When Minnie Hill Palmer passed, The Acre was deeded to the city and fell under control of 'Parks and Wreck'. The Chatsworth Historical Society was formed to save The Pioneer Church and finally came to support The Acre. Candy and Dean Craig resurrected the gardens and added many OGRs through their friendship and connection with John MacGregor, Clair Martin's predecessor at The Huntington Library. They were rose garden volunteers there and it was they who introduced me to the place and got me started there. Candy also had a friendship with Peter Schneider, the editor of The American Rose Rambler, a marvelous rose newsletter, and now the editor of The Combined Rose List, which he generated with Bev Dobson (who originated it) and whom he succeeded. The Craigs lost a daughter to a drunk driver and Peter named an apricot floribunda he created for their daughter, Eden Ellen. There was a bed of it growing there for many years. They surrounded the house with roses, making it a popular venue for weddings and other parties, arranged through "Parks and Wreck". With tightening belts and the aging of the Historical Society and surrounding rose societies which often used the gardens to hold their pruning demonstrations, it appears roses (not all, but from the photos, many) have been removed (or, perhaps died) to reduce maintenance and probably to increase room for events. Candy held an annual Rose Festival in conjunction with Pioneer Days, a community festival, for many years where she sold old, rare and unusual roses to help pay for the potting soil and other supplies required to maintain the gardens. Many of them were passed through her by Peter from his imports and were the source of things such as Julia's Rose, Greensleeves and quite a few other unusual European roses not in US commerce at the time. A number were propagated from the OGRs existing on the property when they came to be the volunteer caretakers and many more came from The Huntington and my old Newhall garden. There are still some roses there, I'm not sure which though. It's suggested to start plants out in pots which best fit their root ball size so the roots fill the pots and knit a solid root ball. Starting a band out in a five gallon can will frequently lead to weakened root ball between the crown of the plant and the pot edges due to the long length of roots between the center and edges. Removing the root ball from the pot could then permit loosening or even damage to the roots at their weakest point, between the crown and edge of the mass. Starting a small plant in a gallon until the roots fill the pot wall surfaces shortens that distance, creating a more solid root mass. Increasing that from a gallon to a two or three and permitting it to then fill out the increased mass results in a more solid soil/root ball which is less likely to fall apart or otherwise be damaged by removal or handling. The organics in the soil break down, digest, over time, leaving only the inorganic material (sand, clay, stone, etc.). Eventually, all potted plants require replanting to replenish and refresh the soil in the container. A looser, weaker root ball is more easily damaged than a tighter solid mass, so the plant will experience less damage and shock from the root ball falling apart. If you're trying to protect smaller pots from heat and cold extremes, it's far easier to protect multiples than one. They can be grouped together so each helps shade and insulate the next. (another logical "excuse" for larger pot ghettos!) If your goal is to keep the plant potted until it's matured sufficiently for planting, this would be the more secure method of accomplishing it. If you intend to keep it potted, it still may be safer to start with a smaller size them transplant into the desired size to stack the deck in your favor for safer repotting when the time comes. You may be able to safely accomplish transplanting after starting the smaller plant in a larger pot, but the chances of the soil ball breaking up are greater. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: American Rose Rambler and Combined Rose List

Glad to hear some good news for your project Sara! You’ve waited a long time. As a former licensed contractor, and now a full time real estate investor, I have been on both sides of this arena. I can remember interviewing a finish carpenter who told me how skilled he was trimming ornate staircases, stacked crown molding, etc. When I brought him over to a compound miter and asked him to install a simple piece of crown, he spent 15 minutes adjusting the saw, made three wrong cuts, complained about the molding and finally said its been a while and maybe he “forgot a few things”. Unbelievable. When I hear ridiculous excuses from these guys, I know right away what they are all about. Many of them are just day laborers calling themselves “pros”. They would rather complain about the distance they have to walk to a house than swing a hammer and earn an honest day’s pay. So, it’s got to be hard to deal with these types as a homeowner. Many of these self proclaimed contractors overstate their skills beyond the pale of mere exaggeration to downright lying. They are also the same ones who complain about everything: its too hot to work, too cold, they left their tool bag at home, etc.… Any excuse to stay home and drink. Its sad but true. Some of them have spent more time in prison than on a jobsite. So be sure you do a background check before you let anyone in your home to do work because there does seem to be a correlation between the amount of complaining and the incarceration rate of some of these guys. Anyone who doesn’t have the professionalism to return a call or, worse yet, not show up for a client meeting should be called out on it using the array of review sites I mentioned previously. Now after writing all that, its only fair to say that not all contractors are like this. You seem to have found a very decent electrician who is assisting you with a new GC. I wish you all the best with your addition and I hope it is completed soon and on budget.

These plants are not very water sensitive in Florida, but are incredibly susceptible to crown-rot, lower stem rot (not root rot but more like the rot yours shows), and sunburn. I grow mine outside until nighttime temps drop below 55 and then indoors on a south facing window. During the summer, as you know living in FL, mine gets that Florida rain 2-4 times a week. The leaves have not split and in fact the plant has some sun damage and is at times almost stone-like in texture, indicating it has been grown rather hard. After a long rain it is softer, but hardens up over the following day. However, sometimes standing water will accumulate in the crevice between leaves; my roommate pulled out the dead flowers from my plant last year (!!!) And combined with some standing water, this caused the new leaves in the central stem of my plant to dry up and die. However, it has sent up a side shoot that is actively growing. I think the key is the Florida heat and high UV levels, and the fact that my soil is 20%grit, 40%perlite, and 50% coconut coir. I learned that coir is especially important in FL because it keeps a high oxygen to water ratio in the root zone, which prevents waterlogged and anoxic roots. I think this and the heat keep this mesemb slowly growing throughout the summer, which helps prevent rot from over-watering. My Fenestraria grows the same way, but if I put it outside too soon and it rains too frequently, many of its leaves will rot in a similar manner to your split rock, from the lower stem but not the roots. But when temperatures reach 80-90, it starts shooting out tons of new growth, even as old growth rots. tl;dr - pot up your replacement in a mix of grit, perlite, and coir, and put it outside for some heat during the summer. It may survive the rain, but it may be better to leave it on a screened-in porch if you are concerned about losing a stem to crown rot

Another plant death has fallen upon my household. This time it was my precious little plant that has been miraculously been growing well for almost half a year. The day before yesterday it just suddenly started wilting and the bottom of its stem started turning brown and woody, and now today I've noticed that the water under it's self watering pot has stop going down. Another death to my hands... and I was so proud of this one. Its the highest plant I've ever grown and now it's just dying before my eyes. I don't think I can save this one. I'm gonna miss u planty ;_;