I think we've got some ying and yang going, Ink, optimism/pessimism. Of course, nobody cut down the trees across from me... I wrote this 8/28 and called it "Hanging on to Summer". Summer is probably the favorite time of year for most tropical gardeners. After all, it's the time the garden looks its best. Day to day growth is noticeable: palm spears kick up and open, bromeliads pup profusely, gingers bloom, bananas fruit, aromatic flowers perfume the air. The early morning warmth foretelling a bright and sunny day, and the lingering heat of the evening are cherished by the tropical gardener. But there is more to the love-affair with summer than peak season in the garden. The small pleasures and rituals of summer contribute to a feeling of well-being. Weekend mornings enjoying coffee and a newspaper while lounging outdoors barefoot, perhaps a light breeze ruffling the 'Travel' section as we peruse life's possibilities. The casual, abbreviated clothes outside the office: never more than flip flops on the feet, some baggy shorts or a loose skirt, arms freed from sleeves, a cocky hat to shade the sun. Summer calls for frivolous violet toenails, a light tan warms the skin, a few streaks of gold appear in the hair, I can taste salt on my lips. The abundance of seasonal fruits offers strawberries with breakfast, blueberries and canteloupe with lunch, and watermelon with dinner. The neighbors give us bags of avocados from their trees and tomatoes from their vines. The long reach of the sun allows for an early morning surf in the ocean before the crowds arrive and early evening hikes in the hills to enjoy a bit of shade and a light breeze on the trail. In summer I feel my healthiest, my strongest. It makes me feel optimistic about things that might be worrisome in winter. My mind is uncluttered and decisions are clear. The evidence is here, though; August is on the wane. The heat of day is dissipating earlier, the sunset comes too soon. The late day shadows are longer, and the color of the light is changing. While the shining wet expanse of sand on the beach is still flat and broad from the languid waves of summer, scattered with shell bits and pebbles, there is a hint of freshness in the water, an unexpected coolness on the feet. I feel an urge to grasp at every last bit of summer, squeeze out every drop. The weekend plans are piling up fast, jumbled on the calendar, can we fit it all in before October slams the door on summer? I feel a twinge of resentment about having to work five days a week during the finest time of the year. But even the youngsters who have played in the ocean all summer must resign themselves to returning to classrooms and regimented schedules. Maybe we enjoy summer so much because we cannot have it all the time. There are other things to look forward to in the coming seasons. The vanda has a bloom spike with buds expanding daily, and the laelia has sent out a tall wand, promising purple flowers in October. Maybe the fall will remain warm, maybe the winter will be mild, maybe the palms will grow through the winter, maybe the rains will be plentiful. A hummingbird swoops toward me and pauses in flight to investigate my hair, my face. He approaches, then backs off a bit, glancing up and down, purple throat flashing, wings singing, then speeds away to search for something new. I will take a sip of wine and watch the wisps of clouds turn pink.

I have been following the thread here and I thought I would chime in and add a little of what I think is missing.In a feeble attempt to save some of you some time money and heartache. So here goes. The issue isn't what you can clone in a machine the issue is why you would use one. I have a ez clone and have used it off and on for over 7 years and it works great. I also propagate cuttings in glass of water in my kitchen window.In my garden outside (weather permitting) and in soil inside,and peat pots I love them all. The reason I would use the clone machine is to do ALOT of clones quickly. Make no mistake about it anytime you automate what mother nature does on her own its MORE work,not less. Clone machines will work inside your residence or out. They are messy.wet expensive and the solution needs to be changed regularly. Plants root quickly in a machine usually 7-10 days under the right conditions.That means every two weeks you can have numerous copies of your favorite softwood cutting. Fill in the blank for what ever plant you choose to propagate. Having said that I have also rooted Ipomoea Batatas (*sweet potato vine) in two days in a glass of water in my south facing kitchen window effortlessly. Pot growers (you know who you are) Love them because they can clone plants quickly. Gardeners love them because they can share plants with others and commercial growers like them because they can mass produce and replicate new cultivars. I bought mine because I thought the science was cool. The keys for those who are interested to getting those wonderful cuttings are simple but laborious.If you choose to use your machine indoors. You need to provide the following: Light - fluorescent light works best indoors use a 6500k bulb in your fixture plants love florescent light. Its hard to burn them using flo's and it has the proper wavelength for best results. Put the fixture uber close to the cuttings for best results say 6 inches away on a 18 hour a day cycle to mimic summer sun. Oxygen- Good old o2 is supplied in vast amounts using a clone machine.Delivered via H2O your water source delivers everything the plant needs to set roots.Keep in mind these are water roots and not the same fine hairs formed during soil propagation. hey its only 10 days to soil.(but i digress) PH - or should I say proper PH. usually 6-6.5 depending on the cultivar. PH is the potential of Hydrogen in the medium for the curious minded and in the case of a clone machine its water. The rest of what people use just keeps problems at bay. I use a rooting hormone called Clonex in water simply because its a gel and it sticks to the open end of the plant and keeps air from entering the plant stem and causing an embolism. I leave it on for 15 minutes it has some b vitamins and such but I could just as easily place cuttings in water to avoid the same issue.I have it so I use it. I change the water in my machine weekly,and set the ph to 6 - 6.5 and let it rip on a timer for 15 min on 15 min off to help keep water temps in check.(since the pump is actually in the well of the machine) and I dont mess with it except to check the ph levels once during mid week. That's about it.I can go into more detail on why you do certain steps or reasons why the plants want you to do something or not but I mainly wanted to give an overview for those who have a machine are building one or for someone that is just curious about them...Hope this helps ! Millions saw the apple fall but Newton asked why!

