Hello EVeryone, Mike...You are doing everything right..I responded to your thread..on what I do with mine...Like Bill suggest..I use epsom salt once I bring them outside..or into the temps greenhouse...then a few weeks later..i fertilize with reduced strenght...also use fish emulsion and seaweed extract...i also mix in some b-1 and superthrive...I actually use superthrive everytime i water....These trees have their own personality...I have seen some strange things with mine...some have produced inflos..then the new branches that have formed from the split have new inflos...it just depends on how they are in the growth phase...they will produce inflos when they decide to!! Dave..I keep my DR's in the greatroom with the other tropicals...i do not keep them tucked away like the Plumeria..but they naturally drop their leaves and just stay in a somewhar dormant phase...I do water maybe once a month..more so than the Plumeria...They just hang out with the other plants in my room..average temp in here is 69*..or when I turn it up to 70* without my hubby seeing me turn up the thermostate!! LOL..really they just are happy where they are..I don't move them at all either...I did experimnet with one of them and cut back some of the limbs a few weeks ago...now they are putting out new branches...so i will probably trim them up just a little before I put them ot for the spring...My limbs are still green and look strong...I think one of the keys is to just let them be..just like the plumeria..if we try and mother them to much they tend to act up on us...I learned this the hard way...Bill has taught me from the get go that we have to just let the do their own thing and just monitor them... Hope this helps!!! How is everything up in NoVa? Pretty cold here..two nights ago we received 5 inches of snow...go figure? To much snow.and to cold for me!! LOL.. How is your cute little K---? Take care everyone!!! Laura in VB

Magnesium helps sleep cycle. Melatonin (which your body makes naturally but may be lacking with hormonal imbalance) helps you sleep. There are supplements with combinations of melatonin and l-theanine and 5-htp that also help you sleep. Dropping off of natural melatonin during sleep can also be caused by diabetes or a drop in blood sugar during sleep. This can make you want to eat or drink something sweet to enable you to return to sleep. Cutting back on sugar and white carbs helps.

Buds are one thing.......fat, just about to open buds are another :-) JM's set their buds in fall after leaf drop so buds should be present all winter. If these buds are still tight, just leave your maples where they are until safe to bring outside. If the buds are staring to open and the leaves unfurling, then the plan to bring out during the day and back into protection at night is sound. btw, I live in a mild winter climate - 40's and 50's with some colder periods - and all my containerized maples are still very firmly budded. I wouldn't expect to see the buds close to opening for another month at least.

Right now none of my petasites are in full bloom yet but not even sure if I'll even get to see them since my dad picks them before it opens up completely. In our culture we eat the unopened flowers of this plant. Just had it now for part of dinner.. it was quite tasty. But we have tons and tons of these plants in our garden so I'm sure I'll come by one sometime soon. I'll take pics and post it here