Yikes, Mike! You and I weigh the same. More determined than ever to get this 20 lbs. off, lol!! Glad your trees survived, and only minimal damage was experienced. And glad your dad is doing well, looking forward to his avocado photos! And, I have my first container citrus :-) I was a little concerned about the small Ortanique I bought. Just not greening up like it should have, plus the pot it came in from the nursery seemed too heavy to me after watering, which to me means too much water retention, so I decided to repot it yesterday. Good thing I did. The soil had a definite anaerobic smell (i.e., it stunk). And, most of the soil fell away from the rootball, so not good root formation. I very carefully removed as much soil as I dared, and repotted in EB Stone Cactus Mix. I have it on my east facing patio, so it will get afteroon shade, which is good right now, since it's been in the high 80's to low 90's. You can see tiny new flush, plus teeny tiny buds at the end of the branches. So, hoping it will green up for me after the roots recover. will fertilize it with 1/2 strength Foliage Pro in a week or two. Patty S.

I posted this over in the Banana forum as well, but ill post it here too since it IS a new addition. If you want to try and ID it... go for it, but I think it very well just might be a grand nain after all. IF that in fact is the case, hes comin in for the winter. I already removed the largest pup, and he did have roots of his own. ****************** Ok, A small local neighborhood nursery and gift shop had a banana plant left over from this summer's plant stock. This guy was in a "display" arrangment, in the center of a large pot, with some sweet potato vines in with him draping over the sides. I asked if they would sell it to me, and they said sure, for $20.00. So I had them dig him out and plop him in a plan old plastic nursery pot just to transport him the few blocks home. There WAS actaully a tag in with him, and it says he is a Musa Grand Nain. I would like to know if anyone can verify this, or if it might be something else like a basjoo, or cavendish. He is loaded with pups, about 5 or 6, a couple of which are fairly big, maybe approaching 2 feet. The main reason I want to know is so I can determine how I am going to handle him for the winter. If its not a basjoo or other cold hardy (corm hardy here in my zone 8) I would like to know so I can figure out how to deal with him indoors for the winter. Here are the photos: This last photo below is of one of the large pup's leaves. They have the familliar dark sploches on them, that look like a deep redish to me. Also, in one of the photos above, you can see the pseudostem is fairly red in color. I did pull away 2 of the oldest, and very small leaves which revealed the more red part of the stem. Any ideas if this is in fact a grand nain? If it isnt, then what exactly do you think it is? It sure does look ALOT like my basjoo, but its alot smaller. It was grown in a smaller container so far this whole summer as well. My basjoo is in a gigantic pot, which is probably why hes gotten real good hight. Thanks for the help!

if you are satisfied with the operation of the current unit, then I would probably vote for the second unit in the addition. Probably easier and ultimately cheaper than upgrading to a more costly unit and than extending and re-piping the old house to the new

Both of my sisters have recently went from smaller choppy homes to two story, open homes and both say the same. Easier to clean. We recently had a window seat and bookcases built for our back 9 x 11 bedroom for an extra sitting/ reading room. I love the coziness. But smaller rooms is all I’ve ever known. It would be an adjustment! Our current living, “dining”, and kitchen is just separated by archways. So not open but not totally closed off. I do like that separation. Allows wall space for my piano, curio cabinet, an old dresser... Im wondering if my walls would look cluttered with all these things lined up against them.