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.

I guess it technically is my fault for not asking the question correctly. Thank you for answering yes or no.

Aloebot- yes,these are near identical to some Nolina..but botanists keep them separated. Kara,they wont reach the immense size in the bay area like they do in the southern states,but mine also has had to compete with a Magnolia and after 2pm in summer- the house makes shade. But,its still got a ton pf personality. Like a pet plant-wink.

Hi, Andrew - Please tell us more about your watering habits. If you have been keeping the soil continually moist or have been watering when the top inch or two of the soil gets dry, it's likely you've "watered it to death" and the pathogen is any one of the several damping-off family of fungi. Too much water and not enough air in the root zone sets the stage for a weakened plant (in terms of its natural defenses, which are directly related to the plant's metabolic rate) and fungal infections. Ponytail palm is such a durable plant, it's often erroneously suggested they thrive on neglect. They thrive on the type of care that ensures cultural conditions are in the sweet spot and not near or beyond the limits they're programmed (genetically) to tolerate. While they might survive long periods of neglect that leads to the soil becoming completely dry, they don't appreciate that type of treatment. Still, if you had to choose between trying to keep the soil continually moist or allowing the soil to go completely dry before the next watering, you should favor the later. They can "tolerate" being too dry, but cannot tolerate being too wet. Also, it's a plant that appreciates all the sun you can give it, but don't think that its present low light location is a part of your plant's demise. Al