That gives me some hope. I buy Holly every Christmas and plant it in January...it usually survives, but this I went with a native Holly and we had a harsher then normal winter...all the leaves on the three holly plants I planted turned brown in the Spring. Is there still hope the holly might have made it after all?

A chute is just a new TP limb (or scion) as it emerges from the ground. If you look to the left of the large limb of the TP, the smaller limb is a new chute that has emerged since I planted the TP in October. Just to the front of the smaller limb and just behind the larger limb you can see a reddish tint in the mulch. Those are also new chutes emerging. This TP arrived with 3 large scions. My labrador stepped on it chasing a squirrel and broke 2 of the 3 scions off. I have taken the two scions and mated them with two herbaceous roots. We will see what happens with them in the spring. But, the new chutes are scions as they emerge from the TP roots. Hope this helps.

I just repotted my ZZ Plant today! After having this on my wish list for a while, I got it from one of the shops at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few weeks ago. Unfortunately when I was cleaning off the roots I found a lot of either dead or rotted roots. I was able to save a few good stalks but some had to be removed completely due to the extent of rot. Will roots grow on the stem cuttings? I just stuck them into the mix kind of like I was making a flower arrangement. I'm not planning on watering for a while so what roots were left can recover. I know these are typically slow growers but I do have it in a particularly sunny window. Here it is after the repot. -Erica

Wow! That is just incredible! I wouldn't have thought to use that soil for container plants but I sure will do so when it's time for repotting :) If I may, I have one more question...not sure that you'd know the answer but you certainly seem to have a ton more experience with these lovely plants than I have so it's worth a shot asking! So I purchased a ZZ, "Zena" from my local Walmart a few months ago at the beginning of summer for $10. I had no idea what a ZZ plant was or if I'd ever even seen one before. I just new it was uniquely gorgeous and I had to have it for my fireplace mantle! All I've done is water it when I feel the top 2 inches of soil is dry as well as give it a couple of pumps of miracle grow plant food maaayyybe 3 of the times I've watered it (so maybe once in June, July & August). Since then, it has sprouted 3 new light green stems full of leaves and the shorter bushier stems have filled out quite nicely on the bottom making the plant look even fuller than when I purchased it! :) Well recently I came home from a trip and there was this short yellow stem of leaves. Not sure if this stem was one of the shorter bushy stems already present in the plant & those leaves just turned yellow or if this sprouted up new and yellow within the 3 days I was away at work? I'm at a total loss. Have done some research the past couple of days and some people have reported that it's a seasonal change that affects usually only one stem. Some have said the oldest stems will sometimes turn yellow and die off. Some think it's possible they may have a "variegated" stem of the plant growing in with the regular green version of the plant. Some even say that it's a sign of overwatering and the tubular roots inside could be soggy & dying. I don't think that's the case with Zena, as I make sure she's dry down to the soil at the drainage holes at the bottom of her pot before watering. Question is, have you seen anything like this with your ZZ's or perhaps have heard of this happening before and possibly know what it is? I've touched the stem & leaves & they look and feel quite strong and normal. They just look "odd" compared to all the other deep dark green stems in the pot. It doesn't bother me a bit, in fact I love eccentricities in all things so I feel blessed to have this little oddity sticking out the side now, but I just wonder if I need to be concerned? I should let you know that I live in Colorado and when I left for my trip the temps were consistently 75-80° inside the house but when I returned 3 days later it was 50° outside so inside the house it was about 65-70°. I wondered if maybe it got too cold & that caused the color change or new growth of the yellow stem? Any thoughts you might have are greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help! Len