Lovely pictures! They are nice and clear, love the close-ups mixed with the full-plant shots. That red Penstemon is gorgeous and the supposed "Huskers Red" looks like the regular Penstemon digitalis. Very pretty either way! The Salvia is interesting looking - does it have a fragrance? My Salvia nemorosa is blooming away and the bees love it too, but I think it smells terrible. I enjoyed looking at the photos!

Unfortunately once past Dec 10-15 there is little hope for substantial precip until after mid-February. Years with ocean and weather patterns most similar to this one rank in the top 12 driest over the past 113 years. 1949-50 and 54-55 are those years. One hope exists in what happened in 54-55. 16.8" of snow fell. A decent snow would help offset dry weather by how it melts slowly. Who is Accudean? That question comes from an long break from participating in the forum. I have missed it and hopefully my climate knowledge will be helpful as it was in 2005-06. I post about the climate postings and enjoy reading all of the terrific gardening tips from others. Dean

Nick that is super wise! Because healthcare skyrockets when you get to be my age.... I'll be 46 in June, and the health insurance wants to charge $850 per month....especially if you have pre-existing conditions. Currently they are trying to "outlaw" this but the way Congress keeps fighting to eliminate every advance we make healthcare wise, I can only expect the worst at this time. Something needs to be drastically done for our US healthcare system. Nick as you can tell, I'm just one of the millions of Americans without any health insurance, and those who have insurance do not know how expensive just one doctor visit is...like $600 or medication without insurance often $200 and up for just a single month (which is what I'm forced to pay)... And I really feel for you with the Diabetes Type I. Not only is it soooo hard to stay healthy and really maintain exercise, eating the right foods, you have to fight even harder for your health than Type II because you'll have had it for decades longer than the Type II folks, and the health complications for Type I is so complex and so serious..... So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you'll have tons better luck than other Type I diabetes folks.... My cousins are in Canada and they've got really good government health care. Like me, he is a freelancer but his 4 kids are thankfully so well provided for! Nick I definitely know about the Facepalm, except I'm the Facepalm idiot in the family who never gets her act together. Everything is day-by-day chaos instead of far-sighted planning. Believe me, my brother constantly has to rescue me tons of times from my frickin' mistakes and not! taking care of my health. I'm a non-stop worrier and workaholic and spend countless of all-nighters, and now my entire health system is finally going haywire :( For decades I wouldn't listen, too addicted to work, so you can bet I'm eatin' crow right now. Hopefully eventually your folks will listen and do gardening research and that they aren't as stubborn in real life problem areas like I've been.... Nick keep us updated and hope you do get to move back to Columbus ASAP with a fun career that advances you where you truly want to be :), like in Italy. Jim's young son is such a great young man too! He is currently traveling and studying abroad in Germany. So happy he is such a great kid... And I'm sure you too will go far in life :D Hugs, and hope to see the roses you care for survive the Facepalm fiascos, lol! I'm sure that is why your photos got delayed too... But have patience with your parents, just grit your teeth and keep grinning cheerfully! Roses are tough, they'll somehow survive your parents' unintentional whopper flamers, haha!

Laura, Welcome to the group!! As for your plumeria's, it's still early especially based on your temps you listed. Your weather you described sounds similar to some areas of Southern California, so you should be fine. Plumeria grown in a Mediterranean type climate will go dormant most winters like a lot of deciduous plants and fruit trees. You should not worry unless you do not see any growth by the end of May or beginning of June. There is a plumeria grower on one of the Facebook groups that lives in San Diego County (Danny Kashou), that stated that he had taken some plumeria's over the years to his families house in Tel Aviv, and they did well. Happy Growing Cheers James