Deb, I know this one belongs to you but I recieved my box from Bonnie last week and can't wait any longer to post about the wonderful stuff she sent :) Bonnie sent COLUMBINE's! Purple with cream center's and seeds to match :) They are snuggled into their new bed and doing well. She sent Moon flower seeds and others but as I don't have them with me I can't remember. I also recieved 3 Glad bulbs, a datebook and a tea cup with bunnies on it. The card she sent has purple Iris on it that look just like the ones in my yard. Thank you so much Bonnie! I hope you had a wonderful "Birthday~in~July" Deb! Marie

Yes, a node is the bud, the bump which is usually just above the line which divides sections of the stem. In your marked picture, you've indicated the brown section division line as a node rather than the bud, which isn't correct. You did identify a bud, which IS a node. Once a node breaks and produces a new growth, it can't regenerate again if the growth dies. If that growth dies but not all the way back to the parent stem, there could be a node that could grow. This is what has happened on your stem sections 4 and 5. So look for the nodes, the bumps on the stem, rather than stem sections. The node you cut into is high and obvious, sometimes they're flat with only an encircling indentation to show you where they are. I'm not of the opinion that cutting a stem with a node away from the parent plant will encourage it to grow. By doing that you cut off energy the main stem is providing to that stem sections with the node, making it weaker. You also introduce an open wound where rot could start. So there's no benefit by cutting in my opinion and I would leave everything alone, just be patient. It will grow whenever it's ready, it might even wait until spring. It's possible node 3 could grow, it hasn't turned black so that's a good sign. I suppose it depends on where the cut is on the node, hopefully it's on one side or the other of the microscopic tissue where growth comes from. There's a node between where you indicated Node 1 and Node 2. The node, the bump, should be just above the lower brown ring. I can't tell which way the short stem with Node 4 and 5 is growing, but there is a node in the section that comes off the main stem. The next section attached to it that terminates with a cut may or may not have a node. Looking carefully with a magnifying glass for the bumps might tell you. On watering, if you can't tell for sure if the medium is damp then it's pretty dry and I'd go ahead and water. These are tropical plants and don't like being completely dry at the roots.

Timothy Sorry no variegation there. The color is a little uneven on the leaf.....probably something environmental caused that......but it is not variegated. Variegated sports do show up now and then, not often but sometimes people find them.

Pure water is fine. Start feeding after it potted with decent roots formed.