there is a plant propogation book i have wherein the author describes his own mist system. that author has a large black coil of hose in the roof of his greenhouse so that water can be heated before reaching the mist nozzles. that's at least one vote for using warm water and keeping the cuttings reasonably warm as they root. just thought i would toss that in! lol. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mosaic z8 LA (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 11:59 With such a setup you could probably root roses under mist all winter here in Louisiana. And then as an added bonus, you could save on your power bills all summer by using it to steam your veggies :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: tammyinwv z6/WV (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:05 i have been unable to find the mist heads even within an hr from my home.Someone mentioned here they found them for .50 each.would anyone be willing to get me a couple and mail them? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: wild_garden virginia z6b (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:32 at my lowes store the mist heads where in the indoor gardening area next to the register, i doubt the people at lowes would have even know what to look for. it was with the drip irrigation supplies, as i said in the indoor gardening area next to the big outdoor area where they sell trees and things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mist heads supply source Posted by: RoseHawke 7b AL (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 03 at 10:37 For you folks that haven't been able to find the heads locally, try going to this site: Dripworks or here's a direct link to one of the pages with some heads:Misters . I just a couple of weeks ago ordered some irrigation supplies from them and received them quite quickly. About 4 days if I remember correctly. Haven't had a chance to put it together yet, which is probably just as well as the flood we had last week would've probably washed everything down the creek ;-). I also have the Melnor timer, and it does seem a bit confusing about its ability to do a mist cycle, but what you're doing is programing it to do one cycle (on in the am; off in the pm) and punching in a choice of watering pattern, in this case the off for 10" on for 2" pattern. I believe the idea behind the pattern was/is actually to help prevent water run-off when doing overhead watering by allowing the water to soak in between the on phases. I bought this particular timer though because when I looked at it my mind said "Ah! Mist!" (heh), even though the reason I bought it at the time was to keep a new patch of zoysia sod watered until it rooted in. My batteries did last all season last year, but it was only opening that valve 4x a day for 3 weeks, and then 1x every 4 days for a couple of months. I can see where a misting pattern of opening and closing that valve many times during the day may eat batteries, but as ShamanSherpa pointed out, it's still cheaper than a $100+ misting timer! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: patclem z7 (or 6) TN (My Page) on Fri, May 23, 03 at 8:32 Regardless of how much water it wastes, etc, I decided to experiment with misting. I am TERRIBLE at rooting cuttings. I've tried baggies. I've tried jars. I've tried special cutting trays with plastic domes. I've had one rooted cutting out of probably 50. I had the same problem finding true super-fine mist systems in the south. None at Lowe's, none at HD. They're not popular here because they don't have the same evaporating effect they have in less humid areas of the country - they make you wet here. Here's where I found mist heads. They didn't charge me anything for shipping. They were super-good to deal with online. Web Page - Phone/Fax 888-693-0578 Local/Fax (719) 495-2266 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W401; Product: Monarch Misting Nozzles M-1; Amount: $7.40 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W519; Product: Reducing Tee for Monarch Misting Nozzles; Amount: $4.40 You have to go to Lowe's or local hardware store and get a hose adapter, timers, 1/2" PVC, PVC caps, etc. I have mine set up with 2 mist heads, and about a 6' diameter section of my grass is soaked! I don't have mine on a timer yet. Results? I don't have any yet, except none of my cuttings have turned black yet. PS - I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS BUSINESS IN ANY WAY! Here is a link that might be useful: Mist Heads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: fuselighter 7/WA (My Page) on Thu, May 29, 03 at 21:41 I am so excited about the misting bed. I went out and bought all the supplies today. Total cost was about $15 (my husband had PVC and elbows left over from installing the sprinkler system). I would like to go to an intermittent system eventually, but for now I am going with continuous. The water bill is not an issue because we have an irrigation system (there is an annual fee but it is not based on usage). I set the whole thing up in about an hour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: debbinard Z4CO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 10:54 Shamansherpa -- I could not open your picture! I live in