What a great Forum and such generous members! Thank you so much for the info - exactly what I needed. And, yes, I'm burning with shame. I'm slowly learning that I can't rely on my memory any more. Of course it's I-Hsin Sesame - that's what I entered temporarily in my culture notes, pending approval by the experts. Sheila, the leaf span is 2 1/2 inches, so it's very young still. No, the seller didn't have a plant in bloom, only 10-15 of these, all the same size. She did have a photo, though, similar to cj's link. I hope mine turns out to be something like that. Terpguy, good advice, as usual. I'll cut off the first flower if and when after a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to photo it, too. I've has a few phal flowers change colour with time, but my dark maroon Dtps Blackjack stays true till the last, so maybe this one will, too. CJ, orangey would be even better, and thanks for warning me about how much space these phals can take up. My first phal, which I received as a gift in May, 2007 has five leaves, the lowest two of which would be 12" long, if they didn't keep on breaking off at the tips lol. So thanks once more to all you great people, Judy

Also, I'm not sure what's going on with some of the leaves. Some of the leaves lower on the branches have blackened tips (only two or three have this problem), and others have slight curling, deformation and yellowing. The newer growth higher up (as can be seen in first picture) seems more vigorous and normal-looking. Is this mostly past/localized nutrient deficiency?

Hi Pip The box above pictured duplicates summer hours . My trees have always grown better in the box than in the spring-summer sun. For me summer solstice occurs around December 21st. By the way I have hike the Appalachian trail and I can assure you that I get a heck of a lot more sun in the winter than you do as well as a lot more night in the summer. Creekweb Go for it. You can do multiple grafts on the same tree each of a different type and keep the best 1 or more. It is however advisable to not mix kumquats with any other cultivars because kumquats grow much slower and would be over powered. Don' let any pessimistic people sway you from your endeavors. There are a lot of them around on this web.

Hi Laura beautiful cuttings honestly I didn't know buddhas hand came variegated very cool I am so looking forward to see the variegated fruit . Cory poor you I hope that your not trying to shovel all that snow that's for young people trying to make a few bucks . I hate when the snow sticks to the roof of the Greenhouse makes it so dark inside. I hope that the storm is all finished. I heard that you and Mikey might be in for another storm Monday lovely . Love that you placed bugs in your greenhouse go lady bugs go . I hope to see a couple of pics of the storm from you and Mikey. Stay warm everyone. Brian