Tami Sue - Measure their leaf span - and if it is close to 3 x 3.5" - repot into 3.5 oyama. Oyama mix should be wicking mix plus 1/4 perlite at least. As far as I remember Rob's mix - it is pretty heavy on vermiculite - so I would add 1/3 perlite -and do not forget perlite to fill the bottom piece of the Oyama pot. To be safe - after you repot - be really careful on watering - do not fill reservoir to the upper mark until the plant catches up. In my experience VioletBarn plants with removed bottom leaves - just shoot out in a hurry - they are strong and have good root system. When you will be repooting - use the mold method - we discussed it in a previous post - just put it a bit deeper so you can add soil to cover the neck. My congrats irina

Hi Austin, I agree with K... I would root prune your trees if root bound and then repot in your containers that you have and then plunge them into your container box. This will help your root bound trees as well as giving you the same effect that you had when you set them on the planter box. Then come fall, it will be so much easier to take the containers out and cut the roots that have grown from the original pot and simply store them for the season. No worries about bare rooting and such... Just my Opinion of course!!! Sounds like a great idea to me!!! I have lots of root pruning to do in a few weeks myself..it will be a lot of work, but after it is done we will see how the trees love the attention. ( like going to the Plumie Spa!!! : ) Good Luck with whatever decision you make... Please keep us posted on what you decide to do and take pics of before and after for us!!! We love to see pics!!! Take care, Laura

pharaoh, up until this year, all I did was fertilize once a month with Hawaiian Bud and Bloom. When my rubras lose all their leaves, I then move all my pots to the side of my house, under the eves. The thought was that the warmth of the house would help keep them from damage in really cold weather. So far, it worked out well. When you look at the first picture, that was taken soon after they were planted. I had a real scare because my obtuse all lost most of their leaves! That had never happened before, and I figured it may have been shock, or maybe they just needed to lose some leaves. They bounced back fine. In the winter I watered them about once s month, depending on weather, and how. Much rain we had. I would test the soil to see if it was dry first. At least for me, they do not bloom in the winter, once the inflow "wear out", but they do keep their leaves. I had asked my sister in Hawaii as to whether they have a season where the Singapores normally lose their leaves, she said they do, for what it is worth. Ask Bill what he suggests, but number one I would guess is maybe you watered them too much? Just a guess. I plan on leaving them in the planter this winter, but will be keeping a very close eye on them!

I was also thinking of Stipa tenuis or weeping muhly for texture. A thought occurred to me that the southern exposure , the thermal mass of the cement would make this a good place for semi tender succulent. It would heat up with the low winter light and the overhang would hold the heat over the night, and the eves would protect it from excessive moisture. One could do a columnar cactus , IE a Sagaro cactus or the chilean saguaro like one with minimal need for protecting. Along those lines there is also Pedelanthus macrocarpas. Occasional protecting might still be needed. If you think of ferns , I would go with ferns that are xeric in the chelanthes family (sun ferns) , like C sinuata (wavy cloak fern) or C .lanosa. I have some that have grown in situ for 15 years. If one does not get occasional water in the summer , they curl up and look dead showing their brown under leaf. Then open up silver with water. Mine lived through the 201 drought unwatered. They are a beautiful silver. The wavy cloak fern is native to our area. I have seen a native variety being sold at Plant delights with a name of a Memphis gardener tacked on it. (Jo Levy , I think). Barton Springs Nursery or the Natural gardener carries it in Austin. Living on a totally unwatered garden dependent on water ketchment alone for all your needs makes one understand the dormant period of gardening in the summer. The late summer /fall rains bring so much rebirth. You will garden with nature and that means your garden will look compromised at points. I have learned to live with this periodic lack of green. The golden browns of dry native grasses are the baseline of my yard. They can go from almost grey and bare dirt when it is really droughty to green and flowering in a couple of weeks. It is a whole other way of looking at your yard. How large is your cistern and do you have a grey water zone designed into your system? Have you been to the West Cave Preserve and seen their system?... Another interesting place is Pliny Fisk's Max's Pot east of Austin). They have some interesting ideas on wet gardens using effluent. He does a Friday night gathering/show and tell, or used to.