Linda, Thank you for asking. Yes, I confess. I love cannas. In my climate, there are only a few people I know that can leave them in the ground year round and I consider them magicians with microclimates. The rest of us must store them over winter somehow. I prefer not to dig mostly out of laziness. You are exactly right about the bubble pack and brown paper. Brown paper for darkness and bubble pack to provide some insulation since my garage is not heated. Once they all green up, I will pull out all the brown dead leaves from last year and clean them up. In late May, they will be able to stay outside all day. For now, the canna trolley it is. I also gave them some kelp water about every 3rd water. And this year, I gave them a sprinkle of milorganite because I read that it can give you huge cannas. I don't know all the variety names that I have. I never really kept track. I do know that I have Bengal Tiger which I bought last year and a yellow one called Harvest Yellow. I actually found that out by posting on this forum which was so fun! I have a red one, a hot pink one, and I have a dwarf variety as well. The pots are pretty full and I should probably divide. I did divide the yellow one last fall so I'm waiting to see how that turned out before dividing others. I don't have the best pictures of mine, but promise to try to get better photos this year. Harvest Yellow - photo taken August 2016 (this one blooms really late)

Marlene, you will love gardening in the Bay Area. My only advice (as much has been proferred already) is to think "Mediterranean". California has the most extreme of the 5 Mediterreanean climates in the world, with the longest dry season, from April to November (though this year was very odd, with some rain into early June). What will prosper are the winter-growing plants, which excludes virtually everything you are used to in Michigan. Even some mediterraneans that grow back East, such as lavender or acanthus, become summer dormant and winter/spring active here in their native climate. Water is a big, big issue and it's only going to get bigger, so it's best to start from the beginning thinking "low or no water". The East Bay Municipal Utility District (which serves some of the areas you mention) has a great book you should buy: Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates (http://www.ebmud.com/conserving_&_recycling/plant_book/default.htm) that can get you started on appropriate plants. And there's hundreds of native California plants that will allow you to use no summer water at all. Energy is a big issue here. California is 49% dependent on natural gas for electricity generation, and as you may have read, natural gas production in North America has peaked, so prices are going to keep going up. That means electricity and natural gas for heating are going to get much more expensive. The state, however, is proactive, and you can get rebates on many energy-efficient appliances and lighting products (the ones that are Energy Star rated). And of course, don't forget succulents. They are generally cute little houseplants back East but they are great outdoor garden plants here. And about as drought-tolerant as you will find. Happy moving! David

Straw wrote: "Khalid: Your roses look very good in high heat, nice colors and healthy foliage. My Just Joey looks really bad, blooms bleached out to beige, so I don't even post pics. I might move it to partial shade for better color. We are in hot & dry phase, up to 90 F, or 32 C." Straw: 90*F is not high heat for roses in my view. I mean in this temperature, my roses were performing very well. Could there be other (primary) reason for your Just Joey or any other rose not performing that well. I am not sure if 90*F alone is enough to cause deterioration in performance of a particular cultivar. I mean some mineral deficiency / excess or some issue with the soil that gets amplified due to rise in temp? Or could it be that my roses have slowly been acclimatized to perform better in heat? Just trying to understand what could be the reason for my Just Joey being quite yellow in 105*F and your's turning beige in 90*F. best regards PS: Sam, did you see the photos of Rose Biomes posted above? Jess: Alec's Red hasn't impressed me much. It is almost completely non fragrant since the temps rose above 100*F and is blooming sparsely. When I compare it's performance with many other roses, I would rate it quite low with regards to performance in summers though it performs much better when it is cooler. Sorry no experience of growing Christopher Columbus. I haven't actually seen it here.

It is still dormant. Watch putting her in the direct sun real fast. We had that hot week and then this cool one. Do you have a sunny window to put her in. It is going to take awhile till you see much change. Once she is use to the sun she will love it out there. Most say to plant them with about 2" all the way around from the caudex to the pot. A lot of people here like about 4 to 6" of pot below. I use a bonsai pot so as to keep a smaller tree. It would grow in this pot for a very long time. But it likes tight roots. Since our nights can be cool bring it in when it is below 50. We are suppose to be warming up. Remember you can have a micro climate in your area so you will have to judge that the soil is draining and damp. not soggy. When your up against the hills the temps, humidity and breezes can very. I grew up in Niles. so I know the various weather the bay gets. Just keep a look out for caudex that gives or branches that get odd spots on them. I am guessing your tree is about 4 months old. But I may be wrong. With all the great heat you will be having soon. The roots will build them selves up and start pushing out leaves. My young ones do it slowly. I have even seen some throw a bloom before our Oct weather turns cold. Give it as much light as you can when in the house. But don't let the window glass burn the skin. Be patient with it. It grows at it's own rate. When it is older you can learn to shape and graft on it if you want.