Hi allyally in Australia! Not knowing this particular cultivar (if it IS one that is,and not just a commercial name for promoting Picea glauca v. albertiana 'Conica'),all I can tell you is that this plant resents dry air (and dry roots,of course),so,to avoid premature needle-drop, make sure you spray it regularly until you put it outside BUT...DO NOT DO THIS IF IT IS FESTOONED WITH ELECTRIC LIGHTS,OR YOU MAY GET A SHOCK OR EVEN START A FIRE !!! In my experience with outdoor P.glauca cultivars,they can suffer badly when it's hot and dry. They are also appreciated by spider mites.Again,regular spraying in the evenings could help to ward off this problem. Merry X mas to you and other conifer-lovers in Australia ! T.

Hi Tia - I have found that the most readily available variety of carambola to find for sale is the 'Arkin' because it is self-fertile. Another desirable self-fertile variety is 'Kary' but it is harder to find. So, with an untagged tree, I would consider that there is a high probability that it is an 'Arkin'. This is the variety that grocery stores sell but the fruit in the stores are much smaller than homegrown fruits. I have tasted carambola from the rootstock. It is very sour. The fruits are used in "lemonade" or for cooking as a lemon substitute. It is fine to have both varieties growing on the same tree but watch the growth because the growth from the rootstock may be more vigorous than the grafted part. "Florida's Best Fruiting Plants" book describes 'Golden Star' fruit as large, flavorful, deeply winged and quasi-tart. Rootstock used for grafting is from seedlings so each seedling can have a different flavored fruit even when coming from the same mother plant. Glad to hear that your tree survived our last super cold winter and is fruiting. Christine

"Sun Star" (Ornithogalum dubium) does well in full sun to part shade. Discontinue watering in the summer. You'll need to bring it indoors in the winter as it is frost tender....zone 9+

The Euro Miele manuals give the water and electric consumption for each program cycle. The USA manual doesn't but using the Euro example it seems that the dishwasher uses between 4 and 5 gallons of water(about 1 for rinse hold) depending on load and cycle and could use 6 if the load is very dirty because it will add extra rinses for very dirty loads, or times when the detergent is not completely rinsed away. So the Miele is not too bad with eco-friendliness but perhaps not as good as Asko DW. I can tell from opening the door during the wash and rinse that there is so very little water inside that it is scary-- to think that it could do anything with it -- but still it washes and rinses completely. Most fills last 34 seconds, but not always because this depends on the load size and because it doesn't use a timed fill it will draw water until it has enough so time could vary with water pressure changes due to what is going on elsewhere in the supply lines. The Miele brochure mentions that the parts are labeled so that they can be manually sorted by different materials for recycling at the end of their life...No mention of who is doing this sorting or if it can be done here in the U.S.A. We are going to sort DW parts? I doubt it. Maybe Miele employees do but everyone else? Yeah. Unless their repair people have to turn the parts back into the company..that's a possibility. If you have friends that have Asko's and you are intrigued by them then perhaps you should get one. Maybe if you don't you will always wonder "what If I had that Asko DW?" I mean we ARE talking Dishwashers not husbands and wives so you could buy one and if you don't like it wait a while and buy something else and just say you made a mistake..things didn't work out. Stuff happens.