You're welcome! Oh, yes, I know La Crescenta weather! I had a very large (twelve-hundred-plus plants) rose garden in Newhall for eighteen years. Happily, I'm down to under two hundred here in Encino, now, not counting seedlings. I'd think once you have the plants sufficiently hardened off, putting them outside when the weather cools off, in a protected area while they continue maturing would be much better for them than anything indoors. Do you have issues with squirrels, rabbits or other rodents where you are? Hopefully not, as they can devour a new, tender young plant like those in a sitting. I budded some plants earlier this spring and they were developing nicely...until a rat or squirrel gnawed the shoots back to the shanks. They went far enough to even get the guard buds, so they failed. As long as you're not concerned with the plants blowing away or being washed away by heavy erosion, there isn't any winter storm weather you should really have to be concerned with there. It doesn't get cold enough to damage roses as a general rule. They're honestly not as fragile as we like to think they are! As long as the potting soil drains and doesn't remain goopy, soggy, it shouldn't be an issue for cuttings. I've planted all of mine in the plain old Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Soil because it remains damp enough for smaller pots to not dry out in a day when we have the heat and wind spike so common in our areas. It works just fine, much better than the non moisture control has because it does hold more water than the "regular stuff" without being soggy. The only bagged soil I've encountered in recent history which was real garbage has been Super Soil. It USED to be decent, but now is a mucky, goopy mess, so I'd avoid that like the plague. My dissatisfaction with the other brands I've more recently used has been they have dried out too quickly, often requiring being watered daily when it is hot, dry and/or windy. The Moisture Control hasn't. That can make a huge difference during a heat or wind spike. I even use the Moisture Control soil to raise my rose seedlings in with good success. I only cut it with either seed starter mix or perlite for the seed cover to prevent it from being too heavy to allow small seedlings from breaking through. If your bags are remaining sufficiently moist to only require watering every two weeks, you probably don't need to mist the cuttings. It sounds as if they are remaining moist enough. Too much misting in the bags can easily turn to rot very quickly. I'd only mist them if you're seeing them being flagging or wilting from heat. Otherwise, it seems you have your bases covered. Good luck! Kim

Thanks for the tips, davidtay. I didn't even realize I should get an electrician. Do folks typically pull out circuitry if they're trying to keep a light fixture? I assumed they just removed the fixtures since they didn't trash the house at all (just removed light fixtures, towel bars, window coverings, and bathroom mirrors). Our property inspector said we were lucky, as other foreclosed homes have been left a wreck, with demolished countertops (from former owners removing the sinks!), deliberately damaged walls, missing dishwashers, etc. I'll try to open up some of the blue covers this weekend and see if I see anything obviously wrong. It's a home in a rural area and I'm assuming that getting an electrician to drive 2 hours round-trip is going to cost me quite a bit! As for wiring being up to code, can you explain why this is something you suggest in a relatively new house (less than 10 years old)? I can see why you'd want to investigate code upgrades if it were an older home (say 40+ years old) but wouldn't a relatively new house be ok without upgrading to the 2014 code? Maybe I should also cross-post in Home Decor, as I don't know how to pick the type of light fixtures for each location either? Does anyone have advice on that?

Enjoy your Peace rose! I bought a potted Peace yesterday to replace the two that froze to death this past winter. It has lots of buds and I'm eagerly awaiting the first bloom.

'way smaller' than the mother bulbs isn't the best sign. It means something wasn't to their liking and rather than producing another big, blooming size bulb they've split up into many smaller bulbs which likely won't flower. They can be planted as deep as before but I'd suggest adding a few new ones as well so you're guaranteed to see a few flowers at least. You can feed now but better would be to wait until they start rooting so that they are able to 'soak up' the feeding. Without roots they can't do that. Actually in your zone I'm surprised they haven't started rooting already, but as soil temps drop they should start. When growing in a pot make sure they stay well watered, fertilize more often, and plenty of sun until the leaves die off. Once they dry out or the soil in the pot gets too hot they will go dormant and your bulbs won't grow any larger for the next year's bloom. Tulips are especially tough because the whole bulb regrows each year, things like hyacinths and daffodils just add or lose layers (like an onion).