Ficus binnendijkii 'Alii' prefers bright, indirect sun; moist, but not soaked soil; extra humidity can be provided by a humidifier or a tray of pebbles beneath the pot, but don't let the pot sit in the water as the soil will wick the water and root rot is fatal. The dark patches may be "sunburn" from getting too bright sun or from lack of extra humidity or a combination of the two. Keep spraying those stinking spider mites! Those stinkin' bugs...I too have an infestation now. Good luck!

Oscar, Gomphocarpus physocarpus and Silky Formula Mix, Asclepias curassavica are two good tropical milkweeds. A study on tropicals says that tropicals help Monarchs fight diseases because of their toxicity. AUDIO: Monarch butterfly moms medicate their young What host plants are grown to feed caterpillars? "Most red-flowered and a few blue flowered passifloras will not support the butterflies that use these vines in the United States. Many red-flowered tropical passionvines are on the market. Please do not use them - they are similar enough to our own passionvines that our female butterflies will lay eggs on them, but the caterpillars will soon die. Gulf Fritillary - Passionvine family, passifloraceae 1. Passiflora incarnata - maypop 2. Passiflora suberosa - corky stemmed passionvine 3. Passiflora lutea - yellow passionflower 4. Passiflora alto - 'Amethyst'/'Lavender Lady'/'Star of Mikan' 5. Passiflora caerulea - blue passionflower/'Waterloo Blue' 6. Passiflora incarnata x cinnicata - incense passionflower 7. Passiflora vitifolia x caerulea - passionflower 'Lady Margaret' 8. Passiflora biflora - twin flower passionflower -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zebra Longwing - Passionvine family, passifloraceae 1. Passiflora suberosa - corky stemmed passionvine 2. Passiflora biflora - two-flower passionvine 3. Passiflora lutea - yellow passionvine 4. Passiflora incarnata - purple passionflower or Maypops" Here is a link that might be useful: Johnny Select Seeds

Cjohansen, Don't buy your Perlite from the big box stores, or if you do, don't get the Miracle Gro stuff.. it is waaaaaaay overpriced. Im not sure where you are located, but if you are on the east coast (US) Agway has it at really good prices, around 20 bucks for 3 cubic foot bags. I think you can order 6 cubic foot bags online too for really good prices. Mom and Pop type nurseries are always good to check too, but some of them are more overpriced than the big box stores, while others have great deals... it's just hit or miss. Look in your yellow pages for agricultural supply stores and farm and feed type businesses. It's always good to start familiarizing yourself with local sources for supplies. I'm not sure what ratio of Perlite you should add to the compost, but probably a pretty large percentage, possibly upwards of 40%.

A few weeks ago there was a good thread on this very subject. A lot of goo d suggestions there. Take a look and see if it helps you. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1794778/what-tree-to-plant-against-pool-no-palms?n=30 Also in the Western Garden Book, there's a section in the front with a list of plants suitable for around the pool. If you don't have this book, I'd highly suggest it. However, don't buy the latest edition. For some reason they though it was a good idea to not cross reference plants by common names in that edition, which is a stupid idea. Instead get the 2001 edition. It's available on Amazon as a used book. http://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Western-Garden-Flexibind-Flexi/dp/0376039132?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00