I'm not sure what lighting you have but I would try sunny windowsills and/or extra lighting. The plants you choose all like sun so for indoors growing I would give them all the light you can. With the mint, I would cut back on the water. Too much water can damage plants - yellow leaves is one of the hallmarks of too much water. I find it much easier to kill a plant with too much water than to kill a plant with too little. If ever in doubt, err on the side of too little water. Droopy leaves or other visible signs of stress will tell you if you are too dry. Learn from that and adjust your watering to be a little more often. With indoor plants about once a week watering should be good unless you have very dry, hot conditions. As an aside, I see herb plants sometimes in the produce section of my local market. On a whim I have bought a plant or two...or maybe more!....this way. They have *never* faired well. All died in short order - I've been a plant person long enough to know it was not my care or lack there of. Some plants have had bad treatment/care and it is hard for the average person to overcome that once they bring the plant home. I'm not sure where you got your mint but it is possible that it was reacting to conditions and care it received before you bought it. Mints are tough so with a little care and love you should be able to nurse it back to health. FataMorgana

Eric, I think Janalyn is giving you good advice. I won't get into a debate with you over whether your cat hunts when you're not looking. Your neighbors may have cats that do hunt. I'm allergic to cats and therefore have none, but see other people's cats in my yard regularly since I started feeding birds. I've noticed the hummers spend longer at plants and perches that are higher up. I think they feel safer that way. If you give the hummingbirds a spot where they are comfortable, you will get to see them more. We can give you better suggestions if you're more specific. I'm glad you added that this container will be on the porch. How big is the container? Did you want to hang up the container, set it on the porch floor, or something in between? Window box on a porch railing, perhaps? How much sun does your porch get? Do you care what the plant looks like in winter? If you want a plant that looks good year round to decorate your house in winter, that will narrow your options considerably. I second the vote for fuchsias, with the caveat that you will need to choose the variety carefully. I think for your area you'll need to seek out heat-tolerant fuchsias. Fuchsias come in both trailing and upright shapes. I grow several different ones and have seen the hummers nectar on all of them. In my area, fuchsias are healthiest in either dappled shade all day, or morning sun followed by shade the rest of the day. Generally speaking, triphylla types can handle more sun and heat. I have heard that some people grow triphyllas in full sun but haven't tried it. For me, they fill a useful niche as a shade-tolerant hummingbird plant. I overwinter them in the garage too.

Thanks Josh, the pruning, root pruning, and downsizing of the pots is what I have read everywhere, and everyone seems to agree on it. That is why I canâÂÂt figure out why the ones I left in the large pots and didnâÂÂt prune as much did the best. In fact, the Carolina reaper plant, that I didnâÂÂt prune at all, is doing the best of all. IâÂÂm glad I did my little experiment and didnâÂÂt prune them all back and put them in smaller pots, because if I did I wouldnâÂÂt have any left. Unfortunately, my experiment left more questions than answers. My conclusion is, all the small pots died, all the large pots on the left side of the same window died, and all the pruned plants on the left side of the widow died. The ones I messed with least are thriving. I just canâÂÂt hash out what is a coincidence and what caused my problems. I should have mentioned before that the ones on the left side of the window and right side both have a heating duct.

Looks like it will be too cold still all next week -- usually is until almost May, but it seems like we might warm up a bit early. Thanks, I will be patient! The blue one would be Caerulea, the purple one edulis or incarnate (maypop), -- I just don't remember which or what the other one is, so I guess I will find out if/when they bloom!