I have two citrus trees in containers, one tangerine and one lime. Let me preface that I have no experience in growing these other than the last 6 months when I got them and put them in their container. Your climate is probably pretty close to mine. I have put my citrus in my workshop when it is really cold (below 35 degrees) and left the fluorescent lights on 24 hours. I have 4 tangerines on the tree and it is about to bloom again and too many to count limes. Having said that them may not stay on the tree until harvest. Only time will tell. If I were getting lights, I would get the highest watt LED flood lights with as high as possible light temp, 6500K if you can find it. I think I saw 135 watt equivalent at Lowe's. They are not cheap, $35. Put it as close a possible to the plant with a reflector as mentioned above. Heat should not be a problem with LED. If you don't want the LED then put as many CFL around it as possible. I'd leave the lights on 24 hours. I put my plants outside when possible (above 35 degrees). Today is suppose to be 57 degrees but 2 weeks ago it was 2 degrees. Again, I don't really know what I'm doing but so far it is working. Probably beginners luck. Van (those are avocados in the other containers and they are blooming as well).

I love ROUGE ROYALE because it is a top notch cut flower. As you can see from the images the quartered flower form is utter perfection. Never is a petal out of place. The blooms are also H-U-G-E! I've seen flowers that were the size of my outstretched hand. Amazing. The color is phenomenal: a rich ruby red that doesn't "blue" like so many other dark red Hybrid Teas. Then there is the petal texture: velvety on the top with a satiny reverse. Absolutely, positively gorgeous. Petals are also stiff with substance. Properly conditioned cut flowers will easily last a week in a vase. Loooooooong straight, strong stems. And don't get me started on the fragrance: intense and complex, rivaling such classics as General Jacqueminot and Souvenir du Docteur Jamain. The burgundy turned dark green leathery foliage is a perfect foil for the sumptuous flowers and the bush has a nice shape to boot. Trust me folks, this is THE true red reproduction rose we've all been looking for. If I had the room I'd grow five of these smoldering beauties.

Natal~ Creole varieties of garlic are more suited to warmer climates aren't they, I wouldn't mind trying one although I don't know how well they'd grow up here. That's quite a nice selection of tomatoes you grow, I just grow Celebrity, haven't found an heirloom, open pollinated, determinate variety to take it's place yet. I'm slowly switching over to all heirloom varieties so I can keep my own seed. Christine~ Cherokee Purple tomatoes sound yummy, DH thinks tomatoes don't taste like tomatoes unless they're red LOL but, if I find the seed I just might try a plant. Treelover~ I'm going to plant some lettuce today, I save seed from a Croatian lettuce given to me some years back, it is now our favorite lettuce, it will germinate, grow a smidge sit throughout the winter and produce beautiful lettuce for us in march, replant more seed to come a little later. I grew white spanish onions from seed one year, they were so mild and almost sweet, yummy. Nancy~ If you don't find a source for different garlics besides Salt Spring Seeds I found another mail order source in BC that has an extensive list of garlic varieties. Glenda~ Darn varmints, I was waiting for a report on how good you montreal melon tasted, they're supposed to be sooooo good. I think I'd be sitting guard with a shot gun, what a disappointment :o(. Betty~ Granny Cantrell tomatoes are they a determinate or indeterminate tomato? They sound delicious, another I'd like to try. Still looking for a good one to replace the Celebrity I grow, being a hybrid saving seed is out. Annette

rcantor: From your list I have Celadine, Pacific Pearl, Singapore, Cancun Dreams, and Gardenia and will comment on each. Take it with a grain of salt though, since I am VERY new at this. Celadine- I agree with everyone else... you should really get one. The fragrance is unforgettable, flowers last for days (hence why it is THE lei flower), and the plant is definitely my hardiest, easiest keeper. I wish I would have started with a Celadine; it's an "ego boost" plumeria. Other than Thumbalina (Laura- ::wink-wink:: LOVE!), Celadine gives me the most satisfaction. A deer chewed off a branch a few weeks ago and it's putting out two new tips at that spot. I guess what I'm trying to say is its tough to mess up a Cellie. Bug resistant too. Pacific Pearl- They're not super fancy, but I really like the two I have. The scent is very nice; clean and sweet, no hint of lemon in my opinion (whereas Celadine is a bit lemony to me). Mine are around 2.5' now, but I fear they will get pretty tall. Both flowered last year and one branched three times, the other is rocketing up, and up, and up, with no sign of an inflo this year. Cancun Dreams- I had two but one got CRAZY killer black tip last winter. It was dead practically over night. The other one is my slowest to wake up. Only three leaves on its single, very slow growing, tip. It hasn't flowered. Not my favorite. Gardenia- This was my first plumeria; our one year anniversary was on June 6th =). It had an old inflo that stuck on and was all woody when I got it. This spring it started branching out off the side of the inflo. I ended up cutting it off since it was growing at a weird angle and looked kind of ugly. The plant has improved as a result, and is leafing out nicely. The leaves are very pointy at the end (I like this), but seem more bug prone than others. The trunk is glossy green with a nice texture. Hands down my favorite trunk (weird that I've ranked them, isn't it?). No inflo on this one either. Singapore- I have Dwarf Singapore Pinks... I'm 99.99% sure (they were NOIDs). I rescued 5 from Home Depot and just LOVE these little bitty plumeria! They're all between 8 and 12" tall and have between 4 and 10 tips, more of a bush than a tree. They would make a very attractive hedge... wish I had bought more of em. No inflos on these yet, but with nearly 30 tips between 5 plants I have hope! Andrew, you're spot on. DSPs are totally under appreciated. Maybe we should start a fan club? Anyways, I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions let me know! Rachel