Does your plant have a tag? Certain Phals can take cool temps better than others. Your temps are low especially during the day. My opinion on spikes is to cut them off. Those old spikes might produce a bloom here and there but it will never look good. They will get straggley and ugly. Cut them back to the crown and let the plant make new growth over the summer. It will grow leaves and roots and you should get new spikes in the fall. Your temps are low for these plants. I would increase the sunlight during the day to warm them. Night temps are okay as long as they are warm during the day. I can't see the size pot this plant is in, but you can repot now to encourage new roots. Cut off the old spikes. Jane

Your plant had crown rot. It happens when water gets into the crown and temps are cool. Best to toss the plant and start over. Don't mist phals or get any water in the crown. You could wait and the plant will send up a keki from the stub but, IMO its not worth the trouble to wait a few years for a new plant to grow, unless this was a valuable plant. I'd go shopping. Jane

I wonder if the cedar fence smells like the cedar mulch when you put it down? I love that smell! But like a Christmas tree, it sort of fades over time I suppose. I think you made the right choice to go with the four foot height. When you have a smaller property the higher fence can make it feel too closed in I think. I put up a four foot picket fence on one corner of our property with a gate and I find I go in and out of that gate more than I do the other side of the house that has an 8ft fence. The back of our property faces two properties whose back lot line intersect in the middle of mine, so that expands my view some and gives me a lot more privacy. So I used a post and rail fence there to increase the sense of space. Sometimes that's been a good thing and sometimes not, like when a neighbor parked an old truck on the back of his property for a couple of years. (g) It's gone now thankfully. And adding that arbor will give you a little more privacy but still allow you to view what is beyond the fence. Ingenious. I can't think of a better design decision for that space. No, I meant, in general, if you live in the city, where would you garden, meaning that would be a reason I would like living in the city less, because the gardening opportunities are smaller. I think I knew you were in the Chicago area, are you on a suburban size lot or a city lot? I know it's small. We're on a suburban lot but it's smaller than most in our town. About a 1/4 of an acre I think. Sometimes I think even that is too big for me to keep up with. (g) Alaska, huh? Well, I can see the attraction, but at my age, I don't think I could cope with the unique challenges. When I was younger, I would have very much liked a 'pioneer' experience. I suppose Alaska is not that as much as it used to be though. GORGEOUS part of the country though! I've never been, but would like to go some day.

new to hoyas....is your hoya outside?? if so, can they tolerate such cold weather?(snow). i am sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, as i said, i am new to hoyas. thank you in advance. lisa