Yes: liable to be Fraser photinia. The ones up here are now becoming all spotty and blotchy, dying out - as began earlier in the southeastern US. As it was planted to excess here, usually not given good care I will not miss the abundance of homely specimens.

Well, the EBAY seeds/seedlings are certainly LABELED as Timor Black Bamboo seeds. What you ultimately end up with will be a surprise (a good surprise or a dissapointing surprise, depending on your expectations and/or luck). If the seeds did actually come from a bamboo species from which there is no flowering record with the ABS or INBAR (it is possible though not probable), the seedlings will certainly vary in appearance, slightly or greatly, from the parent plant. And yes, imported bamboo seeds are subject to post-entry quarantine (1 year) in one of the few USDA quarantine stations maintained by Import Permit holders (regional ABS Chapters) in the USA. My Disclaimer: The statement above may obviously be considered biased since I'm an owner of a bamboo nursery. Take it for what it's worth - a statement of facts. I'm also the president of the Florida/Caribbean Chapter of the American Bamboo Society. Educating the public on bamboo-related issues is part of our mission statement. Robert Saporito Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Bamboo Nursery

Thanks Laura! You're so sweet; you always make people feel welcome. Thank you for being on the forum! Northbay- Great advice about checking the water. I'm on ag water (aka from the canal system. Great for my horses, not so great for drinking in the house...) so I'm sure it's all messed up. Where did you have your water tested? Did you buy a kit or did you take a sample somewhere? My plumeria have been banned from the house until fall. My Sweetheart found the "house guests" offensive. It may not have been the plants so much as the perlite all over the house, courtesy of two very naughty cats. So, alas, I cannot bring them in. Very strange that the rats chewed on them. I can't imagine all that sap tasted very good. If you every want to borrow bad cats to guard your trees, let me know. (As i type this one of them is scratching the heck out of the couch. Free to good home? just kidding!) valeriev- Bummer about the lack of sun. How big is your tree? Do you know what cultivar it is? I have a bunch of (I think) Dwarf Singapore Pinks that seem to like a afternoon shade, but I imagine the rest of 'em would stagnate completely without sun. You could always become the Crazy Lady with grow lights on your balcony ;) Thankfully the plumeria are kickin' it into high gear. They're finally leafing out with gusto, and my Divine should open its first bloom within a week! I am so excited!!! They've done much better after a foliar spray with seaweed extract, combined with some heat. It's very nice to know there are other people up here growing plumeria successfully. I was talking to a guy at Navalets trying to find Foliage Pro and told him I was trying to grow plumeria and he said "You can't grow those here! Why would you even try?". Then began the discussion of over wintering in the dining room, the fertilizing routine, reading them bedtime stories, etc. Thanks everyone! Rachel

Well you guys, luckily the heat has calmed down a bit for a few days. I think we're in the high 90's now. LOL I still gotta get the watering system at least halfway done tho, because our oldest son is moving down to Riverside this weekend and we have to help with the move, along with his girlfriend's parents. We'll be gone 2 1/2 days, and that's too long for the roses to go without water!! I may have to just put some oscillating sprinklers out on the timers and let 'em water all over for one day. Guess that can't hurt too much. Better than letting them dry up. The younger son may be going with us, so there won't be anybody here to water!! Yikes. Michelle and Patricia, do you really think this could be TOC? I tried to get it several times the last few yrs and it always either died or was one of those mismarked bagged bareroots that ended up being something else. Maybe one of the "other" roses ended up being TOC!! I always thought it had more pink than this tho. I guess I should check and see how much powdery mildew it gets, because I understand TOC is highly prone to it! (And I don't spray) BOBBIE DARLENE is really pretty Patricia. Sorry if I don't answer you all by name, but do know I appreciate all the warm and wonderful comments from you all! It's so nice to be missed. You guys are all great!