I have to update this topic and let everyone know that this plant has a problem in tissue culture. I looked at a whole bunch of these today that are for sale. Only one plant looked like the picture on the label. Some were a very pale pink and some were almost white. This plant is not reproducing true in tissue culture at all. I think this plant should be recalled. If you buy one and it has two blooms on it that don't look like the picture you shoudld return it. These people need to start testing these plants out before releasing them. When I originally answered your question I had no idea how bad this problem is. I thought you meant they were a little different. You shouldn't have to take this. They should replace that plant and give you the one you really were supposed to get.

Regarding the 4:1 sugar solution: the four to one mix (20%) is the standard but Marcia's three to one (25%) is used by some, especially in winter when freezing is a possibility. The higher concentration of solids lowers the freezing temperature of the liquid so it will remain liquid in colder temperatures. Refractometer testing of nectar from various "hummingbird plants" indicates that the sugar percentage of naturally occurring nectar ranges from 15% to greater than 32% (32% is the highest accurate measure for the refractometer used). The percentages vary by season as well as time of day. Although birds may feed on the flowers measuring 32%, many the blooms fed on will likely be of a lesser concentration, averaging in the range of our homemade solutions. The recipe for sugar water has always been 4:1 then boil for 2 minutes to kill any bacteria. Boiling isn't really necessary for sanitizing the solution. I boil the water before adding the sugar just to dissolve the sugar easier. If you keep extra solution in the refrigerator, boiling may extend its shelflife. The boiling free powders are just finely ground sugar that dissolves easily. I recommend against using any of the solutions or powders that have added ingredients. There is no evidence that any of these ingredients are necessary and the fact that there are many cases of birds feeding almost exclusively at feeders with no health issues indicates that there is not a long term problem with our feeder solutions. The female Rufous that has visited my yard for the past seven years migrates to the north Pacific coast for the summer and then returns to my yard for seven month of the year (August - March). My issue with the solutions without additives is mainly a case of money. How much sugar can you buy for the cost of one bottle of solution. It's like coffee at a restaurant. At a dollar plus a cup of coffee, you could buy a pound of coffee for the cost of 5-6 cups. How many cups of coffee can you make with that pound. Regarding Sarasota hummingbirds: If you first saw them in August in the past, that's what I'd expect this year as well. Areas near breeding birds are beginning to see the local young dispersing. If you don't have any local breeding, you can expect birds when migration of young birds and adult males begins in late July/early August. Migration lasts through September/October. It sounds like you were seeing migrating birds last year. It may have seemed as though they were the same birds but you likely saw a regular turnover of birds. The "experts" like to suggest that these birds don't stay longer than 2-3 days but I believe some of these birds stay much longer. I would like to see fall banding of hummingbirds to confirm the timeframe that they stay but it is almost impossible to get them in the cage with the abundance of flowers around. Regarding summering birds south of Tampa: I received a report of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest on the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk (Collier County) a few weeks ago. The observer documented it with photos and video. Steve Steve Backes Valrico, FL backes1@verizon.net http://mysite.verizon.net/resu64md/yardhummers/ http://floridahummingbirds.net/ http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Hummingbirds Forum

Well, after carefully mulling my situation over, I am convinced that the two year steady decline of my large tree is caused by either it's age, ( max life span averages 33 - 35 yrs for these trees, mine is about 30 y.o. ), or it has citrus greening. In either case the tree is most likely a goner, so yesterday I had over my two guys to cut it down and plant the new Ruby Red I bought 4 days ago at Home Depot. The following is the pictorial sequence of a sad demise and an optimistic beginning. Am hoping its just an old tree as Wanda said, and the more I think of it ( a dangerous thing for me ), the more I feel she is right. Felt I had to do something, instead of just wasting another year looking at a slowly dying tree. Want to get some Ruby Reds back in production asap. Now hoping I can download the pics. The old tree that was just cut down was growing right behind the pic of the new 4 ' tree.lol This post was edited by jofus on Tue, Jan 8, 13 at 10:04

Nana, Wow, what a lovely July BDay table. Your goblets are gorgeous and so are the strawberry plates. Great stacking from the chg's up to the stems which are beautiful too. The red chargers are so neat with the ruffles. Larkspur in the red vase worked perfect on this table. Then adding your DGM flatware makes this table more special. Barrets for napkin rings on your beautiful wht linnens, just super. So glad you had help so you could share this table with all of us. Punk