Gob~ I'm not too keen on the thought of moth balls... They stink! Of course, so does kitty doo-doo! :) I've thought about chicken wire, as you mentioned... I think it would be easy to work with & easy to take off when the plants come back inside for the winter. As for the PL, I noted in my OP that I didn't water from the bottom, but drench it w/ the faucet in my sink or shower, so I don't think the roots are looking for water. It was originally in a plastic insert inside of a tin decorative planter... This is why I repotted it in the first place, b/c the original container was not condusive to good drainage. I repotted it in an 6 in. pot... The root ball only had about 1 in. on the sides that I had to put new soil into, so I thought that was a pretty good fit. I just have heard that these plants prefer to be rootbound & didn't want to over pot it. Hopeful~ These are outside kittens, so they don't technically have a litter box... I'm wondering if that wouldn't solve my problem though. We live in the country, so I just assumed that they would have plenty of options when it came to "litter boxes", but maybe if I put one out, they'd use it instead of my plants. They aren't really nibbling on any of the plants. I do have a Hawaiian Ti Plant that they like to bat the leaves on, a couple of them have been shredded by little claws. :) My PL was quite big when I got it. It's now in only a 6 in. pot, but I would say the plant is about 2-2 1/2 ft. tall (from soil level up) & spreads about as wide. Yes, my PL has been growing & blooming every since I got it, it seemed to never even notice the repotting. Super~ Duct tape is a great idea! I'm just not sure how long it would stay sticky outside in our area. The plant is blocked from rain, but the heat may mess up the sticky-ness. I will have to give it a shot though. LOL, I have seen cats trying to get things off of their paws, it is quite amusing, but I usually end up feeling sorry for them & help them get whatever it is off. :) Thanks for all the replies, they're greatly appreciated! ~Shannon

There are a number of issues that can cause chlorosis (light green to yellow foliage on plants that normally express a dark green color in foliage when healthy). Most are related to chemical/nutritional issues or cultural conditions that interfere with nutrition or cause problems with soil chemistry. The first question you should ask is, do I have an effective nutritional supplementation in place? If not, start there. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a good place to start. Many of us use it with very good results. If you are curious about why it works so well, just ask & I'll provide the reasoning or direct you to a post that supplies it. Often, and commonly, high soil pH can cause Fe (iron) to bind with other elements in the soil solution and become unavailable. This can occur even when the amount of iron in the soil would be adequate under lower pH conditions. I've repeatedly 'resolved' mild chlorosis in plants by doing nothing more than fertilizing normally and adding a little white vinegar or citric acid (where they sell wine-making supplies) to the water I irrigate with. Often too, chlorosis can be remedied by adding an Fe chelate. The one I prefer and use regularly but not frequently, is Sprint 138. It's designed specifically for use when high pH applications are causing iron deficiencies. Finally, and if you ARE fertilizing, using a fertilizer with NPK %s that don't come close to approximating the %s of nutrients the plant actually USES, antagonistic deficiencies very commonly are the result. This is especially prevalent when using media that doesn't allow the grower to flush the soil regularly. Also, fertilizers with high % of P(hosphorous) in relation to the amount of N(itrogen) can block uptake of Fe. If you combine the use of high P fertilizers with not flushing the soil regularly, an antagonistic deficiency of Fe should be moved from the 'possible' column to one headed 'expected'. It shouldn't be too difficult to provide more specific remedial advice if you offer more input about watering habits, soil choice, and pertinent information about how you fertilize - what you use, how often, how much, ....... Al

Yellowing leaves might mean not enough water. Brown tips mean there isn't enough humidity. Peace lilies like it humid. Mist the plant with water once a day, or put it on a dish filled with gravel and filled with water (the gravel keeps the roots from rotting). Another way is double potting it. I put my potted 4" peace lily in another 8" container and filled the outer layer with peat moss and kept the peat moss damp. The water evaporates and raises the humidity around the plant. My peace lily really loved this and was 60% bigger than another peace lily that I didn't do this to. I only had one spare container. lol

Hello, First, I just want to say I am sorry for your loss. I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to lose a child. Peace lily is easiest, so I'll address it first. It is a tropical plant and will not be happy if exposed to temperatures below 55 degrees. It will freeze if exposed to sub-freezing temperatures. Peace lilies do alright if kept in a pot in an area (like a covered porch or covered patio) where they get indirect light and protection from the wind. If you put them in the ground where they are exposed to Oklahoma's springtime weather with strong wind and hail, the plants will just be shredded by both the strong wind and the hail. I've kept them outdoors all summer on a sheltered porch but brought them indoors in autumn before the nights got too cold for them. Hydrangeas should survive being put in the ground, but it is hard to say for sure without knowing which kind of hydrangea we are talking about. I am sort of assuming that the types of hydrangeas grown for the florist trade are Hydrangea macrophylla. I wouldn't plant them outdoors until the danger of frost has passed because they are not used to freezing weather since they've been raised and kept indoors in commercial greenhouses. They will survive the winters here because the gradually cooling weather in fall will harden them off to increasingly colder temperatures. The hydrangeas delivered by florists have had their lightning, temperature exposure and fertilization manipulated to make them bloom at a specific time for the florist industry, so they cannot go straight into the ground in the kind of cold weather we're having right now. I'd wait for the likelihood of frost to pass before setting them out in the ground. Once you prune off the flower heads after they've ceased to bloom and put them in the ground, it might be a couple of years before they make enough new growth to bloom outdoors. Just be patient with them. With the gardenia, most of what I said about hydrangeas applies. Some gardenias are more cold hardy than others so it is hard to guess how yours would tolerate our winter weather without knowing which variety it is. I believe it will need acidic soil similar to what azaleas prefer. Some gardenia varieties can tolerate zone 7 winters and maybe even zone 6b in a sheltered location, but not all of them will. If losing the plant would be very distressing, I'd keep it in a container (pot it up to the next larger size pot than what it is in right now) outdoors in a somewhat sheltered area and bring it inside in winter. Because it also has been in heavily manipulated indoor conditions in a commercial greenhouse, I wouldn't leave it outdoors in the kind of cold we're having now. I'd move it out after the nights are mostly staying above freezing. Hope this helps. Dawn