My Catmint usually does open up in the middle when it gets loaded with blooms, but not drastically, more like gracefully. Once it does this though it's time to cut back to around 4" for repeat bloom. The soil they are planted in in sandy, gravelly infertile soil and they do best there. I have Nepeta musinii and although the base of the oldest plant is only about 20" in dimension when in bloom it is about 3'. If something is nibbling on your plants it may be cats. 2 of 6 of my neighbors cats take a bite now and again throughout the season. One cat, now deceased (so sad), used to like to take afternoon naps right in the middle of one. I'd have to fluff it back up LOL! BTW this is one plant you don't want to set-seed unless you are willing to deal with a gazillion seedlings each spring/summer. I thought I could harvest seeds from these my first year but it's impossible not to have 100 seed drop to the ground while you're cutting stems to insert in paper bags! ACK!! Here is Catmint on May 16th and May 26th. By the time I cut them back on June 5th the flowering spires were 2x as long and opening up in the center. From experience I know a ton of seed is beginning to form at this point :O Really don't have manu plants that flop to the point of unsightliness; at least not due to rain. If Blue Flax is in heavy bloom and it rains they will lay down until they dry out again...usually within hours. We did get some much needed rain over the last few days though; there won't be much more of that for the next 4 months! Wind is another story! I do have to cut back Maximilian Sunflower 2 times to get them wider and bushier than tall. I also cut back Heliopsis (False Sunflower) and Hollyhock. This year will be trying it on Aster laevis (Smooth Blue Aster), last year it's 2nd year it was looking really nice until winds made a mess out of them! I do have 2 dry sandy/gravelly beds and one partial dry and I keep it that way for dry heat loving plants: Catmint, Lavender, Salvia, Thyme, Carl foerster Grass, Sedum, Bearded Iris, Blue Flax, Echinacea, Hyssopus, Rose Campion, Shasta Daisy, Coreopsis lanceolata, Feverfew and Agastache foeniculum. Peony does well here too. This is a bed that faces south and is the south border of my one of my veg beds. Annuals that grow well in this dry bed are: Statice, Snapdragon, Larkspur, Moss Rose, Nigella, Sweet Alyssum, Cynoglossum, Gazania, Venidium, Coreopsis tinctoria and Verbena bonariensis. I've even had Wave Petunia thrive here. August 5th 2007

Hi guys thanks for all your help- I am not going to repost in the other forum at this time b/c I think I got some very good information here. I went to walmart today and they were out of cactus mix. Sigh. They did have a bag of perlite tho- but I wanted to check with you guys first if this is the correct thing to buy, and if so- what do I do with it. I have a bag of miracle grow potting soil- I am assuming I need to mix these two together. I also have some small gravel- about bean sized. I plan to put him in a terra cotta pot since plastic holds the water and doesn't breath. I could use some instructions on the dirt mix tho- and as an aside- I purchased a succulent that needs to be repotted- do I use the same type of soil for him? I also have two lemon trees I grew from seed that I wanted to put into citrus mix, however they didn't even carry that this year. No they don't ever grow lemons, sometimes they flower but that's ok- the leaves smell really nice.

Hi Winnie, Streps can be grown cool or hot. Some varieties are more tolerant than others to a wide range of conditions. I have also found that who I buy them from matters as well. Some streps don't like big changes whether their soil or growing conditions. But I have found that all of them do well when wicked, although others say there are some varieties that do not like to be wicked. My soil mix is 3:2:2 of Schultz potting mix, vermiculite, perlite. Before wicking I found that they wilted and browned easily. So as soon as they can be potted into a 3inch pot, I wick them. Self watering pots from Zellers or Walmart work well too. But these are only available in larger sizes, so I grow the larger streps in them. I grow in a cool basement (never warmer than 70F and as low as 60F) with a few in the living room (72-78F). I have found only a few varieties that won't grow/bloom in my basement. Whereabouts are you located? There is a Toronto Gesneriad Society. Linda, warped leaves will stay warped. The new growth should be fine.

Epazote is a re-seeding annual, often treated as a perennial. It can quickly become a weed as the seeds can spread far and wide. Culinary Uses: Much used in Mexican dishes, especially with beans. Use the leaves to flavour chicken, sauces, corn, fish, cheese, and mushroom dishes, and with beans to counter flatulence. Do not eat the seeds. Medicinal Uses: Used to eradicate intestinal worms, when steeped in milk and sugar. A weak tea of Epazote will aid flatulence. Also used to treat tinea and as an expectorant. Leaves rubbed onto insect bites will ease discomfort. Juice expressed from the whole plant can be applied as a wash for haemorrhoids, tinea and other fungal infections, and wounds. Warning: Do not use when pregnant. Excessive doses may cause dizziness, nausea, convulsions or even death. Can cause contact dermatitis and allergic reaction in some people. Basil is an annual, almost guaranteed to die when the cold sets in. Harvest while you can.