You're back, Ellie! Good to see you! Did you have any damage from the tornado? Thanks everyone for the kind words! My whole house repaint happened from 4/2 to next Monday, and it certainly took the emphasis off the blooms! The painter is so neat--nothing to clean up from him after painting ceilings, doors, walls ... if it didn't move, paint it! I went outside every morning to look at blooms. When he say them, he didn't believe it!!! Now, we just have to reposition EVERYTHING!! So it will probably take a week to get my home back in shape! Delayed, of course, by blooms.

Sharon - So good to hear from you again. My sincere sympathies on all the moving troubles - it seems like a nightmare! Moving in the best of circumstances is no fun, but your experience sounds dreadful. When we first moved into our old farm house we discovered that the boxsprings (double) wouldn't go up the stairs, so DH sawed the wooden structure in half and we folded them. (The replacements had split box springs.) We also discovered that the new living room couch was too wide for all of the doors into the house, so that had to go into storage until we were able to replace one door( which needed replacing anyway) with wider ones. Glad that your husband has a job and best wishes on finding one yourself. Does your townhouse have a place that you can garden, either in the ground or in pots? If so, I imagine you can attend one of the plant swaps - in my experience folks are thrilled to be able to give plants to someone just getting started & you don't need to bring anything. If you were closer you'd be welcome to come by & pick up a plant or 10.

Keith, Thanks! The spanish moss looks good, but I think it's freeze dried. Even the moss in my garage did not pull through (probably from the lack of moisture), but it was alive well into February so it was very close to the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll definitely be replacing it all in the spring. I've noticed that Chamerops pups show more cold tolerance than the mother plant, I still have no idea why. haha. My guess is that it's because they are closer to the ground. Thanks Trishmick! Sounds like you had a good time too! I hope you have luck with germinating the seeds you collected. I collected some loquat seeds from Florida 3 years ago and still haven't tried them. For some reason I never get around to starting seeds even when I have them right in front of me haha. I'm hoping one day to drive to Florida instead of taking a plane so I can bring back some nice seeds and plants! Thanks Bradley! I killed 3 pygmy palms indoors in the past so I know how that feels. I have found them to be the hardest palms to grow indoors which is weird considering that they are considered pretty hardy palms. For now on mine will definitely stay in the garage over the winter. Thanks for looking everyone! -Alex

Hey, Dave!, and Happy 2013 to you! LOLOL You had JUST the reaction that I'm hoping to elicit with such ridiculous comments. I know, 55 deg is just so cold, right? ;-) I think I told you once before that I grew up in York County, PA, just north of you...entire family is still there, I'm the only one that left. I ended up down here because my blood has been thin from the day I was born. Unless I'm skiing, I want no part of cold weather. Anyway, in answer to your question, I'd say that it in my observation it appears to vary according to cultivar. For instance, my Divine is pretty much ever-blooming at this point in its maturity, but its flowers at this time of year show zero pink and thus are pretty unremarkable. Also, the Cooktown Sunset tree is in the shadiest, most northern spot on the property--that inflo got toasted by a single night of wind and mid-40s temps after it gave me a handful of flowers (see above pic). At any rate, to me those blooms appeared pale compared to photos I've seen (first time blooming for me). They were welcome and very beautiful all the same, of course. Great scent. But OTOH, Hawaiian Coral bloomed last summer and then again recently, and I can say with certainty that the winter flowers were the same color intensity. Indo Rose is first-time bloomer but these colors are rich too (new pic from today at the end of this post). Laura/Robert/all: I can think of nothing more fun-sounding than a day downstairs here at my place surrounded by my plumeria friends!!! Were I a "man of means" hee hee, I'd be flying you all down! 82 degrees today, low of 72 tonight!! It's heaven...and I think the plumies like it too. Laura, after Indo Rose is done, I will pretty much be looking at sticks myself and though I have 2 or 3 brand-new inflos, I am dreading the wait/dry spell!! Come on, Spring!!! Best to all of you, Greg