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.

Swedish ivy (Plectranthus nummularis) tends to get kind of strange pretty quickly. I'd advise taking cuttings for cosmetic reasons, regardless of what you plan to do after that. The hanging basket will overwinter just fine without any special treatment from you, though; it's just a matter of what it's going to look like. Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) will also overwinter just fine indoors. You shouldn't need to do anything special to them unless they're potbound, which they might well be -- it doesn't take them long. Bolivian Jew (Callisia repens) I'm not directly familiar with, personally, but its closer relatives (Trandescantia, Zebrina) overwinter just fine without special treatment; I don't know why it would be different. Pruning might help keep the plant compact but it's hardly mandatory. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) will overwinter just fine indoors without special treatment. Boston ferns (Nephrolepsis something) I have no firsthand knowledge of. My understanding from reading about them is that yours will probably need to be repotted, because they grow quickly, but that may be better done in the spring anyway (?), and aside from keeping them out of hot dry areas, they don't need anything special during the winter. Purple wandering Jew (Zebrina pendula?) has no special requirements during the winter and may not even acknowledge that it's not outside anymore. A related species (Tradescantia pallida) was one of very, very few plants to put on any significant growth for me during the winter last year, which is why I will love T. pallida forever and ever. Tahitian bridal veil (Gibasis spp.?) is another one I have no firsthand knowledge of, but I'm told that it can be repotted in winter, if necessary. It should also be kept away from hot, dry air (as from central heating).

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.

Mine are still outdoors, with temps being higher than usual, but few nights have been quite cold - just a bit over 30*F. I am still taking chance, since the cold lasted usually only for hour, two or three. I have way too many to bring inside, it is always a struggle to fit them in. I have some that I try to put 'to sleep' since they are just too large to keep growing - few fig trees, brugmansias. Some are easier since their bulbs or corms can be overwintered totally dry. Every year I promise myself to get rid of some, but it isn't easy! I can't resist buying new, interesting plants. Found some SA bulbs and they had very nice flowers:I hope they will overwinter same as other bulbs - stored dry (like Shamrock Oxalis tetraphylla, Amophophallus, Sauromatum...) This 'shrimp plant' has been given to me about 6yrs ago, it looks quite bad during last few mo of winter indoors. This year it really took off and grew quite large:Big problem are large plants - olives, Bouganvelia, bay trees, loquat trees, passion flower, rosemary, elephant ears....