I enjoyed the container related dog talk. I have 4 terriers(3 males, 1 female). One of them, Duffy, likes to pick and eat bell peppers. It doesn't bother me at all. I get a kick watching him. The dogs and me walk on leash virtually every morning. They are sometimes unruly and act nutty; they are terriers. But they are generally well behaved and they are an integral part of our family. I fully understand both viewpoints. The bitter apple suggestion is a good one. I've also used the stuff you buy at a pharmacy to stop children from sucking their thumb. It worked well. You might also try the product at pet stores that repels them from furniture. I'd caution against the white granules that people put out to repel dogs and cats. I tried that once to keep cats out of a flowerbed. The smell was absolutely horrifying. That year I had to nearly wear a gas mask to do anything near that garden bed. -Hal

i have heard that you can cut a small slit in the sheath to allow the moisture to escape. or you can check the progress of the buds with a flashlight. don't be tempted to do house keeping on it my epc. el hatillo bloomed off all last years brown sheaths, gonna post a pic it is almost in full bloom. good luck

June - no flowers live forever, the time comes for them to fade. If you keep your plants in a stable environment on a cool side temperature wise and with good humidity - they will last longer. Green edged flowers last for month or 2. The plant you got - was grown in a greenhouse, packed in a box, transported to another state, unpacked, put on display in a new environment, then you bought it, put it in a car... I am tired writing it down - I would say the buds are tired too. When they fade you remove the bloomstalks and if you treat your plant right - you will get many more new buds from it - and they will last much longer. Good luck and happy blooming Irina

Rekha, my grand duke spent 3 months in a shed with two windows on south side, no water. it lost all of its leaves. I put it in the garden watered it and let nature take its course, it came back with a fury, put on 10inches of growth all around and was perfect. then we got the two days of rain and my flowers turned brown too. keep it out of direct rain if possible. let it dry out