Yep, I add water right into the container, and keep it topped up. I never let the water dry completely out. At first, I had gravel in there, could't believe what I was hearing. So, I kept a very close eye on everything. Then when the goofy plant had bloomed 3 or 4 times (ALWAYS lost the blooms before!) I decided I could relax. It wasn't going to rot, I didn't need to keep agonizing over it. I have lost my compactas to mealies. In winter, when all the plants are crammed together into the plant room, the air is stiller, the water is less... The attention and grooming are CRIMINAL! I lost both H. compactas this winter! ARGH. Now, my pump sprayer is on the fritz. I had a pump up pressure sprayer to (in dramatic opera voice) Kill The Mealies, Kill The Mealies! but I'm back to a kitchen sprayer, every week. Even worse this month have been the bleedin' ants!!! They have robbed cactus seeds and started burying plants with dirt, starting their own little farm. The cactus I found buried, I cleaned up, sprayed, and set out of the sun. Checked it two days later? COVERED in spine mealies! Its an epidemic, I tell 'ya! You showed those little grubbers! Keep up the good work!

I usually start my paint choosing by picking up a bunch of paint chips (big chips--not those itty bitty things) and taping them to the wall. I then eliminate the ones I definitely don't like. Then I come back and do the same thing in different light--morning, midday, under artificial light--eliminating a few chips each time. When I've covered the time-of-day bases, I move the chips to another wall and repeat. Usually I can narrow the choices down to just a few, and only then move on to actual paint samples. For my bedroom, I thought I wanted a blue-gray. Went through a lot of chips and ended up not liking any of them. Switched over to gray greens, and that is what I eventually ended up with. I ended up very happy with the color.

Totally agree with those who say to leave it. That's assuming it won't be obstructing your garden area, but it looks like you have the space to do it. I have 100 acres of pretty wild bush/forests in Oz, and it's not uncommon to find a Euc blown over in a storm. In time (years!), those leafing branches will root to the ground (a kind of natural "layering" propagation) and you'll have a small thicket of those trees. Very cool to watch over time. My immediate thought on seeing your pic, going only by bark and juvenile leaves, was Euc. albens (white box tree), but as there are more than 700 Euc species, I wouldn't bet on that. Ain't nature grand?

Hi Veronica! Where to start... First, the seeds on damp builders sand, are they in an enclosed container, or simply sitting on the top of the sand in an open container? If it's open and your refrigerator is frost-free, they are being kept too dry to germinate. If the container is enclosed, you should bury them under the damp sand about a quarter of an inch below the surface. Some people sprout their seeds on damp paper toweling, enclosed in either zip loc baggies or other enclosed containers. The temperature of the refrigerator also makes a difference. The lower the temperature, the longer the seeds hold before germinating. Some will sprout below forty degrees, many won't. Supposedly, germination begins to fall off at temps above 70F, but I see many sprout well up into the eighties. I would plant them in the sand to about a quarter of an inch depth and make sure the sand is still damp and it is well covered to prevent it from drying out. Dry storage will hold the seeds longer without germination. Some believe drying them out will cause them to take even longer to germinate. If they haven't germinated by the time your outdoor temps fall into the sixties and seventies, remove the container from the refrigerator and place it where it will receive those temps. Hopefully, that will be indoors where you can keep an eye on them without the container filling full of water or something getting in and eating the seeds. Rodents LOVE rose seed. Good luck!