Your Catt looks fine. The slight discoloring was probably caused by increasing the light a little too fast. Catts should be a nice medium green when given enough light. If they get yellow, then they need more shade. Congrats on the Miltonia, yes they do have a great fragrance. Buy a few hundred more and then you will be addicted :>) Brooke

First thing is you should repot it again - only go back to a smaller pot for winter (I recommend a clay pot for this type of begonia). The second thing is it is normal for this to lose leaves in winter but the remaining leaves should stay plump and rigid. It can even defoliate completely in winter but do not despair since this is also normal - it is resting in a semi-dormant state so do not quit watering but do not keep it soggy either. Too wet leads to root rot, too dry and the fine roots will start dying and the rhizome will lose water and start dying as well. It is a fine balance at times. A good draining potting mix should help in this endeavor. If all the leaves are wilted and the soil is wet then I'd say you are close (if not already) of root rot. A clay pot appropriately sized should handle the watering issues (unless the drain hole clogs). Use a fast draining potting mix. Some folks like to use perlite in their mix. I've found that Miracle Gro potting mix (not the moisture control mind you) works pretty good for all my wild assortment of begonias including this very begonia. For propagation, cut a leaf that is not wilted. If it is wilted you may want to cut it and put it in a baggie or plastic container to "plump" up. If the leaf is wilted then it may not be suitable for propagation. There are many methods to propagate by leaf - entire leaf with petiole and wedge are the ones I have most success with. Jiffy pellets worked very well for me last year and I recommend it highly especially if you do the wedge method. You can buy the pellets with a tray and humidity lid for less than $10. Any good potting mix or straight perlite will also work - do use a humidity lid in winter though. A small pot with a baggie will also work. Water rooting will work as well with the petiole intact (about an inch long) much as you would water root an African violet leaf. If water rooting, do seal the surface of the water from the household air to prevent germs from multiplying and rotting the leaf. Lastly if the rhizome is starting to turn soft (not plump and rigid), remove all the soil and inspect the roots since rot may already have set in. If this is the case you may cut the rhizome as a last ditch effort to start some new roots on the severed rhizome. You may want to let the cut end scab over for a day before repotting. Place the cut rhizome in a dry container with a lid to prevent germs and also allow the humidity to keep the rhizome plump while scabbing (callusing) over. Rooting hormone can be used but isn't really necessary. Wiggle the cut rhizome with the leaf side up much like an iris rhizome into a small pot of potting mix, water slightly, and cover with a baggie.

in southern MD- My fig tree looked awful last year summer '09 and produced fewer figs than usual. There was less fruit and very few ripened. They stayed green and hard, and were small. This tree had been a very prolific tree. I was wondering how your trees produced last summer. So far this year I have very little growth on old wood and some long new growth from the bottom. Top looks bad. Any advice is welcome. Not sure weather is only factor. There is a groundhog hole nearby. Could it be eating the roots? It did not get the fruit because I was keeping a close eye.

Okay--reporting back the results, so far, of my extreme measures taken in eradicating 'Southern Blight' on several of my hosta! The one-eyed crown I removed from the 'Golden Sculpture', unearthed and removed all leaves, cutting the crown back severely, and soaked in a bleach solution for an hour and then changed off the water every two days--is doing great! The remaining eyes, in the original pot show no evidence of the 'blight', with that eye removed! I did spritz full-strength bleach on the soil surface of those left in the pot, as well. So far, the one-eyed crown is producing 5 additional eyes and three of them are already sending up leaves. So far there is no sign of the 'blight' on this one, (these eyes) either! Now--the 'American Icon' that I also dealt with severely, and did not unpot, but in this case I just sprayed straight bleach on the base of the petioles, and surrounding soil, and left it on for a couple of mins. before pouring on a good amount of water--so far, so good! I've also sprinkled corn meal on the soil surface and watered it in well! The 'S&S' and 'Titanic' I treated in the same way and also have added corn-meal fairly heavily and watered in--so far, so good! Lost almost all the petioles and eyes on those, but one eye (that was decimated) is sending up a small leaf! They did get repeated straight bleach sprayings after pouring on the 10% solution seemed to not be working! The 'Alex Summers' planted in a raised bed--I removed on Thursday and also removed all the soil and soaked over-night in a 10% bleach solution--I have rinsed and soaked a couple of hours in plain water and potted them up, divided with cornmeal also heavily applied. Every leaf is turning a bright orange! On the one pot of 3 eyes I have just, today, cut the petioles back severely. I've left them planted to see what comes of it! The other two eyes are potted and I'm letting them play out the dying off of the leaves, in hopes they will also reflush! I started out with one eye of this one, from Hosta Direct, and had 5 eyes this year--3 summers later!!! I really am not very hopeful about those two! The roots looked so fragile when I removed them from the bleach water!! I've also done the same thing with another hosta that has shown the nematodes--my 'Maui Buttercups'!!!! I'm just sick about that one, especially! I started out with one eye two summers ago, and now I had three this year! It was looking so good! I also dug it up yesterday--removed all the soil, all leaves (cut them to the crown) and separated all three eyes and soaked them overnight in bleach water! They, too, looked fragile this morning! I've potted them up--set them apart from all other planting areas and will keep a close eye on them for a couple of years. I did test a leaf in the water, (that was also soaked in bleach last night) as I do with any nematode infestation and there seemed to be no 'nematode' life evident, today! How far reaching was the bleach in effectiveness on the nematodes, remains to be seen. And, will the hosta in both situations, having been soaked overnight in bleach 8-10%, survive and thrive--will also remain to be seen! Oh, I got the idea to bleach for nematodes from 'Pietre'! :o) I'll keep you posted--whether you want to know or not! ;o/