Tricky Utrici

Count me in Mike. Regards Les

Mine came from P & J Plants, has had only slight red veins, but this year they are quite strong red veins. I put this down to the weather conditions but maybe the plant is changing as the roots fill the pot or getting older, I do have it in a different position this year, shaded by some taller plants to try to stop it bleaching out. Les

Ian & Dianne, I will be there, looking forward to seeing you both and your wonderful collection once again. Les

Looking forward to it Mike. Les

I have the same thing with a seller using two of my photographs. I have complained to Ebay, they sounded very helpful but have not removed the offending item. The use of my photographs was reported to me by a regular customer, I‘m really concerned that the buyer will not get the plant in the photograph, or it will be a bad buy for some other reason, and then think that he has bought from me just because it is my photograph. Seller is akab52.

Simply the best.

Open Day Saturday 26th July: Starts at 12 noon and ends when my wife throws you out. Some free plants for anyone new to the hobby, plants for sale from £1 upwards, seedlings for sale from 50p. Come and eat my grub, meet some interesting growers and get some free advice, bring some plants to sell or swap and have a great day out. If you've not been before, or can't remember how to find us, send me a PM or reply to this topic.

Paul, you've got the wrong end of the stick somewhere in our conversation. I wouldn't move to Essex if you paid me, lived there in the 70's and 80's and wouldn't move back for anything. My daughter lives there and what I said was when I retire, I would like to move closer to her, that's anything less than the current 165 miles, but definitely not Essex. It's true this will probably be my last open day at this address, I get very poor light and my garden isn't big enough, so I hope next year to be somewhere with a much bigger garden, I'm thinking in terms of a 24' x 50' polytunnel (dream on Les) with plenty of light so I can expand my collection and grow more from seed. It certainly will not be my last open day. I also have another hobby that sees me flashing round Castle Combe and Thruxton Circuits on a regular basis, no race tracks in Essex, they just use the roads to race on in Essex.

Ada, hi, I'll send a PM Les

Has anyone heard of or know Alfred Nimmo, from Sheffield area, he's offering me an exchange deal on some rare plants that looks too good to be true. I've no reason to believe he's not genuine but looking for some feedback. You know what they say about offers that look too good to be true.

Has anyone heard of or know Alfred Nimmo, from Sheffield area, he's offering me an exchange deal on some rare plants that looks to good to be true. I've no reason to believe he's not genuine but looking for some feedback. You know what they say about offers that look to good to be true.

Do you live near a nuclear power plant, does your wife have two heads, can your dog whistle Dixie?

I meant to add that I don't see any sign of mealy bugs in your photograph, looks more like aphid remains, aphids will overwinter in vft's.

If you have mealy bugs they will be in the roots, they tend to do most of their breeding down there but you'll find eggs almost anywhere on your plant and even round the outside of the pot. They breed every 10 days I think and young can breed very quickly as well. It will look like a white fungus but is in fact their waxy protection. Wash out the roots, pot in fresh peat mix, then spray with Provado. These little buggers will walk from plant to plant and you'll find them six feet away with nothing in between. Keep your eye out for what looks like tiny white woodlice. I was sold a plant with them a couple of years back, gone now but was a real pain for a few months.