Fuchisas and begonias of all sorts are some of the biggest stars in my garden. I have to shield my eyes and walk away from things like gardenias and firespike. If it loves the heat, it can't come home with me! Forgot to add earlier that Pericallis is also day length sensitive and needs a short day to flower. Senetti was bred to be less day length sensitive and also more tolerant of heat. I think it is both of those things but only to a small degree, sort of like 'early' and 'cool season' tomatoes. Iris_gal: If you would like stellata seeds just let me know, and I can send some to you.

Or improperly watered. I've seen more jade plants suffer from too little water than too much. Adding rocks to the bottom does not improve drainage, but only serves to take up space....the rocks reduce the growing area. Your rapid drainage should come from the potting medium itself. Jades and other succulents (all plants, really) do best if watered infrequently but thoroughly. The soil volume should be allowed to dry out, but needs to be completely resaturated on watering day. Little sips encourage permanent dry pockets to form, where roots will die. A coarse textured potting medium ensures that drenching our succulents never causes the problems associated with 'overwatering'. Test for moisture levels by using your fingers to dig down and feel. You can also use a dry, wooden dowel to insert to the bottom to feel for moisture. With experience, you will be able to judge the moisture content of a container by its weight. The roots of jades are shallow. Best scenario is to plant them in a broad, shallow container, then insert the whole pot into a larger, deeper pot for stability. You are the only person who can be the judge of whether your plant has been under or over watered. You may have to unpot to check the condition. I'd evaluate your potting medium, too. I can't tell much from your image.

Depends on if it has a solid bottom or not. If it has a solid bottom - like a concrete planter with a concrete base - then it is just a large container and needs to be filled with a soil-less container potting mix. And we hope it has some sort of drain holes :-) If it is only solid sides but a bottom open to the underlying soil/ground, then it is considered just the same as a raised bed and any sort of enriched soil product (garden planting mix, topsoil and compost, etc.) will work fine. Look for somewhere that sells bulk soil products. That planter will hold about 3 3/4 cubic yards of material and you could go broke trying to fill it with bagged product!

As long as there is food (rodents, chicks, eggs) you will have snakes. If you let the ratsnake live, it leaves less food available for venomous species.