Reasonably common, actually. I currently have an orange zinnia that has one bright pink blossom on it. The blossom is malformed, however, so the mutation is deleterious--just not nearly enough to kill the plant, the branch, or the flower. I'm idly waiting to see if it produces seeds. It probably will. Plants have fewer problems with mutations than we do, so it's not at all surprising to find an altered branch, blossom, or petal. In many years of gardening with tons of flowers in 2,000 square feet, I've seen that happen...not often, but perhaps once a year on one plant. Unusual combinations of genes from tight inbreeding are much more common and occasionally useful; my Salvia splendens is now more the height and color of cardinal flower. If you like it, you can take a snippet from the branch and try to root it as its own plant. If you hate it, chop off that particular branch down at the base and it probably won't re-occur. If it does, it probably won't come back next year. If it still does, it's a mutation in the tuber's stem cells and you're stuck with it.

Hi Karen, IÂm happy for you that your big plants are going to make it! If there was ever a chance for you to recover from plumeria addiction, it will disappear when your own plants bloom for you. ItÂs said there are no ugly cats, but that some are more beautiful than others. This also applies to plumeria. Your nighttime temps are ok for starting cuttings. Water them well the day you plant them and then wait at least a month before watering them again. Place your pots on concrete in order to provide bottom heat; I always used the edge of my driveway at my last house. Rooting may take as long as ninety days. Reds as a group are the most prone to rot; some rainbows are also very rot prone during rooting. Let what you see guide you after the first thirty days. If leaves are developing begin watering lightly and infrequently until leaves are six to ten inches, then start giving lots of water. When they are well rooted you are in the clear; a few varieties have a reputation for being rot prone even in their second year, but once rooted, plumeria are tough plants that can tolerate anything except freezing, standing water, and cold wet feet during dormancy. IÂm using BillÂs bottle method for making a planting cavity in the pot because it makes a lot of sense. I can tell you it provides excellent support for the cuttings until they have roots to hold them in place. Also no soaking wet soil is held in direct contact with the bottom of the cutting while it is rooting, decreasing the odds of rotting. As water vapor evaporates through the perlite and pumice on itÂs way out of the pot, the cutting senses there is water nearby and sends out roots to find it. Philip

Ruthy1, if I didn't see my beautitian every month, my hair would be the same color as mom's!!! You are all right that I am blessed to have this picture. DH is working afternoon shift this weekend. I have been spending that time going thru two big boxes of pictures from my aunt and scanning them. One box is finished except for those in frames and albums. When I finsih the ones in the frames, I'll get the other box sorted out and start with the loose ones in it. Those are the fastest for me to do. Before Christmas DH was scanning channels and ran accros either HSN or QVC selling a small photo scanner. He bought it, though we weren't sure of the quality. It probably doesn't scan at a high reselution, but I am happy with it. It only takes seconds to scan a pic! It will save it to a memory card or directly to the computer. I am using the flat bed scanner to do the ones too big for the little one, set at a reselution of 600 while I run the smaller ones thru the little scanner. I needed a break, so figured it was time to see what all of you are up to. Tami

Not sure what ont_gal meant but perhaps she was asking because of the ridges in his nails. Psoriatic arthritis can affect the nails causing ridges to form. That is an awesome picture. I absolutely love it!!!