Colorado, it gets very warm middle of June (up to upper 90's) and stays low humidity. We are on outsidewater restrictions 2xweek, so I'm not sure this method would fly. Am wondering how visible this is, or if inside is an option under lights. At any rate, I would like to propigate some rose cuttings now (is this a good time?) My daughter in law is moving and would love some plants from a rose with sentimental value. Is the rooting hormone used just the usual or special for roses? Thanks Deb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 13:48 Deb, Maybe you could call your water extention office and see if you can get special permission, exsplain to them how little water it uses. Yes you use rooting hormone, there are many available. Dip and grow I here is supposed to be really good. I got some of the more exspensive stuff from a friend whom bought it threw rose imporium on line. But you can always use something like dip and grow. Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: rose_enthusiast z7 TX. (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 15:47 Hi there Deanna! It seems to me you've managed to help a lot of people with your invaluable info. And I would like to thank you for inspiring me to start a misting bed to root my cuttings. I have one question to add to the many others you've been getting though... What rose company is it that you get your rooting hormone from? Is it Rose Emporium or the Antique Rose Emporium? I would like to purchase this product as well, since you and this company are using this to successfully root your cuttings. Thanks Again, Carlos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 1:31 Carlos, Thank you but we should all thank AngieAnders, she is the one who did all the research and work to discover this method and then post it here for us last year! She truly diserves all the credit. I just wanted to keep any new people aware that have just started rooting this year. Best of luck all and don't forget to post your sucess! Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: epiphany z5b PA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 9:28 I found the Arizona Mist system which is by Orbit as mentioned at Wal-Mart. It has 12' of tubing, end cap, six misting heads and hose adapter for $14.95. Of course, it is once again cold and wet here,......all of a balmy 56°. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: auntnana 6 TN (My Page) on Thu, Jun 5, 03 at 13:06 I ordered the misting heads mentioned above from Dripworks last year and they don't put out a fine mist as much as they do a fine spray/droplets. And even though I had a pressure regulator on there, I kept having a problem with the heads blowing off! (Their drippers work perfectly by the way so it's nothing against the company) I ordered foggers from Misty Mate this year and they put out a super fine fog. Perfect for propagation. They are a litte more expensive than the ones from Dripworks but worth it. And if you ask they will ship the misting heads for $1.50. I went to HD and bought a 10-24 tap and drill set (3.00) and drilled holes in my 1/2" cvpvc and the heads just screwed right in! I bought a Melnor timer at HD for $39 and it has 1 minute spray options so I've got it set for 1 minute every 10 minutes. Can't remember the model number but it's not the one on the HD website. I hope to finish my new propagation box soon. I built one on a stand this year so I can move it around easily. Wouldn't you know, HD has plastic sheeting made just for greenhouses that I used! It's not the real thick heavy stuff either. It's only 4mil and is crystal clear see-thru! Hopefully I'll be finished this week!

Been reading a mishmash of different titles at the moment, including A Sight for Sore Eyes by Baroness Ruth Rendell. I have no idea why I have not picked up more of her work as I am *adoring* this story and have a hard time putting it down to do other things. The characters are believable, they do believable things and make believable decisions. Rendell is, quite honestly, the best writer I have read for some time (in terms of sheer enjoyability). Along with that, I am reading Dave Cullen's NF book about the Columbine shooting. I had ordered this weeks ago on ILL and it just arrived last Wed so it was a strange coincidence that I am reading this title when the awful shooting happened in Aurora (only 17 miles from Columbine). Cullen is a seasoned reporter and has covered the Columbine incident since Day One. It's a compelling read and it mostly focuses on how facts get twisted through media repetition and word of mouth based on that inaccuracy. It's not slamming any one media outlet in particular - just an well-informed observation of how a story can evolve despite the facts being known. Quite curious and I would not be surprised if something similar happened with the Aurora shooting. And then along these, I am also reading the original Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1906). What a twisted tale this is and very different from the sanitized Disney version! Tinker Bell is mean and spiteful, there are daily grisly murders in Neverland, and no one has enough food. Peter is also a bully, and don't mention the psychological issues of the Lost Boys with Wendy...! Fascinating read though.