Hi Wendy, nice to see you posting. :-) Yes, they will be pretty large pots that I would need to go up one size. I didnâÂÂt think the two I have now were all that big. I just checked and they are 16 inches high with an opening that is 17 inches across. IâÂÂm sure there are 20-22 inch pots out there, that would be just one size up. I am planning on pruning the rootball. I havenâÂÂt taken them out of their pots yet to check the condition of the roots, but I imagine after all this time they are pretty root bound. Thanks for the info about how much to prune. Oh what fun. [g] No, I definitely will not want to be up-potting further. This will be the first and last time IâÂÂm going to try it. Bill, I really like your resin pots. Very pretty! I keep forgetting about cement/concrete planters. That would be heavy enough to keep them upright in the wind, I imagine. Being able to move them into place, would be the challenge. [g] Once theyâÂÂre in place, theyâÂÂre staying as long as possible. Thanks!

Hi Bree It is such an honor that you thought of me in such a positive way, thank you. Like Dave said feel free to send me an email, I always try to answer the best that I can. Being you in zone 8 ( I am in zone 9b) it will require different dates to start seeds. I will start the fall tomatoes early in July to be transplanted in August. I am growing 45 different varieties of tomatoes, some of them are from Trudi ( from wintersown, thank you Trudi) I can make you a sample packet of the varieties that did best for me this season. Send me your address. And I am very sorry about your little girl, but your positive attitude will help you through, my best wishes for her speedy recovery, you have a wonderful family! The best way for anybody to keep healthy is to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, even when I spray I try I to use products that do not harm my family or my pets. About the recipes they are very easy, use fresh herbs that your family likes, garlic, red onion or scallions mix with 6 eggs. I have a cast iron skillet that I use and cook the eggs till they are set, add a thin sliced feta on top and broil it in the oven for a minute or 2. Add roasted tomatoes, when you get your tomatoes going I will give you some recipes for that. :) The tart is another easy recipe. Make your favorite pizza dough, cook it in the oven. Make pesto sauce and add to the cooled tart, add fresh sliced tomatoes. And I really hope that you can get 2 seasons in Texas, another poster (Dragonfly is also trying that). When I moved here about 2 years ago I was told by the experienced gardeners in the area that you can not grow tomatoes here, lol. This morning I gave her a basket of fresh tomatoes. I will save seeds this season having you in mind, don't forget to send me your address. Happy gardening! Silvia

