Glad to hear the coconut palm is growing back well for you. Its amazing what a few warm days can heal when it comes to tropical plants! We have been cool here the past few days, hopefully we can get rid of these 70s and get some 80s from this weekend on because Im tired of these cloudy, cool days we have been getting all spring. Most of the plants have been growing slow because of the cooler weather but there are a few that are actually liking this kind of weather a lot (Ensete, Basjoos, elephant ears, Dicksonia tree fern, and a few others). Good luck with the Basjoo and Coconut! My basjoos did really badly last summer for some reason, but they survived the winter and are growing really well now. They might get pretty big by the end of the year! -Alex

Bet, OK I've been reading your comments and I have some questions. You said: "If they are disturbed during nestbuilding, they often take off.) " This titmouse is obviously not in the norm. I went to the link you gave me and over and over they talk about the titmice not wanting to nest in boxes and how easily they will abandon a box if another bird comes to take it over. You said: "Consider moving bluebird nest to the nearby box or put some fresh moss/fur in box you want titmouse in and then put a hole restrictor on the titmouse box (1 3/8", put it on the inside) so only titmouse (not bluebird) can go in. (Titmice seem to like bigger boxes, boxes hanging from trees, and boxes mounted on tree trunks (if done, need bigger roof and maybe Noel guard after egg laying.)" How will the bluebirds FIND the nest if I move it? Or if If I move the section in the box that is the titmouse's nesting material, how would they find it. Especially since this titmouse is apparently ready to use the pine needles that the bluebird has in the nest. And I have NOT seen either the titmouse or the bluebird even look into the second box (it's got a video cam in it, too). It's going to be a rainy day so maybe both bird families will take a break so I can get some rest!!!

When I was repotting my pot ghetto, I pulled a dozen cedar trees out of about 30 pots! We have a cedar on the other side of the house next to the road which is 150 ft! I also find hickory trees in pots and elsewhere. But the worst is sweet gum trees, they come up everywhere! I think there was a acorn on the bottom of the oak tree, but the squirrel must have been desperate to put it in the middle of the rose.

I'll try for better pics today, but here's a couple before I repotted her. She's really similar in colour to Barcelona and my Dark Desire when she has black smudging. It's a very deep red that supposedly doesn't orange-out. I think I read her colour is similar to Kardinal Kolorscape, but different form. I'm impressed with FOKolorscape so figured since I have a place to put her I'd go for it. I'm hoping my Darcey opens so I can see if Milano would look good planted next to two I have surrounding a birdbath. I'm basically filling out my mature landscape with Lowe's rejects also, although I've thrown a few Medard's markdowns in the mix when they carried great stuff a couple of years ago. Huge Spirea and Hydrangea, Dwarf Osier and all sorts of other goodies and tender things I overwinter inside. I don't mind so much if they don't make it. I rejected the Knock-Out out of hand, but seeing Jim's pics and that double pink pic last year made me rethink my position. If it's healthy, I'm OK with it for an out of the way place I want colour, but minimal upkeep. The foliage of CB is very different from FO, but I like the contrast. It's pure deep red, no hint of orange as in these pics. Click to enlarge.