daylily77, I think that bulbs do need to be a bit moist whenever the weather is above freezing (think "moist, well-drained soil" as they say). I think if they really dry out they won't perform well and may even die. You want to mimic the amount of precipitation they'd get if they were in the ground as, for instance, the light rains that often come in late winter or early spring. I've never heard of actually putting the pots in plastic bags or otherwise covering with plastic to conserve water. I would worry a lot that they'd rot without any opportunity to dry out a little once in a while, especially if they go through stretches of being wet AND cold at the same time. I think they'd also need some ventilation, especially on warm days. What I HAVE heard of, and then tried with success, is wrapping the outsides of pots in bubblewrap, leaving the soil surface exposed. All you need to worry about is keeping the soil from freezing through, and bubblewrap should do it. I suspect that toomanyanimals might be refering to summer-flowering bulbs like cannas and croscosmias (not technically bulbs but rhizomes and corms, respectively). These should be brought indoors and allowed to dry out in their pots, and they will resume growth when you begin to water them in late winter or early spring. Some are a bit tricky, though. Cannas seem to need a bit of moisture from time to time, but letting them get soggy in a warm room will likely kill them (rot, again). Some others - like sweet potato vine tubers and zantedeschia (calla lilies) corms - should be "lifted" and kept barely moist in milled peat or a similar light medium. And by the way, I forgot to mention that true lilies do GREAT with the methods recommended above for spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and the like). cranebill, again

Cindee, here are a few citrus trees to get you started and are conducive to containers. Citrus is very conducive to containers because of their fiberous roots. CHINOTTO ORANGE As cold hardy as a satsuma and extremely ornamental. Beautiful, fine textured, small pointed leaves closely spaced on a dense dwarf tree. Spring brings millions of sweetly scented blossoms after which the trees turn a solid orange color with tight clusters of medium sized oranges. The fruit is very juicy and tangy. Makes a delicious orange juice. Used in Spain to make candied oranges. Self-fertile. Zones 8A-10 MID SWEET ORANGE A sweet orange close to the pineapple orange. Medium sized and holds well on the tree-- a great dooryard fruit! Self fertile. Zones 8BB-10. SWEET DREAMS ORANGE Sweet Dreams is a sport of Valencia, and much resembles its very popular parent in quality and size, as well as ripening time (Feb. thru June). However, Sweet Dreams is dressed to impress, being stunningly variegated, with stripes of creamy white highlighting both the foliage and the fruit. Because of its late ripening, we consider this one to be a container citrus here in our zone. Self fertile. Zones 9-10 SWEET LULANA LEMON Make your own PINK lemonade. The highly unusual foliage is splashed with white and green. Fruit looks like striped watermelon when it's immature. Skin turns yellow when ripe. Flesh and juice are pink. Container grown in nothern climates. Self fertile. Zones 9-10. FINGER LIMES Very unusual, ancient form of citrus. Slow growing dwarf trees with tiny, densly packed leaves. Fruit is banana-shaped. To harvest, split the pods open. Out spring hundreds of tiny lime juice-filled bubbles. They separate easily and are fantastic spinkled in salads, pie or cocktails. Self-fertile. Zones 9-10 LIMEQUAT Cold hardy limes! Limequats are derived from breeding the Mexican Lime with the cold hardy kumquat. The results are a thin-skinned lime, very much in flavor and character of a Florida Key Lime. The highly productive trees bear limes year round. They make one of the finest container plants for the patio gardener. Self fertile. Zones 8B-10 RANGPUR LIME Super cold hardy limes! Small, compact trees produce beautiful red-fleshed limes much like Key Limes in size and flavor. Self fertile. Zones 8B-10. RED LIME Super cold hardy limes (even a little better than Rangpur)! Small, compact trees produce beautiful red-fleshed limes much like Key Limes in size and flavor. This is a rare find. Self fertile. Zones 8A-10. MARUMI KUMQUAT Small, thin-skinned orange kumquat on a on a rounded, small tree. Juicy, tangy fruit that sweetens up after frost. A little known variety, back for the first time in several years. Self fertile. Zones 8A-10. NAGAMI KUMQUAT Long and oval shaped, a fruit of a light golden color. Tree habit is identical to the Meiwa variety, lush and compact. This variety is most prized for the beauty of the fruit and the delicious preserves and marmalades made from it. Kumquats make beautiful low hedges or container plants. Self-fertile. Self fertile. Zones 8A-10 NIPPON ORANGEQUAT Orangequats are a hybrid between oranges and kumquats. They are eaten in the same way as a kumquat (skin and all). Orangequats are larger, with a thick, tender sweet skin and a juicy, sour center. The trees are extremely cold hardy and small, making them an ideal container or hedge plant. Self fertile. Zones 8A-10. THOMASVILLE CITRANGEQUAT Developed around the turn of the century to satisfy the lust for citrus further north, it's one of the most cold hardy of all, even more so than kumquats: down to at least 10F. Beautiful tear-drop shaped fruits are highly ornamental and stay looking pretty on the tree for a very long time. Juicy and tart, they're delicious as a lime substitute (make ceviche!) or marmalade (make toast!). Self fertile. Zones 8A-10. BUDD BLOOD ORANGE This variety was bred in Florida, and bears well in our humid climate. Fresh squeezed juice is blood red in color, with a strawberry-orange flavor. Ripens earlier than other varieties of blood oranges. Self-fertile. Self fertile. Zones 9-10.

evonnestoryteller - I really goofed! I thought I was in the California Gardening discussion in Garden Web! So sorry, as now I see that most of LB posters are in colder climates. Lucky Bamboo is grown outdoors mostly in Southern CA, whereas I'm in Northern CA, which is why I was asking the question about N/S exposure. Thanks for responding anyway. I'll repost in the CA discussion.

I had the same thing happen to a Fig tree. I couldn't get that little thing to grow more than 2-3 leaves. Finally, someone told me to move it to part shade, and douse it with Miracle Grow. When I tried to move the pot, I dropped it fast! I needed pot holders to move it! I was cooking the roots! It has recovered nicely, and is really growing big! If your pots need to stay where they are, painting them white could help, watering more often, and you could drape shade cloth over them (tacky looking..I know), but shade cloth is an amazing invention!! Good luck! Suzi