Given that I'm in a climate zone where these things do well, I'm probably not the best person to give advice. But I can endorse the idea of Chilean guava in a pot. Mine was permanently outdoors of course, but it flowered and fruited fine for several years before I was able to plant it in the garden. The flowering is late enough that it won't be troubled by being indoors etc until the frosts have passed, and it doesn't require a long season to fruit. I don't know what level of frost it will tolerate - certainly some, but the places it grows best are cool and windy, so not frosty. There is also at least one feijoa variety that can be grown and fruited in a pot (the self-fertile Unique), but it is probably still too big to be moved inside, unlike the Chilean guava which is small. I don't have the space for kiwifruit or the climate for pomegranate (not hot enough in summer), so I can't help with those.

Bill, 6b isnt too bad, the data they collected included the major freezes of the 1980's so that probably lowered your zone from a 7a to a 6b. But winters like this year is what kind of evens things out a little bit since it has been a very mild winter! We got down to 13F here which actually is considered a pretty normal lowest temperature for the average mild winter, but the duration of warm weather this winter is something I haven't seen here in many years. I think that if you get colder than your zone more than 2 times in a decade, then you shouldn't be classified in that zone. After looking at NYC records, its clear that it does actually fit that definition as a zone 7b which I thought was suprising. And as for Miami, the city center definitely wont go below 35F so its a solid 10b. The more rural areas outside the city did get a freeze during that bitter 2010 cold spell, but the coastal areas of Miami only went down to the mid 30s. Florida seems like it got a bit colder with this new zone map, one of a few places that showed cooling with this zone map. But the major cities of Southeast Florida (Fort Lauderdale down to Miami and points south) is all a zone 10b now and in the 1990 map, only Miami was in a small pocket of zone 10b. No Problem Joey! Randy, I always thought that the USDA zone map should be taken as just a guide. It gives people a good idea of what kind of climate they have, and I think the zone maps are really intended for those gardeners that dont really know a lot about their climate. Gardeners like all of us are aware that the zones dont tell even half the story. Minimal temperatures during the winter are probably the most important factor for most plant's survival, especially in temperate climates, but its not the only factor. And once you get past zone 9a, I think that the duration of heat and freezes is a lot more important than minimal temperatures. Its the same reason why a zone 10b in Miami can grow a ton more tropicals than a zone 11 in Malibu! And a zone 7b in New York and a zone 7b in North Carolina are 2 totally different climates. You wont see live oaks and spanish moss lining streets here in NYC, but you might see something like that in a zone 7b in the southern states. And It seems to me like some areas are a bit more detailed than others with this map. I see a lot of detail from this map in my area, but Northern Florida and Georgia dont have as much detail it seems. For example, I would definitely consider Savannah Georgia and all of Coastal Georgia a zone 9a, but on this map about half of Georgia's coastline including Savannah is only a zone 8b. And I think that some of the more rural parts of Northern Florida are a bit too warm on this map. -Alex

I am not entirely sure the extent of moon phases affecting things. But I do know it does SOMETHING. Take the tides for instance. Also I used to sell hot dogs outside the cabarets at night. Full moon night was sure to be interesting. And when I was expecting my first child, the weekend of the full moon my water broke so I went to hospital. That weekend my entire pretantal class was in there having their babies! Many of which came in because their water totally broke or they were leaking. The maternity ward nurses agknowledge that the ward is busier on a full moon. When I came in they said 'wow it must be a full moon out there.' The nursery was wall to wall babies. So I can imagine it would have SOME effect on plants if it can bring higher tides and pull babies from the womb.

I used to go for 'bests' and then I learned about rootstocks. A lot of my bought locally roses were on Dr. Huey rootstock. They didn't do well. They didn't do well because my soil is an acidic red clay with some top soil on it, but the business roots of the rose are going to go down into that clay for the moisture and nutrients. Dr. Huey thrives in slightly alkalin soil. That's why it was THE rootstock of choice for growing roses for resale and that was done in the alkaline playa lake beds of inland California. For Virginia roses....there are acidic red clays in a number of places. There are also sands, and there may be some alkalin soils. In your neighborhood do you see roses that have reverted to Dr. Huey? Do you see wild Rose multiflora (zone 7 Virginia would have had multiflora blooming back in early May. Next question: are you willing to spray fungicides every two weeks. Last question: Maybe take a chance with R. x fortuniana rootstock, unless you get serious freezes in some winters. There are two Hybrid Tea roses that I find to be all but bullet proof, and they are pretty in different ways. La Traviata: no scent, healthy foliage without spraying, and carnation like deep red blooms that do not have the classic HT form, but which look like carnations and last on their long straight stems for two weeks, even in summer. (The blooms and stems are so strong, they hold water after summer rains and it needs to be dumped out or the petals will stew in the summer sunlight. The MacCartney Rose: Scent!!! strong pink, open well. Strong bushes that thrive without spraying. Not a show rose, but it's so good it doesn't need to be. Glows in the sunlight when it's backlit by morning or evening sunlight.