Arthurm: our "cold" means possibly an hour or two near freezing, and typically since we are sandwiched between the river and the ocean it never gets quite that cold. Cold enough to irritate orchids, and spot up a few leaves, but they tend to survive. I have too many orchids to round them up and bring them in for a freeze, but this little guy was one of my very first so i think he's in for special treatment.

No worries, we're all here to help each other, no payment required. The only pointers is pretty much what I said above: bottom water, weak solution of cammomile tea, some air circulation and lights once the sprout peeks out of the soil. I would pot up those toms to a larger container. And I would take off all but the tip-top leaves and bury the rest so roots will grow from the junction where you cut off the leaves. Sometimes I will lay the plant on it's side but if you can find a deep enough container, just set it in straight up. Hope that makes sense. I have had excellent results with FoxFarm potting soils. For new transplants I like Happy Frog and for established, or hearty plants, Ocean Forst. I get it at the hydro store, Sea of Green at the north side of Bell Road just east of I-17. They also have some nice *square* containers in varying sizes. Stuff is not cheap there but it's good quality. There's another store in Tempe. HTH and be sure to keep us posted.

What a sweet lady to do that for you!

I do not normally use dried galangal, as I keep a supply of frozen galangal in the freezer, but I have used it on occasion. I was going to write some instructions on how to use it, but did not get around to it before I sent the package. I did not expect the package to reach you until tomorrow! I normally boil the dried galangal and/or soak it for a long time in the fridge (like overnight) and then strain it out. Even when I use fresh galangal, I remove it unless it is pureed into a paste - it has the texture of rope and is extremely fibrous. If you puree it after boiling/soaking it, you may still have to strain out the fibers, before using the liquid. It will give off its flavor when simmered in a soup. I also strain out lemon grass when I cook with that and remove the kaffir lime leaves before serving. Galangal does have a very distinctive flavor that is different from ginger although somewhat similar. Anyway, it will be yet another flavor for you to experiment with. Dried galangal is a fairly good substitute for fresh - at least the flavor is closer than ginger. The lime leaves are probably fresher than what you would find in a store - I picked them on Sunday. You may want to freeze some of them, as Agmss recommended.