Since the other plants are blooming, maybe the astilbe is pining for a little more organic matter in the soil? I have a sandy soil, too; there's just nothing there to hold water (or nutrients, for that matter). My astilbes get various amounts of sun, maybe a few hours in the morning, then dappled shade (at best). They never did much - didn't bloom a lot or increase appreciably in size - until this year. Last fall I topdressed some beds with some mushroom compost left over from another project, and the plants in those beds are going nuts! I've always added compost, both home made and store-bought, and dutifully mulch the beds, but this mushroom compost made the biggest difference I've seen in my 30 years gardening here. Can't tell whether it's actually what I added, or the volume of material I finally had available to add ... sometimes with a very sandy soil the organic amendments just seem to disappear.

Nodakgal..Wow, I sure can see the difference... Just saying the name ND makes me cold...lol..Beautiful plants considering you probably have to keep them indoors longer than most of us here..Great job! Do you sue lights? Chris You have some quite different plants. I particularly love that tall blue one..How tall is that and how long have you had it?..Beautiful..I am glad your cuttings rooted..They should grow much more very soon..The mother jade is not in the pictures...It is at my job in full sun huge windows growing like crazy though.. Josh. Thank you for posting yours too..Do your plants like Calif or what? Do they like you? For sure...I love how you have managed to keep the leaves of your jades clean and spot free..You know, those unsitely rot, or fungus spots that make you have to pinch the leaves off..I think keeping your leaves dry in the cold weather helps..Thanks for the tip..They always look like little people.. Socks, how in the world did I miss yours? I think I was at work and couldn't see them then..I think I see Micky Mouse..lol..I only WISH they sold a saguaro cactus here...Weird to think that these thing live longer than us just to grow an arm..I also have that blue cactus..I haven't noticed much growth yet.. Nice looking plants might I add. Pug, still waiting to see your succulents, in particular jades..They must look great by now in the hot Florida sun...Hope you are well..:-) Beechplant....No supplemental light for any of mine. Just window-sills. As Josh says..Tallyho... Mike

Christin, other than the Sempervivums and hardy Sedums all my Echeverias and other tender succulents winter in a cool greenhouse. I have kept an Echeveria alive planted in the ground by upturning a black 2 gal. pot over it when the temps dropped, I think it was Echeveria elegans. It's not so much the cold it's the wet that does them in. A lot of them can tolerate 32* for a time. I have a 3 tiered plant stand with lights in the basement I should experiment with a few this winter. When I get mine all rounded up and sorted out I'll post a few pictures of the ones I have. Annette

My cruise was around $3,500. but that included air fare, cancellation insurance, a window room and some fees. I received a Princess brochure today about panama canal trips as low as $1,199 for a 10 day trip. I don't think that includes the things I listed above, it may include the fees. If you live anywhere in Florida you would save the air fare. Here is a tip for those who cruise. When you travel on a Princess ship, they charge $10 a day to your CC for tipping. The first thing I did when I boarded was go to the Pursers office and tell them not to do that. I want to be in charge of my tips, I will not tip someone I don't see. That's a lot of money if you have a spouse.