Krista - I've added some of my thoughts below. It's kind of long and repeats much of what is said above, but hopefully it helps you at least a little. Even indoors, the concept of seasonality still applies. We typically change our thermostats to the seasons and there are daily fluctuations that correspond to the weather outside. Here are my average indoor growing temperatures from last July to this February: Right now I am purposely keeping my home cooler in order to get better growth from my plants. The graph above is compressed so unfortunately you don't see the day/night temperature differential (17C night, 20-30C day under lights currently). Throughout the seasons, I try to keep similar photoperiod as the actual seasons here but keep a minimum of about 10 hours. That's because I want to give my succulents as much light/energy for growing as possible. Probably could spend all night long posting different graphs of my growing data, haha. I do not find a need to restrict or provide water to my plants to regulate their dormancy/activity. They take care of this themselves and all I do is respond to their needs. If they are growing then I just keep watering. Of course I am mindful of my Lithops/Gibbaeum/Lapidaria to ensure they don't grow too many pairs of leaves. If they are going dormant/semi-dormant then I water minimally to sustain them. In my conditions, if I stop watering completely most will die or suffer so much they will be damaged/setting back many months worth of growth. Most people would disagree with this, but if I miss the 'right' day to water by just two days then I can see the difference. It's like losing a week or two of progress. If neglected, my plants will surely survive but losing just a couple leaves on valuable plants can be very disappointing. Somewhere along the way I decided that 'growing something hard' is not necessarily meaning you barely water it because that's only one part of the equation. The rest is light/temperature/soil mix which can be similarly applied 'harshly'. Every fall, nearly all of my Mesembs flower indoors: Aloinopsis, Faucaria, Fenestraria, Gibbaeum, Lapidaria, Lithops, Neohenricia, Pleiospilos, Stomatium, Titanopsis. There are some stragglers, which are budding and I hope will flower late winter: Rabiea, Ihlenfeldtia, maybe Cheiridopsis. Also flowering in the fall/winter are many other succulent genus that I grow: Haworthia, Crassula, Gasteria, Aloe, Schlumbergera, Echeveria, Euphorbia, Dorstenia, Adromischus, Anacampseros. The only main difference in watering for me is the frequency. When it's cooler or shorter days, then the plants use less water and don't dry out as quickly. You could say in summer I water every 4 days and in the winter I water every 6 or 7 days. Absolutely everything is fertilized the same throughout the year. Contrary to popular advice, my succulents and Mesembs in particular are not gangly, unhealthy, or have hordes of extra leaves. What I found is the vast majority of succulent genus and species are opportunistic growers. For many, summer is a bad time for growing and not much happens. Fall and spring are the best season where virtually everything is growing. A great deal of my collection are traditionally classified as 'winter growers' and I enjoy that they are because it's fun growing indoors. Of course my 'summer growers' are growing too, but just not as fast as they were in the shoulder seasons around summer. As mentioned above, summer isn't the best time for growing under my conditions. It's very hot and stressful on my rooftop, even in zone 6a. Things get very colourful, but also slow down greatly. In the loft it gets hot too, but not as bad as outside. Indoor growing does have the benefit of being a little less extreme than outside and I can better control the conditions, leading to better growth. For sure I would have better results growing everything indoors year long but my 6xT5HO bank of lights are expensive to run and generate a LOT of unwanted heat in the summer. Plus it's just so comfortable for me to relax on the roof with my plants and enjoy the outdoors. Watering is a breeze and it's fun out there. However, the vast majority of my expensive Haworthia do stay indoors for the summer so they grow better and there is no chance of damage from squirrels, storms, scorch, or whatever nature throws at me. It's less stressful and more productive. The 4xT5HO are spread out much more so the heat isn't as bad and electricity cost is a little less. As for pests, I think indoors the conditions are just better/worse for different types from outside. We don't get aphids and ants inside, but you can still get mealies. Hot dry conditions are perfect things like mites and thrips. Or if more humid you may get fungus gnats, springtails, or molds. Outside pests are spread by wind, rain, and even other pests. Inside pests are spread similarly by air fans, watering splashing, and direct contact due to close proximity. If you have a very 'closed' system then you can stay pest free if you are clean and attentive. But if you buy new plants from anywhere then there is a risk you will bring something in. The important part is knowing how to identify them quickly, accurately, and know which action to take. Some pests are harder than others and I am relieved to say I have figured out how to eradicate them all (so far). After all the long-winded text above, I suppose my approach is trying to grow the way I know works best. There are so many resources online, but I have a great deal of skepticism on the advice given. Maybe I'm picky or stubborn or maybe I'm just trying to do better? Still, there are many expert growers and I'm picking up little tips here and there from them that are so incredibly helpful. At the least I try and adapt those parts into my own growing method. My goal is to get every species I grow to flower as well as have them grow as compact and colourful as possible. So far it's working fairly well - we'll see how this year fares for me. =)

In NC zone 7b, even the hardiest varieties of Olea europaea are considered problematic in the ground (see discussion here). So if we apply the rule of thumb that containers can tolerate only two zones higher, then the lowest temperatures they could be safely exposed to long term are around 25F - so they would have to be moved to a warmer space (greenhouse, garage, crawlspace) when it gets colder than that outside. The good news is that potted olives overwinter very well as houseplants (even putting on new growth) so they can be kept in the house the whole winter and moved outside for the rest of the year.