Depending on where you're buying your plants, you could also be getting plants that were barely hanging on, diseased, already being watered to death, etc etc. Indoor florals at grocery stores are a big NO NO and NOOOO! since most of the plants there are barely rooted cuttings. Bouquets designed to last a little longer. Even Home Depot can utterly blow it with some of their indoor stock. I attempted to rescue a hen and chicks with the intent of hardening it off for outdoor use, but it was just too far gone. It was in a low light/ no light location and utterly drowning. It turned into a little flat mush ball less than 24 hours after getting it home. The one I got elsewhere is still doing a-ok. When you look at a plant in a store, look for signs of new growth, check for weird looking spots/ discolorations, look at the plants around it. If they have signs of spots, over watering, discoloration, leaves falling off, then it is more likely that the plant you're interested in has by contact got some of the same problems. The shipping conditions can be pretty bad, and disease can spread quickly. I also look for the plants that are budding, rather than blooming in flowers, so rather than taking it home and waiting eternity for it to bloom again, you can take it home, get it settled in and then see it bloom.

What a post! Would it bother you if I copied it and sent it to my greenhouse teacher? From working at a garden center: "What are these?" -"Fluffy seed pods from a Clematis" "No way, they never had them before!" -"Yep, that's what they are." "I want a SECOND opinion" -"Sure, hey ... do you happen to know what these are?" *Quizzical look at me* "Clematis seeds..." *Some more argument from customer on the subject* "Well, they're hideous." Yeah, that was an interesting one. It's not uncommon to have customers ask for a second opinion on an insect problem or something like that when they don't like the answer. I was really taken back by this one though. Many conversations begin with: "You know that tree in that yard by the church on ivelivedhereallmylifebutneverheardofit street? What is it?" You can never own too many pairs of Crocs. Keep pennies on hand for the kiddies to throw in the fountain. Harry Lauder's Walking Stick makes a wonderful conversation piece next to the cash register. When ordering petunias, if it doesn't say "wave" don't bother. People have no idea what they're exposure is like. -Use words like South and West, then ask them questions like, what time they eat dinner in the summer and where. If the answer is 5:30 on the back deck, ask them if they have to wear sunglasses or a sweater and go from there. If customers start a pile of plants next to the register, organize them by price. There is one customer every day that wants you to landscape their entire yard 10 minutes to closing. Know and accept this fact. Know plants in this order: -Vague description -Culture requirements and common name(s) -Deer resistance -Scientific names

Ok, dear people. I totally understand phobias, having suffered for all of my younger years with arachnophobia and acrophobia. Thanks to my mother. Phobias are IRRATIONAL fears that can become debilitating, as some of you have expressed. My acrophobia had risen to a serious level while I was at college, making it stressful for me to walk up all of the stairs required to navigate some of those big, old buildings on campus. And the little house I was renting didn't have railings on the stairs to the basement! Believe me, I felt like a wreck most of the time because of this stupid fear. So I visited the student health department at the university to see if there might not be someone on staff that could help me. Lo and behold, one of the of the psychologists specialized in different techniques to treat people like me. He taught me self-hypnosis methods and visualization, which I still use today. He also practiced some de-sensitization techniques on me which were very interesting. In the beginning, I couldn't even close my eyes and PICTURE me walking over a narrow pathway without railings. I mean, just sitting there in his office, I would begin to panic. In about 6 visits, I felt reborn. Reborn. And much of the work was done on my own, by practicing some simple exercises. With what I learned with the de-sensitization methods, I was able to overcome on my own (for the most part) my terrible arachnophobia....and a good thing, since I soon moved to semi-tropical SC, where the spiders seemed to come only in XX and XXX sizes, lol. So, what I'm saying is: you don't need to let your life be encumbered by an irrational fear. They can be 'cured' in an incredibly short time.

The thoughtful teacher can use anthropomorphic analogies to make a point or convey a concept without promulgating the idea that plants are people. When I say, "From the plant's perspective ......", it means from the perspective of what is good or best for the plant, as opposed to what's good/best for the grower; this, because the perspectives are very often mutually exclusive. In no way does what I said suggest I'm assigning human traits to a plant. I'm only responsible for what I say, not for what passed you by. It doesn't matter a tittle to me what someone else wants to do with/to/for their plants, but I do have an interest in providing information that help others make decisions ..... and that's what I did. "Keeping a plant well groomed-keeps it healthy." No, the statement is far too broad. Keeping a plant well-groomed can only CONTRIBUTE to good health because it reduces the number of places insects can hide, reduces shading, and in some cases it can decrease the potential for fungal or bacterial issues; but to be accurate, it doesn't ensure good health (keep it healthy"). If that were the case, every forum related to container gardening would have a very long and very old thread about appropriate plant grooming, and that's all we'd concern ourselves with. Plants, in situ, have groomed themselves (via shedding) since they appeared on the earth, with not one soul about to offer assistance. "If a plant is full, there is no reason to keep dead or dying leaves on it." There is no reason to keep a dead leaf on a plant, but there is reason to keep a dying leaf on the plant until the abscission layer is completely formed. I covered the why/wherefore above, but you must have missed it. I also said that the decision's relevancy varies in a direct relation to the plant's state of vitality."A plant has X amount of energy- so why force it to carry dead or dying leaves?" Actually, the amount of energy a plant can call on is finite, but ever in flux, so it never has X amount of energy. But to the point, we can't force [a plant] to carry dead or dying leaves. Plants are shedding organisms and will shed the leaves that it needs to shed to keep itself orderly with no help from the grower. That isn't saying the grower doesn't or shouldn't be able to decide what (s)he wants to do. Too, dead/dying leaves are not a negative in the sense they sap the plant's energy reserves. In fact, as I outlined above, until the abscission layer is complete, a dying leaf can still be contributing to the plant's wellbeing because the plant is salvaging mobile nutrients and biocompounds and translocating them to other plant parts. "I can see if it only has 2 leaves, and one is still partially green, then I would say leave it on to try to save the plant." I said the exact equivalent of that. "My point- let the dead leaves go....." I actually didn't have a point. My only intent was to relate reliable information re what happens while a leaf is being shed so others might make more informed decisions based on their plants' state of vitality. I never suggested anyone should leave or remove dead leaves, so I'm not sure what the real beef is. Al