yup, putting the leaf in another clay pot of water will encourage the viviparous plant to establish, how easy is that. Though, take care the pot does not get too hot in the midday sun, vip's grow well when not exposed to excessive volatile temperatures That might save you wasting a lot of time reading the poorly written, windy and pretentious content at Victoria adventure

Wow! Thanks so much for posting. I am thoroughly enjoying your blog (so much to read there!)! My DH and I are intrigued by the idea of eventually moving down south of the border ourselves, and it's wonderful to hear of someone else who has made that dream their reality.

Dav- I hear your plea. I have the same issue. We purchased a home a couple years ago. Backyard had existing pool and hardscape, surrounded by many plants and fruit trees. We had most prior landscaping removed and I had a "tropical" design done and installed. I was on a fairly tight budget (I didn't know it was "tight" at the time) so they used lots of queens, agapanthus, hibiscus, bird of paradise, etc. Essentially all the "tropical" stuff you can get at Home Depot. I began adding/replacing some elements with other plants I bought. The overall look improved as my skills increased. One of the biggest reasons for my success in "getting it" was this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1561582328/qid=1122653709/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-7357636-6356020?v=glance&s=books It has lots of pictures, but more importantly, he talks about colors, texture and canopy, the three things that change a garden with some tropical plants into a tropical area. Very subtle, but once you read it, you'll get it. One final caveat that has come up in talking to friends that are doing their yards. I've found I'm in the middle of the road in gardening. I don't hate it, and I do love when an area's plants finally achieve the look that I want. But, if my garden/yard were done, you would not find me whiling away my time gardening. So, I'm sort of an interested amateur. Now, this matters because as you move up the chain into more and more tropical looking stuff, the more work it takes to maintain them. You have to understand that in So. Cal, you can't just plant the jungle and forget it. It takes nearly constant care of some sort. The stuff you have now takes little/no ongoing care other than proper watering and very occasional fertilizing. Hope this helps. aiki

I ended up killing the Bougainvillea (California Gold) by pruning it too late and pruning it too harsh. I have learned my lesion since then and got another California Gold, and let it go free (no pruning near the frost season). I left the Night Blooming Jasmine too long and frosty got to her before I did and she became a history. I was sad because I never knew how beautiful she smelled. Anyway, I ended up getting a Arabian Tea Jasmine Plant a.k.a Maid of Orleans and oh my!! The smell will take your breath away! I will have to try everything to keep it alive!!! So no pruning before 2013 (week after the last frost day) Silver dollar Eucalyptus or gunnii: I have pruned those severely but they grew even vigor, so I plan to try leaving them outside (Georgia, what do you think? Some people kept them outside in Georgia, so worth the risk?) Eucalyptus Citriodora was pruned severely as well but I did leave a leafy branch for it to rely on. It has grown nearly 4 feet tall (Still in a pot). The places toward the base where I clipped, sort of transformed to round ball shape wood (looks kinda cool) -2 Olive (European) - Pruned all the new growth and this year it grew very well. I kept them in the pot (even though my initial plan was to let them field grow for thicker shape) . Both are doing very well. -1 Arbequina Olive - I pruned quite a bit and this year it grown quite a bit. I may just leave it alone this year since Olive usually grows on last years growth, so I might just see some olive if I leave it alone. -Feijoa .. since the variety I had was from eBay and no idea what type Feijoa they were, I decided to buy a NZ Graft from a reputable nursery and hopping my existing two can be pollinator for the new one. They all are field growing and I am debating weather to bring them in or leave them out. I have to think about potting while its still hot out there if I do that. Anybody growing Feijoa in 7b outside? I have gotten into more Tropical stuff (I've been just germinating seeds left and right (Mango, Jackfruit, guava and so on). I know they may not fruit or anything, but just trying it out.