check with the guys as www.cobraplant.com they advocate year-round outdoor growing and have ideas around climate problems. In "The Savage Garden", I seem to recall mulching outdoor bog gardens, covering with a tarp and the mulching again with several inches of padding. I don't think that I'm going to do that here in Ohio, but just a few pine needles may not work. I tried that last winter with no garage or basement and eventually sent them to a foster garage during the cold spells. None are around now to tell the tale. This year I have a garage to use but will still mulch (just in case). I think I overwatered last winter. I only water from above on occasion. I don't see a problem with it, but waiting until the water evaporates may not be ideal. Just keep the water an inch or two (depending on the size of the pot) and they'll be happy. As I learned this spring, don't put pots in containers that are higher than the pot! I have a couple of litter boxes filled with pots and water and one morning the plants were swimming when the tray filled.

I have several varieties planted in the ground, Meyer, Moro, Naval, Calamondin, Owari Satsuma, Mineola and Ponderosa. Most have been in the ground 7 plus years. I have never covered them with anything other than some pine straw at the bases. Lowest temps one year were lower teens. 2 of the Moros were first year in the ground and the new growth at the top froze and died off. Both have since came back. Mine are all planted on the northeast side of the house...not the south but thats the way my yard is so there wasn't any other choice. I am thinking about a cold frame on a couple this year just to see if I can keep the fruit on longer for more ripeness. Rob

I am in USDA 9a and grow all kinds of tropical flowers, plants, including tropical fruit, Jackfruit, Longan etc If you really want a tropical plant to survive you need some sort of greenhouse or somewhere to put them on freezing nights. I put up a 10x20 cheap metal carport frame. It is covered in clear 6 mil painters plastic comes on the roll at home depo for $100 for a 20x100 ft roll. I double it so it is 12 mil. The greehouse stays covered from Mid Dec to March 1st. After that I take the plastic off and leave the frame up to grow vines on until winter. (This is an economical way to have a greenhouse and its easy to move, if needed) I dont usually have to heat it but if it goes much below freezing, I put in a little propane heater for that night. In the winter days we are warm here like 60's to 80's so I tie the front opening, open, or it would overheat. Then I just shut it at night. If you are a USDA 9a or 9b then brugmansia and Bird of Paradise, and often bougainvillea should return from the root if they freeze.

I find Euphorbia tirucalli "Firesticks" to be a temperamental plant that is hard to grow in my zone 9b environment. Having gone through several seasons with this plant in different container soils, I have concluded that it really prefers to be in zone 10a or higher. Does anyone in zone 9b have experience planting it in native California clay loam, and any tips on how to increase the chances for survival? My first Firesticks was planted in a moderately large container using The Gritty Mix for soil. That mix used rather large stones (about 3/8 inch). The plant grew fantastically in Summer, but in Winter with a lot of rain outside, it rotted from the deep roots up. It looks like the bark in gritty mix might have held onto a bit too much moisture after so many rainstorms that year. Having failed to grow the plant outdoors in The Gritty Mix, I tried pure pumice. That was way too dry. The plant never took a liking to that soil and simply dried away. I was not going to water the plant every day. The third try was regular store-bought cactus mix, but that plant was kept in a porch area and kept away from the rain. The plant grew well and I side-stepped the issue of rain tolerance and simply did not water it for the Winter. Now this weekend I went to a local nursery and saw they had a spectacular-looking Firesticks planted in the California clay and thriving. It is next to a huge Bougainvillea in the photo below. The store manager told me the plant has been there for five years now. So I am going to take a risk and plant mine in California clay. The questions: * How can I maximize the chances of surviving given wet California winters and clay that hangs onto moisture during rains? I could build a large raised bed of California clay, or I could build a faster draining soil in a raised bed over the clay. Which would be better for this case? * Does anyone have an explanation of how this plant can root rot in The Gritty Mix, while apparently thriving in the store's California clay in-ground planting? What is it about Gritty Mix that might make a plant more subject to root rot than an in-ground clay planting? I am not sure if this was just random luck or if there is something about the soil itself that explains this result.