Pruning depends on your goals. Do you want the trunk to fatten up. Do you want it to be bushy or have only a few main trunks that are very prominent, or do you want it more like a tree with a single trunk with a ball of leaves at the top? Yours right now to me is more of the second with a few main trunks that are very prominent. If you want to keep that look, I would take about 1/4 to a 1/3 of the length of each main trunk. I personally like them bushier. I would take a little more than half the length off of each trunk and cut each limb off the main trunks back to about 1-1 1/2" stump off the trunk. If it is otherwise healthy, I would also defoliate it. Where the leaves come off, it will send out shoots kind of like you see on the right trunk in the bottom picutre. This would give the plant a lot more bushiness. This also allows for smaller leaves and a more compact looking plant (if it is getting enough sun). And, of course, that is the last thing. When you can, put it out in the sun. They grow happier in the sun. By the end of summer, your plant will fill out and be a lot sturdier. Of course, this is all opinion. With jade, you can chop it back to two inch stumps abover the soil and it will live.

I'd like to clarify some of the confusion regarding the "fuse-grafting techniques, and training methods that I have used on some trees. I will employ this same method on the fig trees that I have just purchased. I realize that this technique is not for everyone. I just wanted to share this information with you guys. Use it as you wish. "Fuse-grafting" techniques DO NOT involve cutting into the healthy bark so that the cambium layers can be aligned. No wounds are created by this technique so no insects or diseases will enter or infect the trunks being joined. No special follow-up treatments are needed. It is not labor-intensive. Once the stems are joined together, just follow your regular fig growing routines. The mainstems are simply screwed together to create a fatter, and stronger "trunk". The "composite-trunk" will not be weak, nor will they pull apart. The screwheads will quickly be covered over with new bark, and in time, you will not be able to tell that the heavy, fat trunk was at one time, made up of individual stems. This "grafting" will take a few years, and the spaces between the individual trunks will fill in and smooth over with new bark. Your trees will look like a bundle of tied-up cornstalks for a while so be patient. In addition, this method consolidates plant material which would normally be grown in separate containers. I do not have the space to grow individual trees, so I needed to find a way to grow my fig trees in one container. Fuse-grafting to the rescue. Now I'll have three times the plant material growing in one place ... and maybe three times the figs too. I also like seeing trees with short, fat, trunks with lots of taper supporting a nice rack of ramified branchlets. More branches, more nodes, more nodes, more figs. This preference is a hold-over from my bonsai days. Large diameter trunks convey age and endurance. Exposed rootage does too. I like thinking outside the box. I know that this training method might be too unconventional for some, but I'm going to try it out to see how well it works...or, fails. Wintering-over will still be a problem for me. I have an unheated shed where I stored some fig trees over the winter '06. The trees did OK. I'm hoping for the same results with my new trees. I've also read that fig trees can be brought into a heated room to break dormancy about a month before they are ready to be grown outside. For my zone, this would probably be around mid, to late April. I'll try bringing my trees in on Tax Day and I'll put them outside around Mother's Day. I read that it takes about two weeks for dormancy to break and for buds to swell, and, at least another two weeks before the new leaves start suffer from low light. Any thoughts...pro or con?

I've only used it once for grubs so far. I didn't want to soak any pots with poison and I know when it comes to bugs,if you see 10 there are 100 you don't see. it was a last resort... I think it got them all because the plant is trying to grow new leaves and buds. The only way I could really tell if I got them all would be to dig up the plant and see if there are any grubs in the soil.Which I won't be doing. I don't know if it kills any bugs but it sure makes them not want to be in the soil anymore as long as the cord is plugged in. Someone told me that you used to be able to buy worm zappers but somebody sued someone or the product was considered unsafe so they were told to stop making and selling them by the feds or whoever keeps tabs on such things. When the grubs were in that pot I'd see the plant leaning over every once in a while.When I'd check it out I'd see where the grub came up and dig one up.On that side of the plant there would be no roots at all left.I'm sure the grub was probably chowing downfor a while before it did enough damage to be noticable by me. Now I have cricket problems.They eat the outside layer off the stems of my plants until they die. With small plants it looks like a miniture beaver was eating my plants.They ate enough sten to make the plant fall over then they ate the leaves. They especially like Manzanos for some reason. A lot of my plants are scared all the way up the trunks where the crickets have eaten off the outer layer of the stems. I tried cricket bait but they eat that for desert. The bugs in my garden are real happy. I give them regular showers with insect soap so they are nice and clean. Then I powder their little behinds with DE or boric acid powder so they don't chafe. I shine up their shells with neem oil so they look nice and shiney so they can attract a mate and make a bunch of babies that also eat up my pepper plants... Now I'm also giving them electroshock therapy to solve all their mental problems which might interfere with their ability to eat and reproduce as much as the can. A happy bug is a hungry bug that is just about to munched all my pepper plants down to bare stems.

First thing, ALL 1992 Civics are fuel injected, so flooding is not the issue. Very common failure in older Hondas is the MFR (Main Fuel Relay) When the vehicle won't start, turn the ignition ON (but don't start the engine) and listen for the fuel pump. It will make a slight humming noise from underneath. If you don't hear the fuel pump, your problem is with the MFR. Other common problem that causes a Honda not to start is the distributor. Check to see if you are getting any spark. How much should you worry if the car won't start up right away?>> Personally, I wouldn't worry at all. Chances are, the problem is minor and can be fixed relatively cheap. Are there other things that are "likely" to go wrong soon just due to the car being 13 years old?>> With only 91,000 miles, I wouldn't expect anything to go wrong... but I would expect to have to put some maintenance into the vehicle. Many parts that don't last forever. These include hoses, belts, fluids, gaskets, seals, brakes, sensors, etc. These are things that you will have to have serviced on ANY vehicle. Hondas are very reliable vehicles and will generally require less than the average in repairs during their lifetime. Their 4-cylinder engines have been proven time after time to remain solid and reliable even with high mileage. With only 91,000 miles, I can assume that it has plenty of life left to give... especially considering the service it's been given throughout the last 13 years. Continue with the service you've been doing, and also keep tabs on the CV axle boots. Replace them if they've never been replaced. The boots are relatively cheap and not difficult to replace. It will be MUCH cheaper than having to replace the entire cv axle if the boot splits. If they are already split, it's too late. CV xles are about $60 each from your local Auto Parts store and any half-way decent mechanic can replace them. Sometimes the plastic radiators have a tendency to crack along the upper tank and leak. Keep tabs on the radiator every time you have the oil changed or do an inspection under the hood every 3k miles. Radiators are about $80 for your Civic. If you haven't already, get those hoses and belts replaced! Also check for oil leaks underneath. Only driving the vehicle short distances and then leaving it sit for long periods of time plays hell on the gaskets/seals. Thats about it. I've got a 1981 Honda Civic wagon nearing 70k miles than I tool around town in (bought Christmas of 04 w/ 59k miles) I did the basics, and it's been running like champ ever since. My highway commuter is a 1996 Honda Accord, which has rolled over 220,000 miles and still going stronger than ever. Good luck.