You might find Echeverias in general a bit more tolerant of heat and humidity, as some species do extend into more hot and steamy environments of Mexico, although most prefer higher/cooler elevation mountain tops and semishaded north facing slopes. As they are in active growth in summer and dormant in winter, they are also easier to grow in locations that get cold, as indoor plants in winter/outdoors in summer. In general, most Echeverias here in California also prefer the milder coastal climates if grown in full sun, and will want bright shade or morning sun and then bright shade if grown in really hot climates with consistent temps over 90F in summer. I would suggest seeking out Echeveria x imbricata or E. agavoides as being particularly easy to grow under a variety of conditions, and both will take light freezing down to perhaps 26/27F without damage, but probably best wintered indoors in Oklahoma. I would suggest you stay away from the hybrids/cultivars with the distorted/bumpy foliage, as these are more sensitive to excessive heat and humidity. I don't know if you have problems with Root Weevils in your area, but Echeverias can be prone to attack by these grubs if the plants are stressed in summer conditions, and if they suddenly start wilting and losing leaves in the warmer months, check the roots and stems to see if you have any burrowing whitish grubs eating out the stems from the inside. Aphids tend to attack the blooming stalks as well, but this won't necessarily kill the plant, just unsightly. Oh, and don't overwater them in the winter, let the soil go dry between waterings, and give them as much light in a windowsill as you can manage, or they will grow too leggy.

I'm liking mine very much. It's just been in the ground a year and a half, but I'm hoping it will continue to respond well to my care. I hope these pictures are helpful to someone. 1 - June '05 Just after planting, starting with a good-sized plant 2 - June '06 - One year later. 3 - August '06 I cleaned out a good deal of brown growth in spite of conflicting advice. Left it all on the ground -- natural mulch, you know :) I used a pruning shears as a lot was left after I tried a jet spray and my hand, cutting off just about every dead spot. I also pinched back just about every branch. Wrong time of year? 4 - November '06 - you can see the brown building up again, but growth is good. I intend to shear lightly in early spring. 5 - Just yesterday after rain. The leaves are so beautiful. Maro, a novice.

Khandi, your news report states that parents must let their children fail and experience the consequences in order to succeed in university. Parents must let their children FALL, not fail. Meaning if their work/grades are not always up to par, it's up to the child to do better through self-discipline not because the parent is pushing/punishing them to do better. It also says that high school students are NOT punished for handing in late assignments and are able to slack off in the beginning of the semester and make up for it later. Please explain to me then, where are the consequences? That's the point! In high school, at least here, there are no consequences for handing in late assignements; therefore, students do the same in university not realizing that things are different in university... there are consequences! None from the parents and none from the school means kids like Lisonwal's son get by on their brains until they hit university. THAT is when they fail. Because there are no consequences in high school for handing in assignments on time, it's upsetting for those students who do make the effort to ensure that they meet the deadline. They have good work habits, organization, self-discipline... yet those who slack off and hand in assignments late get to have the same grade as those who didn't. They don't get penalized for it. In my day, we got marks taken off for every day that the assignement was late. You see... years ago, you needed grade 13 to go on to university, grade 12 for college. The government eliminated grade 13 and expanded the curriculum. Also something about lowering the dropout rates, etc., they changed the grading procedures or something. It's my guess that's why there's no consequences... not a good thing! Help him learn these skills, even if he doesnt "need" them yet to achieve decent grades. He WILL need them later and he wiill thank you for it. Exactly, but what the therapist is saying is that once they are in high school, let them learn it on their own without a parent's constant reminder because you won't be their to remind them all the time when the child is in university. They need to learn time management/organization BEFORE university. Teach them in elementary and then let them exercise it in high school. When my daughter was elementary school, I was there to help her with her homework, making sure she was on top of her work, etc. Did the same for her first 2 years of high school. Now, I don't bother. I have to keep reminding myself NOT to get involved in her homework (if it's being done, etc.) because it's up to her to do it...not me! She'll see the consequences of her actions for herself, knowing it was her own decisions that brought her to this place or that place, not because of me. Our family therapist told us last year when parents are too strict with their teenagers, once those teenagers are in college/university, they go wild! A good number of them get caught up in drinking/drugs/partying, etc., which is why she has several patients who are university students. My daughter was a student who handed in her assignments on time and would get pissed off when students who handed theirs in late would get same grading as her without consequences. She'd often say "why bother then?". I'd explain why, telling her that those students are gonna learn the hard way later on. Just last week in school, my daughter was saying how most of the students in her 12th grade history class (she's in 11th grade) didn't know how to take notes while watching a film/movie. The teacher had the students watch a film/movie and take notes. Daughter said they kids didn't know what to write while she was writing down whole bunch of stuff, so the teacher stopped the film and got the books out instead. My daughter's comment was "how are they going to take notes in university?"

How fun it must be to watch as this all comes together! I am not sure that you can't use that finish - lighting can be an accent, and particularly over an island, can act like jewelry or art in the space. What concerns me most is that even if you get the largest size in that pendant, which is 18 inches, that means that only about 1/3 of your counter space will have lighting directly over it. It seems like it won't adequately light the workspace. I think a pair of these over the island would be stunning: pacifica island pendant They are larger and offer more wattage, the bulbs are hidden in diffusers, and it brings some texture to the lighting, as the ribbed glass does in your choice.