All of the above. Bore several large holes in the log. 1/2 inch. In orchids you can't have too much drainage. When potting orchids they must be on top of the medium not in it. In pots there can be applied a rhizome clip. It fits tight on the edge of the pot and extends over the plant at the base to hold it in place. This is important for long life. It might be a little tricky being your first and a customized clip will be needed due to the log. Perhaps 2 small drilled holes slightly above the rocks. Then thread a stiff wire through. If you were nearby I'd come over and I'll fix it for you but you are soooo far away. You might need help for the first one. Good luck.

Hello Devora, It should work, if you carefully plan, including varieties chosen, and figure on larger pots eventually, depending on the size of the plant you are putting into them now. If it's a sizeable plant now and a fast grower too, it might be better to start out with a larger pot right away. You probably ought to plan on potting up in size a couple of times again as the plant reaches full maturity. If your plants are really just getting started ownroots now, your pots might be large enough for a year or so. Eventually you'll likely need a bigger pot, though, even if the varieties are the smallest-growing kinds. For now, if your plant is really small and doesn't yet absolutely require a larger pot, the smaller pot will make it easier to insert that pot into a much bigger one, and put mulch below and around the pot you're actually growing the rose in. And on the top surface too. According to Liz Druitt in "The Organic Rose Garden", roses can have their roots damaged in hot climates by actually contacting the inside surface of a very hot pot that is baking in the sun. Some materials and darker pots might be the worst for root burning, but I'd guess even the best would not be as good as having an insulation around the pot you've planted the rose in. If you don't have a large enough pot quite yet for functioning as the outer protective coat, perhaps just wrap some bubble wrap on the outside for now? Anyway, both pots need to have water holes in the bottom, and then you'd probably want to sit that into a large pot saucer to protect the surface they're sitting on. If your plant is really small and doesn't yet absolutely require a larger pot, the smaller pot would make your control for proper amounts of water easier; too-large a pot can make it easy for the soil to get too wet (because there are no roots to take up the water on the outside edges). A guess as to some of the varieties you might be thinking about: besides some others, most teas, noisettes, and chinas would probably work; they tend to work in hot dry places like Arizona here. Modern floribundas differ so much in heritage that you'd probably need to get specific information about local success with particular varieties there. According to Liz Druitt, you can likely grow any rose in a pot, if you are willing to put the required effort into it. But some varieties are so large that the pot needs to be huge, and you'd still need to go overboard in trying to keep it sufficiently watered. You're going to need a lot of water when it's hot, more than you might need if the rose were planted in the ground. I've no experience at all with growing roses under your conditions, but theoretically it would seem better to me to water deeply when you water, or at least to use that strategy some of the time in your overall watering scheme. You can have a salts buildup inside the pot that a slow drip might not be sufficient to help get rid of. This could result in a soil that is too alkaline, with needed nutrients insufficiently available to the rose. Also, if it's terribly, terribly hot, the amount of water coming out of the drip might not be sufficient even if you're not worried about a salts buildup. A drip in concert with a deep watering a couple of times each week might be a pretty good strategy, but if you see the soil getting dry, you might need to switch to a deep watering every day, or even twice a day. Roses seem to prefer an Eastern exposure if they can't have a Southern exposure. But some roses can get along better without morning sun than others do. As a guess, it might not hurt to select varieties with some shade tolerance, as well as heat tolerance. The Woodland Rose Garden site has a large list of shade tolerant possibilities: http://www.woodlandrosegarden.com/rose/shade1.htm Also Rogue Valley Roses has a good-sized list of shade tolerant rose possibilities, including some that you might not find elsewhere. I've included a link to the Rogue Valley advanced search page where you can pull down for a list of shade tolerant varieties or very shade tolerant varieties. You'd need to check up on heat tolerance separately from shade tolerance. A guess as to types to avoid: Damasks and Gallicas. Maybe Portlands. You don't see those varieties planted very often in the South here, so perhaps they need cooler weather? Just a guess: that most of the varieties being grown and offered for sale at the Antique Rose Emporium and Countryside Roses would work for you. It can get pretty warm in southern Texas and Mississippi here, though it's not as dry as Israel. Well, that's all I can think of. Best of luck! Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Advanced variety search at Rogue Valley Roses

Morning glories can be very invasive, depending upon conditions. They don't like hot, full sun. They need a fair amount of water. I only have one area here in my mostly SUNNY yard where they can grow (with some help from me--water). In Berkeley I had problems with neighbors growing morning glories on fences. The vines came over the fences and TOOK OVER in shady areas of my yard. I had to chop them back every 3-4 weeks, because they grew so fast. If I didn't keep them cut back, they would grow into my windows. I cussed those neighbors, under my breath, all of the time! Lorna

Thanks so much, all of you. And Carol and Niecey, a belated Happy Canada Day to you both! I am having a lot of fun with this camera; I actually had nothing to do with how any of the photos turned out - I just pressed the button, sometimes holding it down, and sometimes not. I was lucky, they just turned out well! So, Iris gal, the crocus rose shot was an accident, but a very pretty one. Carla, my dear sister-in-law bought a new (very expensive) camera, and kindly gave me her old one, a Kodak DX 4330. I am thrilled with the photos it takes, and it seems very simple to use (which is VERY important for me). Since there is no instruction book, I have to check out some of the Kodak Tutorials to get the most out of it. Mark, I also LOVE Tamora's blooms, but I have to say, I'm am not crazy about the fragrance, so I just don't get too close LOL Jean, we'd love to see pictures of your Evelyn too - she sure is a beauty. Judith