from a very recent email, clanorchids.com: Cultural Tip of the Month Orphan Orchids Throughout the year, Our orchid friends will drop by with a beautifully grown, out of bloom Orchid with a faded or missing label, with the plea "Can You Tell Me what this is". I wish we could, we have a better chance of winning the Florida lottery. With 32,000 species and 117,000+ man made hybrids, identification, of an out of bloom Orchid, is at best a SWAG (Scientific, Wild A-- Guess). Often, the genus/alliance can be guessed, with some certainty, but beyond that it is pure SWAG. So what to do, the simple answer is use a pencil to write your name labels. A #2 pencil is best, some of our personal plants still have legible labels 30 years after joining our collection. Second point, secured the label to the plant, not the pot, with bell wire or aluminum wire. Over time printed labels and permanent markers fade, and unsecured labels disappear.

I love the idea ... until they got to the part about the Sharpie marker. Sharpie won't last very long outside. I used a paint pen to write on my galvanized metal tags, and they're still practically perfect three years later. Paint pens rock! My Pampered Chef can opener cuts around the side of the lip of the can, instead of directly at the top, and it makes lids like this ... just a suggestion, so no one has to drink THAT much orange juice to get the lids. Connie

I see places/people that sell S. darcyi seeds, but I got a plant from Bustani Plant Farm. I'm very high on their plants, and they are as reasonable as you will find. I think Rich Dufresne, A World of Salvias, has 3.5" pots for $5. He is very prominent in the Salvia industry and appears frequently on the Salvia Forum here. If you have questions, there are a ton of knowledgeable people there. I kind of have to discount the Californians - sorry if I offend anyone - because our growing conditions are so different from them, even tho they are the native Salvia capital of the US. S. darcyi has some of the biggest flowers of any of the Salvias, and they are a bright, bright red. Supposedly hardy to our zone, it will be tested this winter. I have never been really happy with anything from Plant Delights. I know, I know, lots of people love them, etc. But Bustani has given me much better plants that survive better as well. You almost have to be there at exactly the right time to collect Salvia seeds. I will try to save some for you. I have been trying to grow S. subrotunda from seed, without success, for 2 years now. I get mine from Sample Seed Shop for $2 a packet. The guy in Arkansas usually has a lot of Salvias for sale as well, and fairly well priced, altho he has gone up a lot in the last 2 years. Dogwooderitternet? There is also a lady at taste.ecrater.com that sells a number of Salvia seeds, but her seeds are expensive. Specialty Perennials also sells a number of Salvia seeds, but not S. darcyi. They do, however, have S. penstemonoides, which I would really like to have, too. But, check out Rich's site. It is fun to go thru his list if nothing else. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: A World of Salvias

As badly as it hurt when I came home, I was sure I was sitting for, at least, 3 days! Strangely, it's much better today. I thought of bone spur, but the description of the symptoms is lacking past "it hurts sometimes!" My heel hurt just as much if I stepped on it, then it did, if I just tried to tiptoe. If I stood up just on my other foot, I could still feel it, although not as badly, by a long shot! When I sit, I only feel it when I sit on it, as was my habit. Does that still sound like a bone spur? But, the good news is that I did find that little tag today! Wasn't very far away at all! It's a Clethra alnifolia, or a Summersweet, which is a member of the alder family, although it remains a bush, growing from 6' tall to 5' wide, but, since this one will be in a large container, I'm not sure if it really will get that big. Can't wit to smell it next summer! I hope hummers smell it well enough to visit!