The whole growing under glass was a major trend in the mid/late 1800's, both in the northeast US and in northern Europe. For peaches the extra heat afforded in the summer under glass helped ripening times, same for grapes and citrus. It was a rich persons hobby apparently, along with race horses etc. As far as (re)-learning old lessons from these books, that one cuts both ways. There is a ton of knowledge that got lost over the years so there is a lot we can (re)-learn from them, but on the other hand they had some significant misconceptions, for example they talk on and on about this supposed disease called "peach yellows" which is now believed to just be nutritional. Re: the late summer pruning I also believe the old authors have that one right. I should pull out a few of these old books and re-read them, I was reading many of them 4-5 years ago but have not done too much lately. Check out Wright's Fruit Grower's Guide, thats one of my favorites. Fruitnut, you would enjoy reading the long sections on growing fruit under glass. I also learned a lot from their pruning descriptions, it is surprising how advanced their pruning methods were 150 years ago. Scott

mcantrel and petiolaris are right- just as they always are. LOL! yes they do need a dormancy, disstled and/ or rainwater. NO TAPWATER! tapwater contains salts and chemicals which should, no, WILL kill your plants. the potting mixture should be peat and sphagnum moss. you probably dont know that vfts have a bulb, so dont be worried if you see a big ball type thing on the bottom of your plant. Happy new year! ~tropichris

Mara, But you're a perfect 8B, surely! I often listen to 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered', usually by Ella, when repotting Gasterias. It also puts me in a betwixt and between space, which helps a lot when you're dealing with northern top dressing. aseedi, That's a good way to describe it - rather than crack in cold-but-not-as-cold-as-us weather, it spalls (full disclosure - gears, as in wind turbine generator gearboxes, also spall, but only when they're bad). Calling it flaking is too imprecise. From Wikipedia - Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball bearing). Spalling and spallation both describe the process of surface failure in which spall is shed. ---------------end quoted text---------------------- And I love the observation 'Each place has its charm, though very different.' - ain't that the facts! I was in SanD for 20 years until I came to the Southern Interior of BC almost 6 years ago - even in August, you can feel Ol' Man Winter get near.

Adela Yes, they will mind not getting any light at all. Succulents really need light. Could you possibly get some supplemental lights? I am in Canada, and the winter is long, pretty cold and days short on natural light. I have fluorescent lights, some CFL light strips. It would help a lot if you can group all your succulents in one spot and get them extra light every day. Another question I have is about temps - how warm is it going to be for them during the winter? You mentioned garage - is it warm enough? Some ppl have heated garage, I am not that lucky and my plants would freeze in the garage. For the soil, it would help if you lighten it up. Many of us use mix with added grit, perlite, turface, some use scoria or pumice. There are more inorganic materials that can be used. Try not to use sand (as is sometimes recommended on the net) unless it is really coarse (usually sold as Horticultural sand). Fine particles will clog up the air space - plants need good air circulation too - and roots may 'suffocate'; the soil gets waterlogged, and the rot may happen. If you can't get anything else, get at least bag of perlite and add a lot of it into your potting soil (50%, even more of total volume would do). It may sound too much but if you get some lights and well draining soil, there will be great difference in your plants health. Rina