I live near Everett, Washington, and your heat units are considerably less in the summer so you probably don't want to plant anything that ripens later than mid September in our area. Forget the late apples, pears and plums. Chehalis and Alkmene (Alkemene) apples would be good for you, and they are also scab resistant. The early season scab immune apples are good, too. You are best off with the scab resistant varieties, I imagine you would have even more trouble with scab than we do, and we have plenty. Go ahead and put in a cherry tree or two, and see how they do. Some years you won't get any fruit and others you will. Get self fertile crack resistant varieties like Vandalay, which is from the Ontario research station so I know you can get it in Canada. The self fertile ones have better set in poor spring weather. Don't get any late pears unless you find someone in the area who has them and says they do OK. There are some good pears that ripen in the summer here, like Ubileen And Bella Di Guigno. Look in the Raintree catalog and anything that they say ripens by early September in pears and plums for them should be worth trying where you are. I don't know if you can order from Raintree, but it will give you some ideas to go on. I think Beauty asian plum would be worth trying for you even though it might not have as good of flavor as if it had more heat units. It does well here. I agree that berries are a good idea. I don't think humidity is your main problem, I think lack of heat units is a bigger concern. Humidity is more of a problem in very hot weather. You might have problems with some fungus though, like scab. Try to find out what other people in the area grow.

Hi Squidy, Is your appt temporary or are you planning on moving? 50F degrees is perfect for plants, as long as they're not over-watered. Soil takes longer to dry in cool/cold rooms. Your succulents will love 50F degrees, but proper watering is important..otherwise they'll rot. Yep, I use two, regular, one white warm, one white cool fluorescent light bulbs. They work as well as the two Gro-Lights (much more money) in another room. Heck, there were times I used standard bulbs in a lamp. lol. If you can manage a large stand and buy an inexpensive light fixture, you're in business. Believe me, before moving here, I lived in low-light appartments. The owner/s didn't allow plants outdoors in summer, either, so they stayed inside year round. For standard bulbs, I'd suggest, at the minimum, 75 Watts. If your lamp can take brighter bulbs, do so. You wouldn't believe the number of lights I keep on during winter, and our electric bill isn't all that expensive. Fluorescent bulbs are less expensive, but we use what we can afford to do. Right? Truthfully, natural light is best, so if you decide to use artificial lighting, it's best keeping near a window, despite obstructions. Shop lights are about 20.00 unless you want an ornate, made-for-plants unit. Although there are some beautiful shelf/light units, they can run in the thousands. lol. I'd rather buy more plants than spend money on an expensive light fixture. If we were rich, my feelings would probably change, but we're not, so I do with what I have and can afford. so, what are you thinking about doing? Hey Purple, long time no talk...Toni

Larry..summer 2012, was the first time we bought a/c.. I usually don't have a problem w/heat, in fact I love sunny, warm/hot days, but after 3 weeks at 100-104F/40C, plus being sick, I gave in..we got an a/c July 5th. Prices vary...one doesn't have to win the lottery..lol. I don't like feeling cold, so after the house dipped at 72F/22C, I turned it off, and we didn't run it while sleeping. Polly and Tiff..My dh has the same symptoms. Our heat is turned on low, but the air is dry..(although I just checked all 3 hygrometers read 40-42% depending on room.) The last 3 weeks he's had flu-like symptoms..this happened previous years so we know his problems are due to dry air. He has nose bleeds, too. Where does mold come from? My sister keeps her house spotless..she hasn't any plants, lol. Yet, there's mold on certain walls..They've used several products to rid mold, but it returns.. Why is that? Rhizo, first, how have you been? Hope all is well. Amyway, my dh makes his own beer, uses a HyDrometer. Since I'm 'duh,' in chemistry, and even though he's explained the reason a HyDrometer is needed to make a batch, I don't understand..Where did HyDrometer fit in... Toni

I looked it up, and I'm in Zone 5. And "Arborvitae" seems to be it, or close enough. (A picture of a "thuja" leaf in Wikipedia looked just like that of my evergreen, but they said they were trees starting from 10 ft. As you can see in the pic, mine are 3-4 ft.). All's I know is, I bought the plants at Canadian Tire (a chain of home / hardware stores), they came in pots. They grew fine on the balcony all summer long. Indeed, they needed *lots* of water when on my balcony in the summer. But now that they are inside and during the winter, I'm still unsure of what their watering schedule should be?