Thank you for your insight. I have a tendency to overwater if anything, but didn't know they were that picky about drought, which could have occured to the one overwintering in my garage. I kind of loose track of time during winter. Or of course I could have overwatered them. There really aren't any more symptoms to describe. The leaves were upright one day, the next they started to droop and on the third day they were all hanging over the edge of the pot. Watering didn't perk them up which is why I suspected overwatering. I've got more coming mail order this spring (including the green/white variegated one which I killed last year along with the regular yellow spotted ones), so I may try a terra cotta pot on some to see if that helps. I sooooo want these to make it. Love them.

Stacey, Last spring, in February or so I bought a pack of 'esete' banana seeds from the store. One seed germinated so I grew as a patio plant (18" pot) for the summer. The plant went from a small seedling in a milk carton to approximately 4 feet high by fall. I brought inside for the winter, gave it the best light I could (which unfortunately was only a bright north window) and reduced watering drastically. Sprayed a few times in winter with neem oil as a precaution. Anyways, it grew slowly over winter and even added a bit of height. Now it's outside and ready to be transplanted to a slightly bigger pot. The only thing is the leaves that it developed while indoors are more floppy and weak due to the poorer light(and more easily shredded by high wind). Actually, the plant looks a bit "scrappy" right now but I'm hoping the new leaves (in full sun outside) will be nicer once again. In the meantime, I have a musa basjoo started, which you can apparently store the root for winter sort of like a canna. Also bought a dwarf cavendish from the store. Regarding soil and such, they are pretty easy going. I used a good brand of potting soil, a lot of soils now have moisture beads or a mild slow-release fertilizer. I also mixed a bit of compost in the pot and then fertilized a few times with miracle grow. Glen

Hi Stacey..What do you mean by hardy? Hardy as in leaving outside all winter? When you say Crested Leopard, are you referring to Farfugium? If so, how large is the pot you want to repot in? Plants should be potted in containers according to roots. In other words, if you put a plant that was in a 4" pot into a 12" pot, it might die..Little roots in a huge container, you know? Too much soil, most likely the plant will be over-watered. If plant lives, it might take forever to grow..If your plant is kept outdoors, (when warm enough) it will grow faster, and might survive in a large pot, but once indoors during winter, it could have problems. In warmer zones, 9+, people can get away with overpotting, mainly since plants are kept outdoors most of the year to year round. BTW, the Crested Leopard is really pretty..I'm thinking of getting one, too. I have the Spotted Leopard which is quite pretty. Toni

Jolana, when you come to Houston, give me a call, and you can come here. I'll dig you all the up rights you want. I have this one called 'Persian Palm', and a smaller version. The smaller version, multiply like crazy, and I have to thin them out often. Bobbi, my dianthus look a little straggle in the hottest part of summer, but come back like gang busters in the fall/spring. I do have to cut them back occasionally to promote more blooms. The ones in the picture are planted, for the first time this year, in what has been a shade garden, till Ike took about a third of the top out of the pecan tree. I'm hoping it will continue to be a shade garden, but won't know till the tree leafs out completely. The Farfugiums are all, generally referred to as 'Leopard Plant'. Probably because the most popular one, and the one most used in gardens, does have spots. Jim