Rina, what breed was Brok? 17-yrs is a long life, but it's still heart-breaking. In May, we had to put our 12.5 yr-old, 172lb, English Mastiff down. Mastiff's life span is 7-9, so, Sam too lived a long life. Still it was hard. Before bringing him in the vet, his personality changed..suddenly he was a care-free dog, without problems. I felt like bringing him back home, but he was suffering, limped, 'hip dysplasia' and several malignant tumors. 5-yrs ago, we adopted an abused Shih Tzu...He tried parroting Sam's actions. All 18 lbs..lol. Coco 'tries' catching bugs. I'll say, Coco, get the bug..it could be a fly or moth, he goes after it..Coco thinks he's a hunter cat..lol. I haven't asked him to catch a spider, worried one might be poisonous. Some thick-bodied spiders are close to Coco's size. lol. We have one dog, four Cockatiels and our son has an Iguana. Pet's are the greatest, better than some people. lol. The Iguana, Iggy, is big..you'd never think a reptile would be affectionate, but Iggy is. Rub his head and he'll sit back for hours. Though I wouldn't want an Iguana..they take a lot of room and love nibbling plants. 100 plants..very good. lol. Remember when you had one? lol. Did you ever think the number would grow? Instead of curtains/blinds, plants cover the windows. All but the room w/birds and downstairs bathroom w/o a window. No plants in the basement either. It's too dark...there are 4 small windows that get very little light. However, back when I sowed garden seeds, 'mostly annuals,' treys were set on a plant stand under lights. Charlie. Wouldn't canned air just blow the bugs off to the side, or worse, land on me??? lol. Since it's gotten cold, spiders find ways in the house. Even though I do, I fear killing them. It might jump on me. lol. The basement, which has beams instead of a ceiling, collect webs. I'm sure there are spiders too, but they hide. I don't know how to catch these things. And what if I'm sweeping and one falls on me? I'd die! If I was rich, I'd hire people to rid every single bug. lol Can't use sprays because we have birds, so that's out. Although, I have sprayed a little when birds are in their cages, covered..not in the same room though. Yes, usually I wear gloves, a fly swatter in one hand, and broom in the other, ready for war. lol. Wish the only insects around were butterflys, lady bugs, and lightning bugs. They don't bother me. But spiders and ants!!! Yuck. lol.

Just a quick followup: I brought the bamboo indoors. 6 Large planters, (about 20 -22 inches across the top), on small wheeled stands, the planters are in plastic trays that hold drained water. There was no problem with insects on the bamboo. But there was a problem with insects in the water: MOSQUITOES! In Late November and December no less. Oy. Easily solved by a lot of swatting over a week or so, since the walls are a very light color and the nasty little tax-collectors are easy to spot. Plus there were not that many of them, but lesson learned. Next winter I will move the bamboo inside and use clean trays or mats for drainage that have not been sitting outside the rest of the year. If you do this, and can not replace the drainage trays, you may need to look into a way to control for the mosquitoes, either a spray, gambusia, some sort of barrier or some other remedy.

It needs to go dormant before a hard freeze. I would up pot it and bring it in to an area such as an unheated garage and let it go dormant. I would then plant it in the spring after the last recorded frost date for previous years in your area. My soil is red clay, I would plant it in a hole three times larger than the pot, or more. Amend the soil with compost and the soil removed from the planting hole, mixed thoroughly. If water stands, mound the soil. Plant the tree four inches deeper than it was in the pot. If your ground freezes, this will help protect the roots. Also, the buried stem will root and the plant will grow better.. You could also plant the tree maybe a month or so after it goes dormant. You must protect it from the cold this first year if you do. The figs on it now will drain energy that it needs to survive the first winter since it is not established in the ground. For any plant to thrive, you must take care of the roots first or nothing else will matter.

Yes, you can prune it to bring in indoors. Be sure to spray it down real good with a little dawn and water in a spray bottle though, to kill bugs before bringing in. They are technically not going to go dormant, so if you want it to stay smaller, don't water it as often, just mist it for humidity and don't fertilize it very much or it will regrow inside. I am in zone 6 and my tropical hibs love full sun right in front of a south facing window.(not indirect sun). Happy wintering and see ya in the spring! seems so long in the future.