Its grown out here in interior Southern California outside in full sun. Temps range from 80s-90s most of the time, I have not seen any of them not perform in these conditions. The babaco is closely related to the papaya, so heat tolerance may still be there.

I have some old Babaco's that bore well..but they got overgrown after nearly 10 years by trees..so I moved them last summer. We had freakish cold two nights in December-before they were dormant and they were killed from 10' to 3'. Now, back when they were in sun and bore papaya's the problem I had was the fruit took a long time to develop,they were large fruits, and right about the time they should have been ripe by my guess-January,we are well into our cold rainy season. Every year I would lose some to rot,or a blustery storm easily snapped stems with fruit. In a very mild winter I would get fruit that were blaw in flavor-but the tree's look great!

I have Ugni Molinae (Chilean Guava) aka Tazziberry and it grows very easily. I have mine planted in organic potting soil and water it when it needs it. I don't want to say how often I water it because it depends on the temp, the soil, the container and many other factors. I hear that Ugni Molinae likes water but don't over do it. The berries are absolutely delicious and smell like heaven. When you water your Ugni, my best advice is to water it heavily for your first watering and check the soil for moisture daily. If its in a pot outdoors during the summer, it may need water everyday or every 2-3 days. The larger your plant and the more established it is, the more drought it can withstand. Most people recommend letting the soil completely dry out in between waterings. I feed my Ugni with organic Fish/Kelp emulsion every month during spring and summer but I use half the recommended dosage. Good luck and keep us updated! Simon

i did see the thread on the novalis and i did see the product at lowes yesterday and my husband just has his mind made up that vinyl is going to be a junk product so i guess that is out. i just am confused. i did notice at lowes they have some prety good brand names such as armstrong//bruce etc but does this automatically mean it is a cheaper version of what you would find in a flooring store because it is at lowes? (like for instance) a line they made specifically to be sold only at lowes? the flooring i saw was from 3-9 dollars a sq foot. my sister in law bought her hardwood flooring at menards and they have had it for years with no issues but i just am confused about which products a person should feel okay with taking the plunge with and which are actually going to be a horrible product. i found an ad with a pergo floor that i absolutely loved then i looked up reviews and everyone hated it. i am tired of reading reviews, but i have a huge room to put flooring in, and it will cost alot of money so i was just hoping to hear from many people which floor they used that has been just wonderful or horrible. thanks