This summer started out really nicely. I had a load of plants in bloom for my May graduation and folks ooo'ed and aaa'ed in the greenhouse. After the festivities, all seemed well. Then, I started noticing a wilt on some of my plants. It quickly spread and, despite my efforts, killed a number of plants in my now dwindling collection. I tried Bordeaux solution, but discovered to my horror, that it added to their stress. Bordeaux solutions should only be applied in cooler temps. I found that out a little late....

Then, I found a rat living in my greenhouse. One morning, I noticed more dead leaves than usual amongst the pots. Using a fork to comb them out (Sadly, I had become used to this daily routine of removing dead leaves and searching for the "dumper" to see if it were salvageable), I disturbed the "nest" and it shot out from under the pile and blasted down the back edge of that bench and out the access hole I later found. It had eaten three plants, but....and this is a biggie....there were no little ones in the nest. For all of my troubles, I dodged a bullet there!

I have spent the rest of this summer removing all of the plants, cleaning the greenhouse, repairing damage to said greenhouse, installing new benches and the inner liner of the greenhouse, and tossing plants that were too far gone.

I recently applied some Physan-20 to see if it would stop the progression of the juggernaut rot variety that has been ravaging my plants. I hope it works....

Thanks for reading. I have missed posting and reading, but I have been a little preoccupied. It became increasingly difficult to be cheerful about my plants as I witnessed their demises, so I wouldn't have made a very good encourager.