GH, isn't it amazing what they sell as annuals? HD had (house plants) sold as annuals a few wks bacck..I'm a bit irked I didn't buy any..A few were those I had. Dirt cheap. GH...I've had 'mostly' good luck w/Secret Garden, and his other site, Rare Tropical Plants, which are one and the same..did u know that? He also goes by Cowboyman on Ebay. I bought a Hoya 2-3 wks back from Cowboyman (Ebay)..It's called Reverse Hoya..Though a bit small, it's rare..Basically a Sweetheart w/yellow in the center instead of the edges.. I'm a little angry at them though I left positive feedback..I've been wanting a Black Cardinal Philo a long time..they had 1 for 12.99..They also had a combo, 3 philos @ the same price..I emailed asking if the pot sizes were the same for the one BC as it was for the combo..Jodie wrote back saying they WERE the same pot size. I believed her..duh. So, I ordered the combo, what they sent were 3" pots. And guess what? No Black Cardinal..I wrote back asking where it was and she said it only came w/the combo of 4 philos for 2 dollars more..Since I've been a regular customer of theirs for several yrs, I wrote asking if she would include the difference it'd have cost for the 4 combo..she wrote back they wouldn't do it..I couldn't believe it!! I mean, the 3 philos are the same they send w/the 4..I was willing to pay the difference..yet she said no. So, I'm still w/o a BC..what's worse is the day I ordered, we went to Walmart..they had a BC in a 10" pot for 7.00..I passed it up since I assumed I had one coming in the mail..what a mistake!! I also mentioned to Jodie about the earlier email asking if pot sizes would be the same which she said would..when I mentioned this to her, she remarked, in an admonishing tone, she couldn't possibly remember every email they got..I'm not going to say I won't buy from them again, since I've had pretty good luck w/their plants, and they sell some rare types. But I am upset she denied me that plant. I've decided God doesn't want me to have a BC, lol, so I will NOT order..oh btw, they increased the price by 2.00 for the solo BC..Coincidence??? Unless I happen to be in CT, I won't order from Logees..too many bad experiences recently..I started ordering from them in 94/5..they shipped beautiful, nice sized plants..starting around 1999, everything changed..They decreased pot size from 4" to 2 1/2 and increased prices..and shipping is outrageous. If you ordered one plant and added shipping, it cost a fortune.. But I stopped ordering from them because the plants they sent were way too small..some as tiny as 2"!!! No way..their catalogs are magnificent, but I don't expect getting a plant that looks like the one in the picture. And I hate phoning nurseries to complain..or leave negative feedback. Black Jungle is another disappoinment..I bought lovely plants from them in the past. But the last 2 yrs they've sent small plants w/o roots..My Croc fern died..why, because it didnt have roots..Because it was tiny, I never repotted..Plus when I called to complain about another plant they sent, the guy was sarcastic..he said he'd ship a replacement but I'd have to pay 10.00 for shipping..No way..pay 10.00 for a 3" plant.. Otherwise, I've had good luck w/most nurseries..My last purchase was from Natural Selections..got a gorgeous Calathea..she has it marked lancifolia, but I think that's an error..which makes me happy because I didn't have this cal and always wanted one..lol..Toni

I enjoyed seeing the various photos of the Euphorbs from the Huntington, impressive collection there. I am still experimenting with which ones are hardy enough to use for landscaping here in the SF Bay Area, and mostly stick to those that I see around town that have survived past freezes. E. grandicornis is one I'm also using, and E. lambii is one I also like to use quite often, it makes a very fast filler plant while you wait for other slower growing things to fill in. No doubt about it, though, it does reseed readily, but I don't mind working around that for the beauty of the plant. I wish I could figure out how to nurse E. tirucallii 'Sticks on Fire' through our winters up here, so far I ahve only been marginally successful with one plant on my back deck under rain shelter in winter; left out to get rained on they always simply rot away one stem at a time for me. I suspect that the reason the big Euphorbia's get so top heavy is that we just get too much rain for them, and can't grow them hard enough. When I use E. ammak variegata, I plant them right up against a house wall or in a very large pot, where they won't get quite so big, and are easier to keep "pruned" of too heavy branches.

Once you have the new pot with drainage holes, cactus mix, and perlite you can repot. Just take cactus out of the old pot. This will sound strange, but rinse the roots off to get all that old cruddy soil off. Once all the old soil is off. Put the cactus on a paper towel and let dry out for a day. Keep in a cool shady spot during this 24 hours. The next day you can do a mixture of 60% perlite and 40% cactus soil. The mix will be really light. That's what you need for good drainage. Most of the plants above rotted because of poor drainage. It's really important you don't water till you change the pot and mix. The cactus will be totally fine:). Once you have repotted wait a week and then you can water:). If you keep this plant inside you will probably only need to water once maybe twice a month. Inside water doesn't evaporate as quickly. Only water when the mix is bone dry. A good way to test if the mix is moist still. Stick a wooden skewer in the mix all the way to the bottom. Let it sit in there for a couple mins. If it comes up just slightly damp anywhere on the skewer don't water. What you have is a Euphorbia and Euphorbias are prone to rot. Actually it's two plants grafted together. The pretty one on top is a Euphorbia. You may need to give this plant more light. Your balcony may be a good place during the hot months. Always acclimate to the sun slowly or the plant will burn . A good starting point is morning sun afternoon shade. Do that for a week or two and then you can up the light little by little. Euphorbias are toxic. They have a white goo that comes out when cut. That is what's toxic. Don't let this stuff get in your eyes and keep away from skin. Lots of info:). If you have anymore questions just ask. Goodluck:).

For tropical species, I believe a plant actively pumping juice is much more tolerant of brief cold + wet in the fall than in the spring. Several nights of cold should not have much if any impact especially if it warms up during the day. Chilly fall evenings do not worry me. 3 chilly days in a row with rain would worry me. Winter growers are generally much more tolerant of cool wet conditions and some will even thrive. I know I've said this before, but the best way to figure out what your plants can handle is to experiment with sacrificial specimens. Get some cuttings to root during the summer, and leave them out in the cold and rain and see how they fare. There is another way to end the shuffle without moving to California or South Africa. Just accept the fact that tropical and subtropical species will not grow as quickly and not gain as much biomass than they would somewhere else. And more importantly, come to the realization that this is not a bad thing - an extended dormancy does not have to negatively impact the health and vitality of the plant. Just bring them inside when the time is right, and leave them there. If that happens to be next week, then call it a day and let them sleep. How much would you really gain with a few more days of warm sun anyway? Maybe pick a handful of your favorites and shuffle them while leaving the rest inside. Don't drive yourself nutty. x