Thanks. I'll cut open the 'berry' tonight and get back to you. Actually, I don't think it's the weather because we've gotten a lot of rain this summer...much more than last summer and the tree didn't look bad last summer? Does anyone know if stinkbugs can do this to a tree?

Roses and irises and peonies! Oh my! With all that eye candy my eyes would burp if they knew how... The Zephirine Drouhin roses continue to grow up on the porch. They smell wonderful and have almost no thorns (important on a porch). This shot of irises was from a week ago. I like the change in levels - the siberian iris on top of the stone wall and Beverly Sills bearded iris on the bottom, with cotoneaster carpeting the wall. This morning I opened the shades and saw a hummingbird sitting on the Rugosa Yankee Lady. It didn't seem to be getting nectar from the rose, but the feeder is right next to it and the hummingbird was probably resting between snacks. Also in bloom: Dicentras one hellebore geraniums Biokovo and Macrorhizum one daylily Alchemilla Kalmia Leucothoe ajuga (ending) As for what's happening, I had to stake up a Carefree Beauty rose. The rose was stuffed between two big New England asters last year and refused to bloom, so I moved the asters a month or so ago. So now the rose decided to bloom, but to flop all over the irises. I made a tripod out of three 6 ft bamboo poles (on sale for 79c each at Ocean State Job Lot) and tied them together with twine. I then used a cable tie on top of the twine to make it more permanent. (Mindy might be interested). The poles are shoved into the ground a little bit which helps with stability. I don't know how well it will last, but the rose seems happy now. The tripod is lopsided, but I was working in the middle of a planting bed with a panicky rose flailing around (with thorns). Claire

I cant see the tomato plant very well but tomatoes, especially young ones are WAY sensitive to chemical anything. Just the drift of herbicide or in your case, perhaps pesticide can damage them. I have had my seedlings damaged when someone, some neighbor sprayed. If its a light dose, they will usually outgrow it. If heavy they will put out gnarly and/or spindly growth for a long time.

StenoCACTUS not StenoCEREUS. Some of these names are too similar! I don't know which species. These are hard to ID. The damage looks old, maybe from sunburn, maybe from injury. The newest growth on top looks healthy, which is a good sign. As long as the damage isn't spreading the plant should be fine.