Melissa, They are a most beautiful and versatile plant. Here's mine in mid-October between the Joe Pye and the veranda. The bees love them and go right into the helmet shaped flowers. I grow this bunch in morning sun then shade the rest of the day, but my neighbour has a bunch in full sun. I've transplanted some divisions to a back garden to have more around the property and also have introduced some blue June flowering varieties and others which flower in July in yellow (Lamarkii). I just want to tell you to be careful with this plant. The sap is poisonous and all part of the plant are toxic if ingested even in small quantities. I do handle the plant in general with my bare hands when simply cleaning around it but when dividing or if I have a cut on my hands I make sure to wear gloves. Just a heads-up to be aware.

You know, I think it was Nil who convinced me to add more pumice/perlite to my Aloe sowing mix. Seeing his results in pure pumice gave me confidence to use a lot more grit in the mix and I've been very happy with that. I can't manage pure pumice or even too gritty of a mix because I like to be able to take a day off sometimes or forget about watering a pot for a few days. I think it's all about finding the balance that works for your conditions/practices. About the "x"... I only put it in quotations to separate it from my sentence. It can just be an x.... (Aloe 'Fang' x). If you knew the other parent, you could add that name after the x. Yes, you should use the x when talking about them. Specifically the x means "crossed with", if you were going to say it out loud. Yes, you should probably do a liquid fert. I don't think the green balls are doing much for you. To get the most bang for my buck, I use a straight 20-20-20 water soluble fert in a 10% dilution. That means I only use 10% of the recommended ratio, making my fert 2-2-2. I have mine mixed up in a spray bottle at 4x strength so that all I have to do is squirt a little into each watering can. 4 squirts = 10%, 5 squirts = 12.5%, 6 squirts = 15%... (all very specific to my equipment) It took some careful math to set it up but I wrote down my formula and now it's very easy. Alright, good luck! PS, my name is Ryan but that's leaked information:)

Hi Denny , and hey j, I thought I posted yesterday , clearing this up it must of not posted or someone deleted it.. but the page I indicated was my facebook page.. I am able to share many photos at a time there.. that I was I chose that platform.. oh well I am not sure about a Vickys page the link was correct.. I guess if anyone is interested in seeing all my pictures they know where to find me.. take care all Diane

Pretty awesome!!! I once picked up 4 orchids from Kroger for $5 each that had finished blooming and had gotten some black spots through their leaves. I nursed them back to health, using hydrogen peroxide, a sterile blade, and cinnamon. They started to flourish, one even made a baby offshoot, but then they all suddenly died. Nothing had changed, it was starting to be spring again, so if anything they should have gotten healthier - more humidity and light. But I'm not an orchid expert, I had never had them before, I decided to try it out since they were so cheap. It was an experience. I was proud of myself for bringing them back to life, but very hurt when they died. I'd even bought them orchid potting mix and fertilizer . . .