I can use fresh soil, that's a good idea. And I'll top dress it a bit as well. Though, I think that once I unpot it , I'll probably want to do a full repot. Most times, I do a full repot and put into 511 mix, but this plant is so dear to me, I'd be heartbroken if I messed up the repot. If Al finds out that I am doing this half-cocked kind of planting, both of us will be in for a talking-to. See how I made it "us" instead of "me?" :)

Thank you for your comments. Beverly27 - I agree totally that there is no comparison between the two rugs. I was expecting some flaws, but the largest flaw was bigger than the size of a pencil eraser, with just foundation and no pile. I didn’t know if it could cause problems down the road, and couldn’t get it looked at before the return period was up. I’m still shopping and hope to find a rug similar to the first rug. Interesting about the tribes! zorroslw - Glad you like the planter. I like sectionals, but in my room the sectional would be in front of only part of the bow window. It might make things feel out of balance? That’s why I planned to use a sofa and chairs. (The price in the photo of the sofa was not the sale price; the sofa would be a few hundred dollars less). chijim - Thanks for the ideas from the Candice Olson room. Hopefully I might be able to find a picture of it in a book of hers that I have. This post was edited by Kellysar on Sun, Jan 11, 15 at 23:34

It's sad to see that this is not just something I've experienced, but some kind of widespread problem. Like the OP, I too am in San Antonio. I've had flowers picked and then thrown into the street, people openly allowing their dogs to relieve themselves on plants, and strangest of all, parents allowing their children to just meander through my (rather dangerously thorny, cacti-and-rose filled) garden as though it is a public park, and not someone's private property. The thefts are what really bother me though. I went out one evening and when I returned, I found that the top of my beautiful large blooming plumeria had been cleanly sliced off and removed. It was located up near my garage, next to the front walk, so whoever had done this had to walk up my driveway in complete view of all my neighbors and had to have been carrying quite a large knife or saw to do it as the trunk was quite thick. I've also had small items stolen like my little solar gnome, which I've since replaced, and now keep in the backyard. I also caught a door-to-door solicitor one time trying to steal my running shoes of all things (I had left them outside the front door upon returning home from a muddy run). I watched him through the peephole as he actually sat down on my porch, took off his own shoe, picked up mine, and began to try it on! When I opened the door and asked him what he wanted, he just put the shoe down, said nothing about it, and while putting his own shoe back on, proceeded to try to sell to me whatever it was he was peddling! It just boggles the mind that certain people think they are entitled to take whatever they want - or whatever they can get away with. It's gotten to the point that I don't want to keep anything decorative or showy in the front yard or at the front door anymore for fear of losing it. I am really eager to get some cameras installed so I can catch any future thieves in the act.

This is a very old thread, but still, it's not so simple. Plants conditioned to low light indoors can very quickly suffer severe damage (photo-oxidation - aka sunburn) if moved outdoors into direct sun, even for intervals of only an hour or two ..... and this isn't a species/genera-specific issue. Sudden chill injury can also cause damage at temps as high as 50*F, causing contents of cells to leak into inter-cellular spaces, so those unfamiliar with the pitfalls should arm themselves with knowledge before doing their plants a favor that ends up looking more like a punishment. In the end, what determines a plant's "health status" (level of vitality) is how well the plant is able to cope with the cultural hand it's been dealt. Any time a plant is asked to deal with conditions near or beyond the limits it's been programmed to tolerate, stress results, which is a limiting factor directly linked to the severity of the stress. Al