In this photo most of the pots are still under the dry leaves. Ornamental grass in foreground.

Sorry if I strayed from the original topic which is about hauling plants inside...I am trying to keep outside as much as possible since there is very little space indoors.

Rina

Morning all...

Rina,..that's a good point...and one I hadn't thought of...and as I see frost out there already,something tells me I would do best to pop this sucker in the ground.

Thanks for that! :)

meyermike, I'm sure your garage would be fine. I wish mine were in the ground and then I wouldnt have to worry. The things we do for the love of our plants.

rina, I'm jealous that yours survived,

Toni, are you getting frost already? I haven't any today but the temps oudside are hovering right at freezing right now. Maybe being a couple miles closer to the lake is making the difference.

I pulled in the last of my plants a few days ago. All I have last to do is dig up a bunch of elephant ears and a couple Sauromatum bulbs which still look ok.

Mine have been inside for a couple weeks. It was in the 20s overnight but since I just moved to Springfield, MO from Las Vegas, NV I've been freezing lol. I didn't want them to freeze too.

I have another windowsill with 2 big beautiful spider plants, a pothos and a succulent. I seriously need more windowsill space.

Janeeyre, It is freezing cold at first, but then you think you'll adapt. And you may. I never did! After a while, you decide you liked Las Vegas weather a lot. LOL.

Asleep, sorry about your spider plant. It *should* only be harmed at the foliage. Lived through 9 degrees in the ground here though I've never paid attention to them in the 'off season' before last winter, when they remained evergreen, low of 24-25 for the whole winter.

"Purple..I didn't realize it got so cold where you live. Is winter short? Short meaning, 2-weeks? 1 month?"
Uh, I can't define winter here. I've seen 6 of them and they were all different. On average though, it's like fall during the daytime, then actually winter at night. Not uncommon to open windows & wear short sleeves in January, or for the high to be 25, no predictability at all.

"Why can't you bring plants in yet???" It's one cold night, tonight, then the night lows go back up in the 50's. The weather guy on TV was trying to calm people down about it getting that cold this early. "Don't panic. The weather will be more like it should around Thanksgiving but it's just one night." LOL, but UH, I'm passively panicking, if there is such a thing. We were just running the A/C a couple weeks ago at night so we could sleep w/o sweating too much. Today, I'm running a heater for the 1st time.

Thanks for the warning, J!

Good luck, Rina, Mike, Asleep, anyone trying to winter pots outside. I'm a firm believer in drainage for overwintering in pots or when trying to zone-push. There's a lot of power in a pile'o'leaves, foremost I think is deflecting water, closely followed by temp moderation. That's what I'll do with any pots in which something might survive but I don't want to bring inside. Pile them in a dark corner, covered with leaves. Garage is often the next-best thing if available. Against the house, there's often an eave overhead that deflects most/a lot of the moisture, very helpful. Making a little wall of bricks or rocks around might help also. Recessed basement window wells.

christine1950

All I can say is drainage-drainage-drainage - for potted or in ground plants...If you assure that, lots of plants will survive outside (obviously, I am not pushing (yet???) zone 7 to overwinter outside in 5a!)
(photo: Hostas & other plants coming back in spring 2013)

Mike
maybe you should try something similar to what I do.
In the garage, you would have to assure they have some moisture. Maybe line them up by the wall outside, but make sure they get covered by the snow. Snow also insulates and moisturizers.
My pots were by the cedar hedge, but pretty open area. Hedge may kept some winds down. With leaves piled up around the pots, I think they were very comfortable.

Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Fri, Oct 25, 13 at 10:53

Morning,

I'm tired, and my back and knee are killing me.
If my doc saw me carrying a zillion plants, many large, he'd refuse to care for me. lol.

I took a pain med and 4 aspirin, waiting for them to start working before I head back outside..if I head outside. :)

Actually, I'm still in my pj's, watching AMC which has spooky, Halloween movies. Omen 1, 2 and 3, then Cujo.

There's still 15 or so plants outside. Yesterday, around 6pm, I was so tired, while hauling plants in the the gh, I set a newly repotted Dracaena Draco on a stand. When I brought in another plant, it hit the draco, knocked it down. A second and third plant fell. Dirt everywhere.
A domino affect. lol.
I said, heck with it..I'll work on it tomorrow..Again, if I work outside.

Temp is 45.5 now. (Heat wave.) lol. At 8am, temp was 33F.
Nights have been in the mid-20's. Too cold for tropicals, and most succulents.
Some Agaves and a couple Optunias are still out, but the cold doesn't seem to be harming them. However, I am worried about Euphorbias..
Where will they go? No room..All are large.

Sorry, I can't recall all questions addressed to me.

Danny, you asked if we had frost.. We sure did/do. In the morning, cars and grass have frost everywhere.

Regarding Hostas... They thrive in cold, freezing temps, in-ground. I've never potted a Hosta in a container, so don't know what needs to be done to keep them from freezing.

