That is a great example of microclimates JoJo! The time spent at the minimum temperature (minutes, hours, days) plays a big role in what temperatures a plant can survive. So does the amount of water in the plant, and in the soil. Dry plants are much more tolerant of cold compared to wet plants. Plants in the ground can survive colder temperatures than plants in pots. I have found most of my plants can tolerate much lower temperatures than typically listed. These lows are brief, just a few hours at most, and it's at least 20 degrees warmer during the day. So plants that are supposed to not go below the mid-thirties F can tolerate minimum temperatures in the high twenties. Agave ferdinand-regis is listed at both +5, and -12 in the list above. The difference between a minimum average temperature, absolute minimum temperature, and Fahrenheit and Celsius scales is often confused. Minimum temperature listings should be regarded with great suspicion, even when coming from a more or less credible source like Desert-Tropicals. It is better to research the plants natural environmental conditions. I would not give much credence to this, or any other so called 'minimum temperature' list. There are too many variables for these to be accurate to any degree. ;) Brad

RE: I'm against being condescended to by some business sleaze with an agenda. There's no reason that's good enough to log OLD GROWTH. NOT ONE. Leave what little is left behind Not trying to start a huge argument, but just to play devils advocate. there is one reason...and thats people want the wood for consumer purposes. You and I probably agree that's not a great reason to kill a 1000 year old tree, but nonetheless thats why they do it, people buy it. Like I said I could tolerate some cutting of large trees as long as others were protected. That seems like the best of both worlds for habitat quality. Keep some old growth to support species that depend on it, but keep forests dynamic so that you can have more diversity. The problem is that there just arent enough lands set aside for natural areas becuase there are so many people who need houses to live in and shopping malls to buy junk at. At the end of the day we need more forests (of whatever age) and less sprawling subdivions of ugly homogeneous boxes. trees can and will in time adapt to climatic change, logging, whatever. We just need to give them a fighting chancve by not crowding them out of existence.....will get off of my soapbox now.

Cindy thanks so much for posting this. This is very helpful in showing at least one type of Hoya habitat. I have only watched part of the first episode and am hoping that they show other habitats on New Guinea. There is such a wealth of amazing plant species (think Dendrobium cuthbertsonii) that inhabit the high altitude cloud forests of New Guinea. I am not sure these higher elevations have been investigated as far as Hoyas are concerned. The first video looks to have been shot in mid elevation rainforest which would be prime Hoya territory. Hopefully there is mention of the location and elevation somewhere in the video clips. Mike

Once again a discussion that is based on some very broad generalities that do not necessarily have a uniform relevance. Not all suburban gardens are similar in presenting a closely mowed lawn, gumdrop sheared shrubs and privet hedges......therefore not all suburban gardens are lifeless and boring :-)) That is one of the advantages of having a professionally designed landscape, as a talented and experienced designer will bring in many other elements that don't fit that stereotype. I give seminars on gardening with wildlife and not all wildlife is to be encouraged!! Nor do all homeowners or hobby gardeners necessarily want to encourage a lot of wildlife........many species are very disruptive to both a garden and to one's residence, if allowed any means of access, intentional or accidental (armadillos, raccoons, skunks, nesting bees and wasps, rats, etc). However, for those who do want to encourage wildlife (or at least the more desirable species of wildlife), there are a number of programs already in place that do this. Both the Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation have publications and online outlines that address how to develop your backyard into a certified wildlife habitat. I live on an island in Puget Sound and the entire island - some 12 miles long and around 5 miles wide and home to some 25,000 residents - is a certified community wildlife habitat, one of only 39 in the US.