zachi- I'll give you some advice, but maybe not what you wanted. I've seen the offerings of the bamboo seeds you listed on eBay, and most of them come from outside the U.S. If so, you're violating federal importation regulations, and possibly exposing U.S. strains of bamboo to diseases. Those regulations apply to both bamboo plants and seeds. Having said that, your bamboo should do fine in your Zone, but it will take many years for the seedlings to get full size. I have some bamboo started from seeds 4 years ago and they're not 3' high yet. If you're interested in having decent size bamboo you should be buying potted divisions, or trading with other bamboo collectors, which is how those of us who are bamboo nuts get most of our plants. Growing from seed is a fun sideline, but it takes a long time, and, since bamboo flower and put out seed very infrequently, you can't find seeds for most species as you can for other plants. Here is a link that might be useful: Bamboo import and quarantine

Yes, every buddah I have came from Mike. Go look in the exchange under my name and I have many pics posted.

I have one that came from Lowes, probably 4 years ago. I had never protected it in the winter until last year,(2 nights of 24*). This past freeze I moved it close to the house in a sheltered area and it still looks the same as it did three weeks ago, loaded with fruit and still blooming. One of my few bright spots. It was 21* four nights in a row here. So if I were you, I wouldn't give up on it. My experience with other frozen citrus is that it may take 2 months or more to start putting out new growth. Be careful not to overwater. john

-cc, I do not deny that perhaps I should not have so high a standard when judging a book. Perhaps I even throw in too many own thoughts. But opinions are not biased if the facts and ideas have been carefully weighed. You can be both unbiased and opinionated. It is unjust not to try to understand the author. But it is also unjust to deny oneself of having an opinion. If I were an author I would want my readers to say what they really thought and not what they 'ought' to think. One should also say more than just "I liked it", or "I didn't like it". They should be able to explain WHY they did or did not like it. It is not quite fair to judge another persons understanding of classical literature (or any literature) only on the books they did not like. If I was biased always to the modern view then I would not have liked and understood Anna Karenina, Vanity Fair, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Bleak House, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (& Tom Sawyer), Jane Eyre, The Beautiful and the Damned, Northanger Abbey, and David Copperfield (to a certain degree, not quite as much as Bleak House). And the list goes on. If I had been only of a modern mindset I would not have understood some of the points made in Mansfield Park (taking that particular book just as an example). I would not have understood how important marriage was back then for a woman, how important inheritances were, and the class issues of that place and time. Nor could I have picked up on some of the subtle feelings the characters had (that many people had then). Can one not appreciate a book without liking everything in it? Can one not be inspired by the message without liking how it is carried out? And can they not understand the meaning of the author without agreeing? I do not like Dicken's writing and certain other things. I do think he provides good insight into the poverty and class differences of that time. Those are both subjects I find fascinating. I did not like all of what Hardy did (though I liked the underlying plot) but I can say that he was revolutionary in his themes. He was ahead of his time. But everything is open to interpretation. Hope you all have a good day. CMK