Ha - nope I restrained myself! First time in weeks...hehe... I ordered back in the fall from a lady in California that has a greenhouse and sells lots of succulents. The soil is actually pretty good, has a good amount of perlite in it and some bark. I can tell the plants are getting pretty root bound now but want to wait until spring to repot, mostly because I have to do it in the garage and don't want them to freeze. These little guys are in 2" plastic pots, all rooted cuttings. I have two other Crassulas other than my gollum Jade. One is a string of buttons. When I got it it was flowering but then it stopped because of whatever reason. I have it in a Southern window and it loves it. It never wilts and grows at a decent rate so I think watering it every week or two is working for it. The other one is a Crassula marchandii, not a popular Crassula at all and only one other member in the C&S group has one, though Norma knew what it was and said it is a hybrid. It's pretty finicky. I actually started a thread on it if you are interested, I'll post the link. The cutting I got from her had bloomed because I could see where the flower stem was and it was removed. Now it is splitting into two "branches" there which is exciting! So I think I'll keep that one around as pathetic looking as it is. It's one of mine that really likes the water. From her I also have a Sempervivum and two dumb Hens and Chicks (I don't like them, and they do not like me either, they started to stretch out and are fine now in a southern window but they look ridiculous with a neck and compacted head on top - I want to get rid of them but feel like I'm doing something really bad by tossing a living thing out). I ordered a "surprise" mix and didn't have a say in what I got, I just told her to keep in mind that I live in Illinois and they'll be inside lol. The Haworthia too of course that I mentioned. Two Aloes (I think one is a marlothii seedling, the one in the pure oil-dry and the other is a variegata which needs a lot more water than the marlothii right now, its leaves started to fold on me). One thing that's weird with my Aloe variegata is I swear it eats the dirt. The dirt keeps disappearing. When I bought it from HD it was healthy but a lot of dirt was missing. It was pretty much only any dirt that was stuck to the roots. Brought it home, threw in C&S potting soil laying around to hold it over until spring, and it ate it up again. It's bizarre and I don't know what the heck is happening to the dirt, but about 1/3 to 1/2 of it disappears. It clearly has a brain and knows it wouldn't do well in it! So I am obliging to its wishes and will not add anymore dirt for now. It's a really slow grower, both Aloes are. Hopefully they step it up a bit now that spring is coming - we have bulbs starting to poke through the soil already. I also have a Hoya compacta and a Sansevieria. Hoya is a rooted cutting so that won't do anything for years lol - the Sansevieria just sits there I swear it doesn't grow. I think that covers it. I really want a Gasteria next. Someone in the C&S forum had a pot full of Gasteria offsets and it looked really cool, and I guess they do great as houseplants. Here is a link that might be useful: Crassula marchandii thread

Depends, I would think. If the pest is something that normally overwinters, then maybe a little extra predation and other death might happen compared to a mild winter. But if the pest is something that has really blossomed in numbers because of recent mild winters, then a long cold winter should knock them back considerably. I'm thinking of the nematodes in particular. Where I am is a borderline area for them since they don't withstand freezing well. Hopefully this winter will knock them back to the almost unnoticable population of a few years ago, after our last freezing winter. And of course that depends on whether the weather stays cold. Can't rule out another 80ð January/February yet.

Yes, the dragon-like bug is a ladybug larva -- very beneficial, in that it will eat aphids and some psyllid larvae.

Welcome to the FN forum impatientgardener! You live in Cochrane, lucky you! I love that area of AB! We were just talking about Spittle Bugs a week or so ago, give them a good blast of water from the hose to knock them off your plants. For Rose Weevils, I had a real problem last year, they seem to be more attracted to white or light pink roses.... knock on wood but I haven't seen any this year so far, the best control method is to keep on top of it by removing and destroying affected flowerbuds on a daily basis, tedious I know, but it works. Hope you enjoy it here & Happy Gardening! Sharon