ahhh..more pot facts .... where are you ???? you said: I plan on keeping them inside for a couple of months while they get a head start on growing and was wondering what exactly should I do to help them stay healthy? ==>>> well thats easy.. PLANT THEM OUTSIDE ... or leave them outside in pots properly stored for winter .... interfering with the plants NATURAL annual Circadian rhythm .. will NOT give them a head start ... and i would suggest.. that if you dont kill them.. you will stunt them .... besides the natural dormancy period.. short of a properly controlled green house ... it will be near impossible to manage watering [media selection] .. heat.. and light .. in winter.. especially in a house that has a forced air furnace... humidity being the big problem with such ... and you cant just throw them outdoors in winter in many places .. again.. where are you ... now all that said... i am not trying to stop you from experimenting... that is ALWAYS good.... but you will need to address every variable i mentioned .. and probably a few others .... and come near to perfecting them ... to succeed ... your thoughts of giving them a head start by keeping them close and cosy ... borders on what i call ... LOVING YOUR PLANTS TO DEATH .... the bottom line.. is that deciduous trees NEED to go dormant .... and you cant change that .... no matter how much you 'care' .....ma nature has been at this for billions of years.... and you arent going to out think her ... but again... do have fun trying... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Sorry about not being able to answer your questions Tennesseestorm. This is the first time I've been logged into this site in over 6 months! Now to your questions. I saw on another Spanish Moss forum that it is cold hardy to 5 degrees. It has survived here to temps. as low as 8 degrees thats all the colder it's been here in the last 2 years which is the legnth of time I've been growing spanish moss here. When single digits or an ice storm warning are predicted it comes into the garage or an unheated room just long enough for the nastyness to pass then its back outside. Also I have not misted my moss in about a year(except for the drought last summer) and it is still doing great. in regards to your moss that died the moss needs to have as close to the original light conditions as possible or it could be burned up if it was originally in the shade and is moved to a sunny exposure. I had the same thing happen to me and it was all taken from part shade and moved to afternoon sun. Due to this error I lost half of my new moss chunks. I need a clarification. Did you say it was dead even before you took it out of the box? If so how long was it in there? If I missed any questions or you have anymore feel free to ask. Started a new area of plant emphasis, hardy cacti and succulents. I am also growin a Balsam fir, American larch, and Dawn Redwood. So far as I know I am the only person in this part of TN (middle TN) grow the first 2 trees listed. Also have other plant stuff to talk about if interested.

Walter; I am growing bell peppers in a small ebb n flo in my office window. during vegative growth, I generally keep the EC at around 2.0-2.4 which (according to the stick) is approximately 1500-1700, so your 1100 sounds a bit low to me. I started my plants approx august 20. I have one that is very leggy, the other is short and stout. the latter is about 8" tall and has 6 fruits. the largest fruit being about 1.5" between flower and stem. I am currently clipping flowers to limit quantity and focus on size. the leggy one only just recently started to flower, and I haven't seen any fruit set yet. I generally keep my EC as stated above w/ pH of 5.8-6.0. I use general hydronics per their label, except in flowering I'll increase the micro a bit and / or lessen the grow. My experience with these plants and the ones I've grown in the yard is they are not very large plants, so I would expect 8" to 1 foot to be about max height, especially since you're using artificial light. Greystoke; I'm working on just such a system now. I'm thinking two tanks. the one at the bottom catches system runoff, the system at the top is a gravity feed reservoir. you just have to dump the bottom tank into the top tank each day.(muscle versus electricity, has to be some kind of power input) this system will also require some kind of check valve to keep the ebb n flo starting and stopping throughout the day. I haven't got the valve part fully worked out yet, but when I do I'll let you know. I believe it will somehow incorporate the smartvalve walter mentioned in his post though. Here is a link that might be useful:

> Suitable outdoor trees will, of course, vary from area to area as they are dependent on local climate. > Any tree, shrub or bush that grows naturally in your area can usually be used, but there are some native plants that just do not lend themselves well to bonsai culture. > Certain trees may not survive your winters and others may need a winter rest (that your climate cannot provide) to survive beyond a year or two. > Some enthusiasts like to collect specimens in the wild. You must be very sure to get permission to do this on any piece of land that you do not own. > Sometimes you can find good material when a parcel of land is being cleared for development or a neighbor is replacing trees in his landscape. > The easiest way to find suitable material is to check out a local nursery. Most of the trees sold in the local nursery trade will do well in the area where they are sold. You dont have to shop expensive landscape nurseries. A garden center in your local discount department store may have some appropriate trees. > Pick plants with interesting trunks and nice bark. Small foliage is another desirable trait. > Trees that fruit and flower are very popular. Azalea, crab apple (malus), cotoneaster, wisteria, flowering quince (chaenomeles), firethorn (pyracantha), crape myrtle (lagerstroemia), honeysuckle (lonicera) and bougainvillea are but a few. Again, these may not all grow well outside in your area, so check with local nurseries or reference books. > If you live in a temperate climate some deciduous trees to consider are several types of maple (acer), birch (betula), some oaks (quercus), hornbeam (carpinus), ginkgo, bald cypress (taxodium), sweet gum (liquidambar), larch (larix), willow (salix) and Japanese grey bark elm (zelkova). > If you are looking for a tree for your first attempt at bonsai, you cannot beat the junipers. Most of the juniper species make good bonsai, are relatively easy to care for and do well in many different climates, except the tropics. > Pines are considered the kings of bonsai though pine culture is usually considered the domain of the more advanced grower. > Some other evergreen trees that have been trained as bonsai are dwarf spruce (picea), false cypress (chamaecyparis), holly (ilex), ivy (hedera) and boxwood (buxus).