Hi Naveed, it has been a long time indeed! I am sorry to hear that you had to leave your wonderful garden and roses behind, but am happy to hear you will be starting anew. I can't comment on most of the newer Austins released since about 2009. However, I have been slowly replacing most of my old garden roses with the newer varieties from Kordes and especially those with an ADR certification. While not all of them are completely bullet-proof, the vast majority are exceptional roses in terms of vigour and disease resistance. Unfortunately, many of them lack strong fragrance which I remember was an important criteria for you in some roses. This is really the only area that Austin is doing better than Kordes currently and that may soon be changing as Kordes is now focusing on scent and have launched a new series of scented roses in Europe with the old fashioned bloom form. To start, take a look at the Fairytale series and the Vigorosa series from Kordes and also his newer climber introductions. All the best and take care for now.

Wow... that's a great article on rootstocks for kumquat and calamondin. I have a lot of citrumelo rootstock right now and I thought it was a generally good rootstock for hardy citrus, but that article suggests otherwise (for kumquats and calamondin). I would order from Four Winds Growers. They say they use dwarfing rootstock, but I am not sure what exactly.

I don't think you can get orange coneflowers from seeds. Hybrids just don't work that way. I don't know what zone you are in, but it seems they aren't very winter hardy. I'm in 8a, and all of mine overwintered just fine.

You're welcome, Andrew. A couple more degrees over the summer months wouldn't hurt, nights can be cooler and your range is perfect. With the right amount of light, I'm sure they'll do well for you - even more so if you're successful with other tropical plants. Many of the "classic" varieties (Candy Stripe, Grove Farm, Aztec Gold, Dean Conklin, Miami Rose, etc.) adapt quite well to cooler temperatures, that's true, but many of them also grow tall rather quickly. Many of JJ's plants stay more compact and are actually bred and selected for that reason. You can pick up JJ varieties for a few bucks, so the investment isn't as risky and they are reliable bloomers. Variegated plumeria do better with more shade when kept outside. They do require plenty of very bright light though, but burn more easily in the sun. They also tend to be reluctant bloomers (not so much a problem if you have the beautiful foliage to enjoy) and are usually less hardy, rot more easily when conditions aren't quite right. I think the humidity in your terrarium will keep them happy though. Keep us posted.