Anything that lays eggs on a vegetable plant is 90+% likely to be a pest you don't want. Bugs lay eggs on plants that the young are supposed to feed on. Eggs on veggies almost always equal something squish worthy. I commend you for wanting to know what the bug is (will be) before killing it, that is noble. The sad truth is that while there are zillions of bugs out there, many good, many harmless when it comes to veggy gardens the ratio is turned upside down. Most bugs in a veggy garden are either harmful or there to eat harmful bugs and bugs that lay eggs on veggies almost always are the harmful ones. Eggs on veggies=squish.

I use weather underground. http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=33.46122742&lon=-81.97173309&zoom=8&pin=Augusta%2c%20GA Click on one of the temperature circles in a city near you. You can click on a weather station id int the upper left of that pop-up screen. The next screen will have tabs for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly history of rain, pressure, wind etc.

Sarah, You can grow and bloom the smaller heliconia in pots with some effort but you will need a greenhouse or similar structure to get them through the winter. Even though you protect them from the cold, it still doesn't mean they will make it unless you can also supply humidity and air circulation for they need both warmth and humidity. Then you have to be on the watch out for spider mites and scale during the overwintering season. I grow 15 or so different heliconia in containers. Four more are in the ground. I protected a cool tolerant heliconia, Red Angusta, this past winter with a portable greenhouse and small heater and it provided me with wonderful blooms in the early spring. Three others unprotected were frozen to the ground, Rostrata, Schiedeana, and an unknown. They are coming back just fine now, but with these heliconia, they only bloom on old growth (second year growth) so I will not get blooms this summer and will have to hope for a more mild winter this winter. My heliconia in the greenhouse, even though I supply them with heat and humidity still experience a decline each winter and by March, which is usually the safe time here to get them out in the fresh air, they look pretty ratty. If I am successful in keeping the mature stalks alive, them I get blooms; if I am not successful,usually due to mites or scales, then I start over again since these heliconia I am growning only bloom on old growth. Lisa is correct, most of these heliconia are in 15 - 30 gallon containers but a few can be grown in smaller containers. Here are my suggestions for a few small heliconia that you might try: any of the Hirsutas, Latispatha Distans, Stricta Valentine, Stricta Dwarf Jamaican. Any of the psittacorums will bloom in one summer; you just have to find a source for them. Many of the nurseries here in southwest Louisiana order them from wholesale Florida nurseries and sell them as an annuals since none are cold tolerant. IMHO, they are most difficult to overwinter. Very picky. Good luck, they are my all time tropical favorite. Steve

I googled it, and came up with this site that seems to have a lot of information. It also has a place where you can send an e-mail at the top of the page, that might be helpful for any questions you may have. Hope this helps!! Verena Here is a link that might be useful: Handfasting Info