Well, SHOOT, Altarama -- That's what we were talking about, wasn't it? Use a chemical when your back is to the wall, and use it for the minimum time required to do the job thoroughly. I don't know about anyone else, but EYE sure wouldn't climb your frame over that. I am, however, troubled by regular, weekly spray sessions as a season-long preventive. OK, that's ME. I'm not going to tell you what to do. What I WILL tell you, though, is that IF you're going to use that stuff, PLEASE wear protective garments when spraying. No kidding. I'd really like you to wear a complete spray suit. Wear a mask with a filter. And if you start smelling the chemical, your filter is toast. Use a new one. If you can smell it, you're breathing it. Wear chemical gloves. SERIOUSLY. If you spill it on your clothes, I hope they were cheap, and you can toss them. If not, at least wash them 3-4 times. Because that " . . . cide" means it was designed to kill things. And a lot of older rosarians, who were too tough to bother with that stuff are ... no longer with us. Jeri

What you describe is precisely the scenario that is most likely to lead to a quick rot. A healthy plant with a healthy and extensive root system will quickly utilize the water in a pot. Poor soil means poor roots. Poor roots cannot handle water because they are not healthy enough to use the water, so the soil remains too wet with the unused water. Maybe the light in the last 1.5 months was adequate, but the leaves should be more compact than they are in the photo which leads me to believe there was not enough light. A few hours of windowsill sunshine is very misleading to the human eye. Once again, as I've said numerous times on this forum, these are basically not houseplants and the conditions indoors are generally not suitable for long-term health. Unfortunately most new hobbyists don't understand or realize this. That's why we are here, to educate. x

I was helping a friend at the Farmer's Market yesterday. She needed something from her warehouse which is on the NE side of the river. I drove over the Hennepin Ave bridge about 6:00am and noticed some runners on the Stone Arch bridge. Don't ask me why but I drove over there, parked and walked out onto the bridge to view the 35W bridge. And while you can't see the entire bridge, what you can see is totally unnerving. Even after seeing dozens of photos on the news. Seeing it in person - it's overwhelming, the magnitude of it all and how far it fell. That more people did not die is just a miracle.

logic wrote: "dreamgarden, great article....brings a whole new meaning to "what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive".... And there you have it in a nutshell. However, I can see why it is more comforting for all too many to simply blame the lowly homebuyer....as one can then continue to remain in denial that of the fact that in essence, our entire finance system is one HUGE scam. Thanks. The more I read about the subprime mess, the more I realize what a "shell game" the bigger interests are playing with everyone's money. Even UK chancellor Alistair Darling has joined growing calls for a probe into the role that credit agencies have played in the world financial crisis. Darling censures rating agencies news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6995699.stm Its too bad the U.S. didn't follow Canada's example for insuring mortgages. "All high-ratio mortgages in Canada Ñ those with less than 20 per cent down Ñ must be secured by mortgage insurance, through, for example, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In addition, Canadian financial institutions do not finance more than 100 per cent of a home's purchase price, and that value must be verified with a separate appraisal." marys1000 wrote: "Is there going to be a run on banks? Are banks going to fail? All my mother's money is in one bank." If you have all of your money in ONE bank, that could be a problem. I don't know if there is going to be a run on banks in the U.S. or not, but DH and I are NOT waiting to find out. We have already moved some of our investments into T-bills and CD's. The last time we talked to our banker, he told us we didn't have any sub-prime investments and tried to convince us to keep everything in the market. When I asked him to tell us which part of our portfolio was FDIC insured (or if he would be willing to support us if the market drops), he was silent. Never suggested T-bills or CD's either. I guess he is only interested in our "welfare" as long as he (and his employer) stand to gain. Now I understand why the Russians stuffed money under their mattresses after their banks failed so many times. Time-The Last Sacrifice- Dec. 22, 1947 The Soviets had spiraled into economic trouble similar in some ways to capitalist inflationary difficulties. The ruble, officially valued at 20 U.S. cents, was worth no more than three in actual buying power. Illegal speculation by bureaucrats, collective-farm bosses, store and factory managers and others had become a lively menace to state planning. Peasants, and some city dwellers, had also accumulated hoards of rubles largely because too few of the things they needed, or wanted to buy, were available. Never knowing when deposits might be frozen, they distrusted banks, kept their hoarded money at home. Rationing controls could not be lifted until this money was destroyed, and its destruction was Zhdanov's principal aim.