The plant called geraniums that is grown as a bedding annual is actually a pelargonium. There was a mix-up back when old Linnaeus was running around naming things, and the name stuck ;-) Pelargoniums are annuals in the north, as a hard freeze will kill them. I keep some old blankets and sheets around, and just watch the forecasts. 'Pellies' aren't sissies about the cold though, they will do fine through a light frost with a blanket. I extend the season in the fall with blankets too. They just grow much slower when it is chilly. They also don't like it too hot either, by the way. Mine suffer a bit when it gets in the mid-high nineties. True geraniums are hardy perennials, many are native to North America. There is some similarities to the leaves, and the flower shape between the two species. But, pelargoniums are native to Africa, where they are perennials, and succulents at that. Both are great plants. Both get discussed on this forum. It is a bit confusing at first. If you overwintered yours in the house, you have pelargoniums. :-) The FAQs on this forum has a better explanation of the name mix-up than I gave. I can hardly wait to put my pellies outside for the year. :-) Oh, and I'm just a gardener out to learn. More knowledgeable posters, please correct anything that I was incorrect about.

I follow the same method as Dave, except that I don't have the severe winters that he has. Our winters rarely get below freezing and that is only at night. I keep my plants in an unheated greenhouse over the winter. However, my seedlings and unrooted plants are on a heat mat with growlights. I found that plumerias respond to the change in daylight duration more than temperature. And they respond differently to the change. Some drop leaves and go dormant very quickly, while others hang onto the leaves almost all winter. Plumeria need to go dormant for at least a short while. Even those in Hawaii go dormant, but there it is more of a growth slowdown than a deep sleep. Watch your plants and follow their lead. If they retain leaves and take up water, give them a little water as long as they are retaining leaves and taking up water. If they drop their leaves, water only sparingly until they show signs of waking up in the spring. In any case, avoid overwatering in cold weather. Cold wet plumies will rot. Mike

Both covers were opaque, one blue and the other white, so I couldn't use them. They would have been snug enough and much easier. Actually I needed to open mine every few days (which is a pain with those bungee cords) to let some fresh air in. They don't have to be totally sealed, just have to keep the humidity as high as possible. I don't know if a translucent one would let enough light through or not. That one poster who put me on to the idea appeared to use the translucent cover that came with his box, and he might have had his lights a lot closer. He also misted his. I did mist a little in the beginning but figured it was just more likely to blow nasty spores around and might do more harm than good. George Mander uses clear plastic, said it should be heavy. I think mine was too heavy which made it a little harder to work with but otherwise ok. Talk about a dim bulb lol. One of my lights was very dim, and I thought maybe that's the way they were supposed to be with the warm and cool. Then I got the second set of tubes when I set up the other pair of shop lights, and they both lit up real bright, so I figured something was wrong with that other one. I fiddled with it, and didn't have it screwed in tightly enough. Then it brightened up like it should have been. That could account for some of my losses. Some of my cuttings I left too many leaves on. I forgot one of those did root but I did lose that one in transplanting, a very odd alba with the most unusual leaves I'd ever seen on a rose. I posted photos of it last year. No matter how well you have thought it out or how carefully you read what somebody else did, I find I always end up having to wing it a little. The ones I wanted the most were the ones I lost all of them. The lady let me have just 6 cuttings before she trimmed her bushes down. I could kick myself for not asking her to call me and let me come get all the trimmings. Now one has died over the winter, and she isn't going to want to let me have any more until her bushes spring back, if they do. I don't have room for all the roses I attempt anyway so it doesn't matter if I lose a lot. I don't have room for many more, plus I'm still buying some. I do feel good that I think I saved one old rose. Mine is growing happily in the back yard (I rooted that outside with bottles 2 seasons ago), and it is going to form a colony if it stays healthy. Just slight tip dieback. My Austins took a real beating this winter. I don't like to swipe stuff, but I did this one, and drove by the other day and the bush appears to be history.

I'm no expert, but I do put multiple cuttings under a single Mason jar since some may not "take," not because I aim for a fuller bush. I try to space cuttings under a jar so I have a chance to separate individual roses' root systems, which limits the number under a single jar. (No one has told me the minimum recommended spacing between cuttings, so in my ignorance I settled on 1-1/2 inches apart or so.) If more than one makes it, I plan to try to move the extras to allow healthy root expansion. I get more cuttings, and taller ones, under a "sun tea" jar than a canning jar. When I first started using Mason jars, I found they overheated and killed the cuttings unless they were in either natural shade (north side of an existing bush) or protected from direct sun by a strategically-placed piece of lumber. I started by relying on natural shade, which meant I rooted some cuttings in spots where I don't want mature plants, so they will need to be transplanted later. But if I shade the jar with something so it does not get too much direct sun, I can try rooting right where I want the mature plants to grow. From my reading, to get an apparently bushier rose one should choose a variety that has a relatively compact growth habit (at least in mature width, if not height, which can be controlled by pruning) - not a climber or sprawler. David Austin recommends planting his roses in groups of 3 or 5, with individual plants spaced not closer than about 1-1/2 feet apart. Hope this helps, from one learner to another. Rick