can prevent the roots from taking up nutrients. As many of my rhododendrons are planted in very acidic soil under a canopy of giant cedar trees, I find an application of Dolomite and a light topdressing of mushroom manure in late spring is all they need. If soil is too acid, the symptoms can be the same. Very acidic soil can prevent the roots from taking up nutrients. In the western USA where many rhododendrons are planted in very acidic forest soil, an application of Dolomite and a light topdressing of mushroom manure in late spring is all they need. Sprinkle the lime on in late winter, very early spring. Don't overdo it - just a light sprinkle. If it is mid-spring, get the lime on right away so the rhododendron roots will be able to take up the soil nutrients in time for new growth. If you don't have rain, water it in well."

Given the consistency between tests, I don't see too much chance that all four are off, no. Let's begin at the beginning. All recommendations are for everything except the holly, which actually likes soil like this (there are plenty of plants that actually prefer poor soils). For the most part, I won't quote the holly bed in the stuff below. Big point: stop using the compost. It's probably got way too much phosphorus in it. Standard depth of soil testing is 4 inches, so some numbers aren't quite as bad as they look. I'll adjust recommendations accordingly. ME 10-13: Sand with silt, and a nice place to be. Once we stabilize this--in a few years as it's really far off--you can probably test every 2 or 3 years and be fine. pH 4.8 - 5.5: Very low, but not the lowest I've ever seen by a long shot. My own initial test was below 4.8--4.3 if memory serves. We'll fix this under calcium, magnesium, and potassium below. OM 5-12%: Good to extraordinary, and you don't need any more at this time. While I wouldn't mind seeing the Right Bed area come up to match the others, I don't want it badly enough to add more phosphorus! Sulfur 13-15: Completely normal numbers and entirely appropriate. Phosphorus 1282-2187: You don't quite take the crown for highest phosphorus I've ever seen (that was over 2,400), but it's close. Avoid any and all phosphorus sources (hence the recommendation to avoid the compost). Soybean meal is OK as it only contains 1% P versus 6.25% N. However, even with organics, never use anything that's above a 1:4 P:N ratio. That pretty much means soybean meal. Calcium 37-54%: The Right Bed is actually not awful, while everything else needs a serious boost. In this case, with your low pH, I don't recommend dolomitic limestone--use a good calcitic like Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime. But don't throw out the dolomite, I want you to use that as well to raise the magnesium levels at the same time (just very slowly). Magnesium 4.3-7.1: Low to low-ish. 30 lb/K of dolomitic this year will very slowly work to raise this. It's not an emergency, most plants do OK at 4%, they just prefer around 10 in a soil of your EC. Potassium 1.0-1.5%: Quite low, the floor value would be around 2.5%. I'm actually a fan of being in the 4-5% range. We use potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) to fix this, which you can get from some garden or landscape stores, or they'll order it for you. Minor Elements: I wouldn't mind fiddling with boron, but you have so many other issues that I don't wish to do that--and I'm not completely sure what will release from the organic matter in your soil. So hands off that for this year. Iron is great, none is needed. Copper 36-60 PPM: These are through the roof...and there's not much we can do about it. Some types of organic matter (manure compost, I'm looking at you, here) will contain large amounts of some elements. Apparently yours had excessive copper. I have to do some research to be sure, but this shouldn't be much of a problem...I hope...however, avoid any copper source, no matter how small. Zinc is also quite high, but that's not a problem. Aluminum is extremely high, but raising your pH will overcome any possible problems from that. It's not an issue unless pH is below 5, and not a severe issue until under 4.5. Recommendations: Now: Apply 9 pounds per thousand square feet Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime. Apply 15 pounds per thousand dolomitic limestone. June 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet potassium sulfate. September 15: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet potassium sulfate. October 15: Apply 9 pounds per thousand square feet Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime to everything except the Right Bed--apply 3 pounds per thousand there. Apply 15 pounds per thousand dolomitic limestone everywhere.

"May I have someone's thoughts on Bottom layer of lirope or mondo grass followed by lambs ear with lavender in the middle circling the tree peninsula ???" I would stay away from the lamb's ear because it resembles a common weed here (which I am unsure of ID, but it looks almost identical) and it would bring me to think that you need to weed your garden. Your plant that you purchased on sale is a hibiscus rosa-sinensis (tropical hibiscus, like the kind they grow in hawaii). I have two of them, and due to our recent blast of cold weather, I brought one indoors and covered the other with a blanket. I would recommend that you bring it indoors, or keep a close eye on it until crepe myrtles are leafed out. Also, while the blooms are pretty, they usually only bloom one time each year for me, usually around june-july. Also, you may want to consider putting it in a new container. Oh, and $5 was a great deal! You will probably never see such a sale again.