Ooojen, Although planted in a pot, there is no reason to keep these indoors over the summer in colder regions. Mine bloom intermittently throughout the year outside. I leave them to the east side of my house. They seldom die after I got my water skew. They do need bit dryness between watering to avoid root rot. Sometimes, the surface look quite dry, but the reading is "quite wet". When they have a lot of flowers, I sometimes bring these indoors; or give some away as gifts. Most people, especially women of all ages, love them when in full bloom. I have better luck rooting these than roses. I never successfully root a rose stem. Also I am never able to keep a rose alive indoors. I wonder if rose cuttings taken in the fall are not mean to live over winter. However, under ideal condition, some of my "small leafed" cultivars show signs of monstrosity  the leaves have grown too large  suggesting a much larger breed. What can I do?

An unscientific definition is the only practical one, and the subtropical-tropical range needs to be seen as a continuum, not two discrete categories. It is also true that some subtropical plants don't grow well in some subtropical climates, and some tropical plants don't grow well in some tropical climates. A few examples are plants from TDF (tropical deciduous forest) and monsoonal climates. Both climates are tropical but have different precipitation cycles that may be critical to a plant's survival. Accepting the latitudinal definition of "subtropical" for the sake of argument, two important distinctions are the amount of seasonal variation and the total number of annual heat units or growing degree days. Subtropical climates normally stay above freezing but typically have a cool season (which is usually dry) when photoperiod is reduced, plant growth slows or plants go dormant. In tropical climates, photoperiod is relatively static and there is no particular time of the year when plant growth slows (assuming water is available). Tropical plants often fail to show expected performance in the subtropics for that reason. Defining "expected performance" is one of the subjective variables that affects whether or not one can reasonably say that a given plant "grows" or is "hardy" in a given climate. Plants vary widely in how tough they are, and there are a surprising number of fully tropical plants that can get by in subtropical or even Mediterranean climates. Physiological adaptations to seasonal aridity may also help a plant cope with cold weather, even if that is something the plant doesn't experience in nature. Conversely, some subtropical plants may fail to flower in the tropics because their flowering is triggered by photoperiod. Such a plant might "grow" in the tropics, but it doesn't really exhibit expected performance there (several orchids come to mind). Bahia's initial point is worth repeating: you can broadly categorize plants as subtropical or tropical based on the amount of seasonal variation they are adapted to, but you can't type a bioclimate by the kinds of plants that humans manage to coddle in their gardens. Even here on the Oregon coast, I'm growing vireyas from New Guinea that naturally occur within 5º of the equator. Trading latitude for altitude, a temperate sea-level climate at 41º north mimics their high-altitude equatorial climate closely enough for them to succeed thousands of miles north of the tropics.

Artie, I know the place well, I use to work for them in their gardens. Yes the two of them have created a most amazing garden with a wide selection of species, both rainforest plants and sclerophyll natives. As they have deep basalt soils and are situated on a slight ridge within a protected subtropical valley with high rainfall they can grow not only tropical rainforest plants but also natives from 'drier' conditions. The well drained soils allow for Kangaroo Paws, Grevillea's, Telopea's, Banksias to do very well. Some of the rainforest species originally sourced from NQ are among the oldest of known cultivated specimens, outide of the tropics or even within the tropics where they originate. The owners have been able to cultivate some species which I have had trouble with, even though my fathers garden (where I have my collection) is only 50km as the crow flys from this place. Places like this allow others to be inspired to do likewise. Kris

Tom, it is understandable to be skeptical but the strange combinations of things is what makes gardens in SE Australia so weird and wonderful. You can see a yard where the main landscaping consists of Betula pendula and Yucca elephantipes, the latter ALSO being one of the most popular northern hemisphere plants in the suburbs! Melbourne in degrees F is only about 6F warmer than England in the summer...on average. Hardly warm by our standards at all. Almost like Portland, Maine: 79F/60F. During heatwaves, however, it can get a lot hotter. And presumable the birches down there have defoliated in the worst summers. And btw the She Oaks are incredibly wispy! The Canberra Australian National Garden has a huge collection of them, but I walked right past it w/o taking any pictures because they all look the same to me. Shax, I'm having to write "in arrears" - so the posts are a few days behind the trip. I might get caught up tonight. I got into Christchurch very late last night. Would love to have seen your place but really had limited time...I do have things to get back to and am having to pay a neighborhood kid to keep my 100+ potted plants taken care of. Thanks for the kind offer though...if supersonic flight ever becomes feasible and cheap, I plan to visit Australia frequently haha. Some Australians have gently ribbed me for complaining about the flight length. They are used to having to fly that long to get anywhere else in the world. It's interesting in speaking to them...so many people here have been to the US. While I doubt more than 5% of people in the US have been to AU or NZ, if that.