Josh, they sure are pal:-) I knew you would recognize them and I am so grateful for them. I will take a recent pic of them and of others real soon. Thank you again ! Camera, you are welcome and thank you. Hellp Pug! How's yours looking these days?:-) Danielle...Thank you. Keep them growing. Rob, thank you and I hope you are well these days. The plant you sent me is doing great! Had to bring them in again last night. I got an unexpected 32 degree reading this a.m and boy am I grateful it didn't kill them! Mike

What a beautiful story, Josh! Is it weird that I wanted to cry through every stage-especially the end?! I live in MN and knew of a massive decorative succulent arrangement outside of a restaurant down the block. This is the hardest time of year for plant lovers like me. It just takes One freeze for many plant species to be destroyed, and there are so many establishments that use tropical and warm climate plants as outdoor decoration, especially those with outdoor seating. It amazes me that people pay for established Hibiscus trees-just to allow them to be killed after the first freeze. My last employer had 3 decorative aluminum garbage cans lining the storefront, and their plant service would come every season with lawn bags and toss out fruit laden pepper plants, hibiscus and many other beauties what were still flourishing. The ladies employed for the job were wonderful, but they couldn't rescue every plant that had been paid for to become trash at the end of every season. I Am proud to say that there are 4 hibiscus trees still thriving at various coworker's homes due to my rescue efforts. When Fall starts to approach I find myself in literal heartbreak pain when I see particularly beautiful or exotic plants that I know are doomed in just a few weeks, but it's illegal to uproot the entire thing in the name of Mother Nature, so instead I will discreetly take a pinching home and continue its existence in that way instead. But back to this recent rescue; This barrel planter was about 3 ft tall by 5 ft across, and the variety of succulents growing were just gorgeous and bursting with life!! It was so incredible that I had convinced myself that it Must be on casters because it was located right at the door, and they Must be pulling it inside now that it was getting cold. Not so. The night before last (November 8) I was walking past at about 2 am and braced myself to look inside. Thankfully most of the plants looked to have been yanked out, and there were only 2 left. I couldn't identify one of them due to its state, but the other just so happened to be the mother of the gorgeous yellow succulent I pinched at the beginning of June. I realized after swooning over its crippled state that I could actually see the root ball. It all happened so fast-and it was so cold- about 20 degrees, but next thing I knew my hands were going numb as I was walking swiftly down the street grasping the remnants of a once massive mostly frozen plant! Long story winding down, I have followed your instructions and trimmed her back as much as she requires. What I have found interesting is that the one branch that has kept its petals in tact is a piece that was starting to shrivel toward the stalk. Do you know why that would be? This particular succulent smells like blanched green beans when trimmed! Anyway, I have her tucked safely under the head of my claw foot tub where it is consistently warm and dim. I'm waiting for the soil to dry from her root ball so that I can gently shake the dirt away and allow for her to fully dry out. I treated her like a frostbite victim and in the process saturated the root ball. I have several cuttings that I think may survive in hospice care as well in my terrarium. I'm hoping that my initial rescue mistakes will be fully forgiven, and after seeing your album of success I have great hope for her. Thank you very much for sharing with us, and thank you to everyone for reading my story!

The answer to your question depends on a few key factors: 1) exposure to sunshine 2) air circulation 3) porosity/ drainage of the soil mix 4) plant's "vigor" This time of year, in my experience, if you can place your plant where it gets unobstructed midday sun outdoors with good air movement, in a potting mix with a high percentage of inert drainage like perlite, and there is a healthy rootball, you should not encounter any problems with rain and cold until you start to get frosty evenings regularly. Those are all important "ifs". I find the SW African plants that in their native habitat receive the majority of their precipitation during the fall season do very well. It is normal in habitat for these plants to have cold nights with the soils drenched from heavy dews and fogs. The difference maker in habitat is that normally it warms up nicely in the day, whereas that doesn't happen for many of us growers. A few consecutive days/ nights of wet and cool weather won't harm healthy plants. Once you get into 3-4+ days of cloudy, cool and wet weather, you need to take action accordingly. I try to plan ahead - for example, if my 10-day forecast shows a week of sun and warmth followed by rain, I let my plants dry out to the point of near-desiccation, then let them recover during soaking rains. Watering is sporadic this way. Sometimes they get too much, sometimes not enough. Every season I worry less and less, and lo and behold these plants don't disappoint. It is a testament to their adaptability. Over the years I have lost far more plants to heat and drought, than to rot - that's for sure. x

Plants need a balanced charge of nutrients in the soil at all times, both to grow and to keep their systems orderly. Mother Nature doesn't send her minions hither and yon each fall to extract nutrients from the soil, so there is no reason for hobby growers to believe that maintaining a program of reasonable nutrient supplementation should be abandoned in the winter. This particular fallacy arises from warnings related to the use of heavy soils that must be watered in sips to prevent long periods of soil saturation ant the ugliness that accompanies that state of affairs. When you water and/or fertilize in small sips. ALL the dissolved solids (salts) in tapwater and fertilizer solutions that aren't used by the plant remain in the soil. This ensures a continuing elevation of TDS that eventually leads to the plant's inability to take up enough water to satisfy its moisture needs. It also leads to the skewing of the ratio of nutrients in the soil, which leads to antagonistic deficiencies of nutrients caused by the imbalance. For example, a too high level of Fe (iron) causes deficiencies of Mn (manganese), and high Mg (magnesium) levels can cause Ca(lcium) deficiencies. However, when using a soil that allows you to flush the soil each time you water, at will, both of these common problems, and the reason for the warning to stop fertilizing in the winter, go away. While you don't need to fertilize with full strength solutions during the winter, having a plan that allows you to maintain a low and reasonable level and balance of nutrients in the soil at all times is the better plan. Keep in mind that fertilizing doesn't cause only elongation, it causes thickening, too. Also, choosing a fertilizer that gets its N from sources other than urea can make a significant difference in internode length and leaf size. Al