I"ve brought quite a few of my container trees into the house in the past week to get them going (I will then move them to a greenhouse once we/if we get warmer weather in early March). So far not seeing any damage, and some swelling is already occurring. These are mostly peaches, plum and pluots. My garage has been below 0F many times this winter. My doors are not sealed very well and i have no insulation in the ceiling (just open trusses), but it is attached and we do park a car in there most nights (engine probably adds some warmth for at least part of the night).

Single carrot plants with multiple roots is called 'forking'. It happens from some form of damage to the main root; it usually happens in rocky or heavy soils, or you could have Carrot Rust Fly (CRF), or you added excessive nitrogen not long before planting. But since you had a few last year and a lot this year, and you planted in the same place, I vote for CRF. If you have CRF, there should have been some dark spots in the carrot roots, too, as the larvae tunnel into the roots and dump their manure (called frass). I have become something of an 'expert' on CRF. 8-( The two most important pieces of info that I received about CRF is that they remain in the soil, so you must move your carrot bed, and that they fly close to the ground, usually a foot or less. They must be practically invisible, because I've never noticed them, and I've lost entire crops to them. Because they fly low, you need to 'fence' them out. Move to a bed where you haven't grown root crops in the last year or two, and pound some stakes in the corners. Then wrap the bed with some clear kitchen plastic wrap (dollar store type will do fine). This fence must be about 18" tall, and sealed at the bottom so they can't crawl in (cover end of plastic with soil). Be careful with your watering, as the plastic can prevent sprinkler spray from getting near the sides. If you can spare the bed you used this past season, solarize it next summer to kill the existing CRF (and any nematodes that might be in there, too): Water the soil very well (dig down 6" to make sure you got it wet that far down), then cover the bed with clear plastic and seal the edges by covering with soil. Let the summer heat steam-bake the bed for 3-6 wks. If you have to fence it off to keep kids and dogs from puncturing the plastic, do it. THIS DOES NOT WORK WITH DRY SOIL! And it doesn't work very well in the shade, either. Sue

Here's what I've learned about mealey bugs: They don't discriminate between hibiscus in the sun and hibiscus in the shade; hibiscus in containers and hibiscus in the ground. And they don't disciminate between hibiscus and plumeria They can appear to be erradicated, but may still be alive and growing on the plant's root system They don't even need to appear at all; they just scrunch up the new leaves and stunt the buds - and by the time you notice that bit of weirdness - IT'S TOO LATE Pink mealey bugs are particularly heinous Did you read the post back in August about Pantene Shampoo? Very informative about soft-bodied bugs and soap. I don't know how to direct you to that message, so you'll have to do a "search" - just type in Pantene. Anyway, here's what I did last summer after battling mealey bugs on all 20 of my hybrid hibiscus plants (by cutting off the infected leaf-ends) - I mixed baby shampoo with water and poured into a spray bottle with alot of isopropyl alcohol. I went out every evening and endured the no-see-ums to inspect the growing ends of all my plants for evidence of mealey bugs. As I found 'em, I sprayed with no mercy. Eventually, they abated. I began to spray entire plants with the stuff - soaking the stems, trunk and branches. After all the drastic, emergency pruning I had done to get the gross stuff off the plants, the poor things really needed to get their leaves back. Then in December I got some once-a-year Bayer Advanced and that really seemed to be the ticket for all bugs. The leaves had already come back healthy and green and the blooms were big and vibrant and I didn't want to do the spray program ever again. This past summer, though, I think mealies must've gotten introduced through a new plant because I'm seeing them again on a few of my prized beauties. So now it's back to the alcohol spray and consistently keeping watch. Good luck to you. I hope your plants reward you as much as mine do. For now at least I have to say - Yess, they're worth it. Susie

As all the landlord is saying is that one of you has to move; then just refuse to move. He's probably biding time till renewal, and his comment about someone having to move was a big hint, IMHO. (Sounds like he's on the fed up side.) Once a lease expires, he simply doesn't have to renew, no explanation needed. That's usually the easier way out when it's a 'nuisance' situation such as feuding tenants. And refusal to leave when non-renewed just won't fly. No contract renewed = no rights to the place. toocrazy, if you can't afford to move and don't want to, and don't want to see your lease non-renewed, do everything you can to stifle potential legitimate complaints. I like chimes, but not everyone appreciates them. And for those that don't, it can be a nerve-grating kind of sound. Instead of moving the chimes, take them down. (It seems as if you're keeping them up on principal, but if push comes to shove what do you value more; the sound of the chimes or your place? ) Find a way to calm the dog barking if you can. I have dogs, but really try to be respectful of my neighbors. The occasional alarm bark is appreciated, beyond that, it can get annoying to some. There is a neighbor across the street whose dogs bark non-stop all day when they are outside. Grates on even a dog owner's nerves. Yours are not non-stop, but averaged out it's about 4 minutes every hour. Probably broken up over the hour, so averaged out even if they are barking a full minute out of every 15 minutes, that can be a lot to some. Whatever the outdoor situation is, do not ever give her the chance to have evidence your dogs could be a threat to hers. That's coming to close to having them yanked from you by animal control. (I'm not saying they would over an idle threat, but in my town AC doesn't take 'potentially aggressive' dog problems lightly.) So don't give them access to even get close. I've seen dogs that don't care for each other carry on through the cracks of a privacy fence, hackles raised. So perhaps secure them on a tie line so they can still get exercise but are a good distance from where ever your lawn borders are? Once you've taken away any legitimate complaints your neighbor might have, all that is left is the ludicrous. Perhaps you can go to your code enforcer and explain that you are fearful of losing your duplex over your neighbor's complaints. Maybe (I don't know) he can give you copies of reports she filed against other neighbors as a way to show your landlord how off base she can be. (A lot of things are a matter of public record, but I don't know about Code Enforcement complaints. Can't hurt to ask though.) I guess what I'm suggesting is lay low and let her be the one making the ruckus. LLs tire of this type of situation very quickly, and any one with an ounce of sense is going to get the one out that is likely to continue complaining, no matter who is living next door. You also don't want to come across as that person to your LL. Let it be your neighbor.