Thanks a lot for the compliment Bananafan! I appreciate it! I definitely try to make the best of my climate. Luckily there is a lot of moisture year round by me so that does give me the opportunity to grow a lot of vegetation. Every year I get more and more species of plants, it's hard to keep up with them all after a while, but so far I've managed pretty well. Not sure what purple sedum you are referring to (is it the purple heat vine?), but that, the arborvitae and the passion vine are all cold hardy here so they are one of the easier plants for me to grow! Arborvitaes are a little bit overused here so I'd rather have something else in my yard other than them, but they look nice and are expensive (and just as expensive to dig up and replace) so I'll be probably be keeping them for many more years! The passion vine is probably my favorite bloom. Not only is it cold tolerant, but it's a fast grower too. I got it as a small plant for 2 dollars at a local nursery in July 2010. Now they cover a huge portion of my pool fence and there are seedlings popping up around my yard (they dont seem too invasive though). I know that the Pacific Northwest has some of the best gardening in the country and it is definitely cool year round so I would agree that cool climates are actually great for a lot of flowering plants! It gets pretty hot by me in the summer so that does limit the number of flowers I can grow a little bit.

Tree ferns are NOT easy! I grow majesty palms without any problems (I let the one in my picture above die this year and brought 2 other smaller ones inside since those are greener). My majesty palms dry out pretty often and as long as they get a good soaking before it's too late, they dont mind at all. With tree ferns if it's not always moist (but never standing in water) then it will die. I also have a hard time finding tree ferns here (the good local nurseries have them at expensive prices) so when I went to San Diego and found a beautiful Dicksonia antarctica for only $20, I had to get it. It was really expensive to ship so I made sure that it was getting the best care I could give it. October came and it was mild and dry and I forgot to water it for 2 days. I figured it wouldnt be a problem because it was in full shade almost all day long, but it declined fast! I thought it was going to die, but it started making fronds again last spring and now the fronds are slowly getting back to their normal size. I'd imagine that they are a lot easier to care for in the ground than as potted plants, if you ever do get a tree fern make sure you keep them well watered. They are great plants though so I do recommend giving them a try! Here was my Dicksonia Antarctica at it's best back in the summer of 2011. It is much smaller than this now, but hopefully it will look like this again by the end of this summer!

HELP please! I bought a beautiful Majesty palm at Lowes 2 days ago and even though I've watered it the leaf tips are starting to turn yellow. It's over 5 feet all and I haven't repotted it yet although I suspect I will have to since I believe the roots are growing over the top. Nevertheless, I've watered it well and even stuck watering spikes and still I see the yellowing tips increasing. I need some help (PLEASE!); advice and/ or lessons as I'm really a novice - this IS MY 3rd palm and I'm getting really discouraged. I realize I don't have high lighting but where I found this palm was among a bunch of other palms, shades and In the indoor plant area. I believe i lost the other 2 because of my inexperience, I repotted them in a pot more than twice larger and they died....(I found out only later that too big a pot is only a death trap!) So, questions : should I leave this palm in its own pot and leave it where it is right now so as to give it time to acclimate itself to that area of my house or should I repot it tomorrow to a pot just a size larger? I am misting it every morning since I bought it 2 days ago (I just learned here I have to put a 50/50 alcohol water which I will start to do) but still the leaf tips are turning yellow FAST!! I really hate to lose another one....please help! Lastly, I Iive in Oyster Creek, Texas and I've always thought that Lowes or Home Depot carry plants that are for these neighborhoods, am I wrong? i really can't lug this plant to and from the shower simply because it's too tall, can't I just leave it where it is? although I could roll it out my back porch to spray it with a water hose but is all this moving around doing it any good? THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Not an easy species, despite their popularity! Keep on the cooler side..., should be easier in Toronto than here in the States (as we tend to over do everything..., including the indoor/dry heat). Also, they need constant water..., unlike most palms. Use a sandy, well-draining soil but remember, THEY LOVE WATER!