Eric oh, I'll be honest with you, I haven't a clue. I bought the first one because it was discount rack and it was in bad shape. I didn't know if it was going to make it. It took awhile before I got my first white bloom. I've been trying to find out the name because white is really rare around here. The second one I got was also discount rack save but it didn't come with a tag. This one is kind of fuschia with a wonderful scent. Its petty common around here so I should be able to find out the name. The last one I got is from a group I jokingly refer to as the New Orleans minis. There is Bayou Marie, Bourbon Street and Baton Rouge. I think there is more in this group but not sure. So I got Bayou Marie because it has the most beautiful pink flowers, which slightly darken when the temp drops. Anyway, I have yet to find a real red dwarf. They say they are red but its more of a dark pink. My secret is once the leaves have drop then don't prune them. I wait until I see new buds on the old wood in the late spring before I cut away any dead limbs. Last winter was one the coldest in over ten years. Most of the thick branches made it. I also mulch in the fall. All three are rated for zone 7 are suppose to die back to the ground but somehow they didn't get the message. I wish some school in the midwest would do a crape myrtle study to see which ones are hardy to zone 5 or possibly lower.

Marcia, Please help me find out what kind of snake I came across today. While I was at the local dog park (near Orlando) I came across a yellow with black stripes snake. It looked to be between 3.5-4 feet long and did not appear at first glance (that was all I gave it out of fear) to be shiny. I was about 3 feet from it and didn't know it until my dog almost stepped on it. She obviously didn't see it either. The snake seemed a pit peeved about the whole thing but it decided not to attack and to slowly slither towards ME to get away from my dog. Needless to say, I took off in a different direction real quick and hollered for my dog to follow. I am not like you or others on this site. I am not a fan of snakes and am extremely afraid of them. Although, I don't mind the black racers that seem to have taken up permanent residence in MY back yard and they love to procreate often (or so it seems). I have seen a lot less field rats since the racers moved in and that makes me very happy. Anyway, can you help me figure out what this snake was? I have spent hours and hours online tonight trying to find it and just can't seem to find anything that looks like it. I am guessing that it is not dangerous to me or my dogs??? I am scared to take my dogs back through those woods that they so dearly love. As soon as I told them, "No more woods until the snakes are gone again," they "told" me to find it if it was dangerous or not and if it isn't that they want to go back again. So that is mostly why I am asking you for your help. We all love the walks but I am afraid of the snakes. Please help me feel safer about going back. Thanks in advance for your help.

You guys demonstrate my theory that cottonmouths are "passive-aggressive." Dangerous in that they don't move out of the path, often, and people who are not alert can step on them. Tales of them chasing people are usually highly exaggerated. This isn't to say it can't happen. Just that it's not a common behavior. My best cottonmouth story involved canoeing by myself on Rock Springs Run. I was in an area we call the Flats. Very shallow water, with a lot of grassy vegetation. Makes for slow canoeing as you try to glide through without digging up the bottom. I spotted a cottonmouth in the water, about 2 1/2 feet long, and close to the shore. It had a dead fish in its mouth. I don't think it killed the fish, but I can't be sure of that. But the fish looked REAL dead. It was a panfish of some type (bluegill, shellcracker, one of those) and quite wide, and this snake was trying its best to figure out how to swallow it. The snake worked its mouth slowly around the body of the fish, which was way, WAY too wide for it to swallow, and even tried to force it down sideways. The fish was probably ten inches long and no way was that snake going to get it down sideways. I let the canoe drift over fairly close, as I was enjoying the show. The snake finally began working its way towards the head of the fish, where it would have had the best chance to get it down, but suddenly noticed me or my canoe slowly nearing. If snakes could change expression, this one's eyes would have bugged out and his mouth would have dropped open. If they could talk, he would have been yelling "Holy Sheepdip! Where'd THAT come from??" He did a backflip away from the fish and took off for the weeds like a streak! It was so funny looking, I almost fell out of my canoe laughing at him. I always wondered if he came back later to finish working on the fish. But I didn't wonder about who was more scared by our encounter. He definitely was! Still...I am very careful on the river or in places where cottonmouths might lurk. They normally don't care if you approach them. I admire them, but I don't want to step on one or come face to face with one at any closer range than what I just described. I'm not NEARLY as brave as Wayne! Marcia

snake away products are made from the same stuff as mothballs. They will not repel snakes, make your house stink and you call the poison center for advise and we tell you to take them out from under your house. Do NOT put 8 boxes of them in your attic either! Carry a hoe. Very simple. Use it to beat around the bushes, flower beds and the snakes will run off. I have a friend who has 6-8` rattlesnakes breeding in her driveway and always a few copperheads around the property. She gardens all the time and has never been bit. She lives in the middle of nowhere near San Antonio. Snake central. Snakes eat rats. Rats carry disease. Enough said. Copperhead bites swell a lot and hurt a lot. Crofab (the anitvenom) is rarely if ever needed though we can`t convince some people of that. The antidote was NOT formulated using copperhead venom so it`s only partially effective. The bites can swell for weeks afterward, especially if it`s a leg and you get up and walk around. Coral snakes, they inject with venom in their BACK fangs, what this means is they have to grab on, start chewing and get those back fangs into you. So they have to hang on for more than just a few seconds. Envenomation is very, very rare. The anti-venom is no longe made in the US, there are some bottles from Mexico available in the US and a few that the expiration date was changed. I think the closest vials are in Florida. Talk about expensive, not only is the anti-venom out of the world but you have to have it flown to you. Coral snakes are also the most timid snake in Texas and are usually found in pairs. It is a neurotoxin. Your hospital bill was so much because the cost of cro-fab is several thousand PER vial, that is then marked up by the hospital. Not having access to your records I could not tell you if it was warranted in this instance. If you get bit by a snake in some parts of Texas they give crofab as soon as you walk in the door, there are some pretty toxic snakes here but our copperheads are not nearly as toxic. You may send any and all snakes to Galveston and I will be happy to have them in my backyard. Anything that eats rats if OK in my book. With 3 brothers I have no fear of snakes. I think the few snakes that were here all drowned in Ike. Finally, get some chickens or even better guineas. They will chase out any snakes. Guineas don`t even need a coop, they will sleep up in your trees. Good watchdogs too. Tally HO!