What they told you at the garden center is correct. Pups should be at least 1/3 the size of the mother plant, and for more difficult species the bigger the better. You don't say what kind you have, so it's hard to tell from the size how close to mature your pups were, but by your own description I'd say that was too soon. Maybe you could glue them back on and see if they'll grow some more! Okay, no, that won't work. There's a chance they may make it, depending on what type it is, but even a tough species (like some of the Aechmeas, for example) will grow very slowly if it's not mature enough. If it was a Guzmania or something a bit more touchy like that, then kiss them goodbye. :-( If the mother is still alive you should be able to get at least one more out of her, though.

Our winters are drier than coastal Californian winters. We normally get our rains spread out throughout the year with heavier fall and May/june rains. It can rain any time or not at all. Mostly it is zone 9. The lowest it got last year was was 26 degrees. We are also very warm with an occasional sharp swing down for three days. Our normal lows are in the 40's in December and January with a occasion arctic blast that could take us down to 19 but hasn't for several years. I am still experiencing lows in the 60's. Our rainfall can vary from 34" to 11" per year. When it is really cold it is very dry. I have studied Daves Garden , Arid lands and San Marcus growers hardiness estimates and that is why I am taking a chance. I live in the uplands of the area and drainage is almost too much. Many plants live on my land that do not reside downhill. It is also colder downhill. I have many Zone 9 plants living unprotected. I have a gorge that starts on my property that drains off the cold and deposits it 4 miles away in a friends backyard. She can be 24 degrees and I will be above freezing still. She is at 700' above sea level and I am at 1400'. I guess it is all about micro climates. I am still figuring this one out. I hear about the popularity of Aloes in Californian landscaping and Texas seems similar in some respects but lags far behind in testing these plants out. I am only now figuring out how Californian winters and summers differ from mine and trying to make judgements about plants that would or would not work here.. I have some friends in and around California and this year I have been following their weather on Weatherunderground and comparing highs and lows with me. Yes, I am obsessive. I do have freeze cloths. They do work wonders. I guess I am one to take chances.

I had a Sago Palm a few years back and it started sprouting "pups" off the side of the trunk. I just broke them off by hand and planted them in potting soil and they took root. Made nice gifts at xmas time. The parent plant suffered no damage and continued to grow. It got so big I had to give it to someone who had a 2 story living room with large windows. I'm sure they did not appreciate it as much as I did but sagos won't grow outside in my area without lots of protection. Too bad because it sure was a beauty and needed so little care otherwise.

tbean, you write that "most of them (fruits) dropped off for some reason." It is totally normal that the tree discarded many of the new small fruits. A citrus tree will retain only the amount of fruit that it is capable of bring to maturity. If every flower on a citrus tree produced fruit, and if every fruit stayed attached to the tree, a citrus tree would be crushed under its own weight. Generally, only 1 to 3 percent of the total amount of flowers that a citrus tree produces, will ever produce fruit that remains attached to the tree until maturity. - Silica