Mike. I've tossed plants, then took them out of the trash, too. lol
But, after 3-yrs battling mealy on Hoyas, I ended up tossing most last year..I considered taking them out...they looked healthy...some were blooming. But, the amount of mealy sickened me, so I ended up tossing for good.
After ripping them apart to boot.
Same with 30-something African Violets.

Which plants were you going to toss???

Purp. I went to LA/CA years ago in the month of Oct. Your weather sounds similar to CA's.

When will your bring all your plants inside.

Be careful w/your succulent garden. Small plants aren't as hardy as large.

Toni

PS. House is one, huge Mess. Hoya's on the LR floor. They can't be brought upstairs until I finish washing the walls and windows. :(

Julianna, I have to convince myself that I'll get used to it. My plants are doing so much better here but I prefer Vegas weather lol.

LOL well good luck! The plants are so much happier, but man, is it cold and then super humid. I thought I would suffocate the first summer I moved out of Las Vegas.

I made a decision when I managed to drag in my Fiscus that next summer it is staying inside. I cannot move it again. It is too heavy..

I only have about 5 more plant to bring inside.
I line them up at the door and they get Marched in.

I have about 100 but I do group pots so it is easier with more plants less pots.

I put a few in special pots so they look cute. Those I use in the kitchen and Sunroom.
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The others go into the laundry room. I put some wicker furniture in the laundry room and place the plants around and I call it my Tacky Tikki room. It helps make me enjoy doing laundry.

My Cannas, EE I leave out until the frost take the leaves and then I bring the plants inside in their pots. I let all but two of my Brugmansia die last winter except 2. I am looking at those two and they are under consideration if they will be saved.

They just get to big and I do not like starting them from cuttings because they look better to me as trees.

marguest, your plants & containers are adorable

Toni, it looks like you've got a reprieve of sorts, It's gonna be in the 50s for the next weeks or so.

Morning,

Hey Marquest.

Every autumn I say, 'next year plants are staying inside.' Then spring comes, and I think, oh, I'll take out a couple.' Within a week, most of my plants are outside. lol.

How big is your Ficus? What type of container?

You're lucky you can group each plant. I worry about hitch-hiking ants and SPIDERS!!!
So, each are hosed outside, then submerged in sink water.
That's one reason it's taking so much time.

Marquest, I love your planters, especially the two women.
What type of succculents are in the women planters?

I love your K. thyrsiflora..beautiful foliage. I bought half-a-dozen throughout the years, but killed each and everyone. I give up.

Enjoy doing laundry. Yes, we who clean/wash clothes need motivation, for sure.
For me it's music and plants..Dancing and folding clothes, while browsing greens. lol.

Marquest, save your Brugs. At last one...maybe your favorite?
I only have one, variegated Brug. Got it last year or the year before, planted in the ground..By fall, it was large enough to be potted in a 10-12" container.

I too like standards. When I dug Brug from the ground, I kept the largest trunk so it was tree shaped.
This summer, another or two new trunks grew..I plan on removing them next spring..

I have to figure when to dig up my dahlias. Do you think they should be dug the same time as Cannas? If so, what month are they lifted?

Hi Christine.

Danny....After 8+ hours per day cleaning and hauling plants indoors,, the weather changes. Murphy's Law!!!

Yep, temps are in the 50's...I checked this weeks forecast..Tommorow night low is supposed to be 29F, but they change temps every two hours. lol

After all that rushing, it finally decided to warm up. I can't believe it.
Hope it stays in the 50's until Thanksgiving..Then it can snow. I only hope Farmer's Almanac people are wrong. They're saying this winter is supposed to be super-cold. Colder than last winter.

Oh well, we live here, so have to deal with cold or move.
I'd move if I could afford to move..a warm climate, where plants live outdoors year round. Perfect!

Have to figure where my two larger Pachypodiums will go.

Toni,

The Fiscus is about 5' tall now. I purchased in a little 4" pot. Then i picked up two other varigated ones and had planned to combine them now I am rethinking that plan. I love more than one plant in a pot. It looks more like a garden to me when plants are planted together.

I will always take my plants out in the summer but when they become trees it is just not going to be possible for this Fiscus.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
I have to figure when to dig up my dahlias. Do you think they should be dug the same time as Cannas? If so, what month are they lifted?
---------------------

Yes the Toni they come in the same time as Cannas, EE and Tropical bulbs all come in at the same time. But I grow all mine in pots so it is easy after everything dies back; I just pick up the pots throw the pots in the wheel barrel and roll them to the basement.

I do splash a little water once a months in the pots so the bulbs do not dry out.

In the Spring I divide mix in some fresh soil and replant.

Marquest,

Didn't see your thread. My email 'still' isn't working properly.

Anyway, a 5' Ficus is tall and probably wide.

I'm not telling you what to do, but if the variegated Ficus were mine, I wouldn't plant together.

I had a Ficus benji about 10-yrs. 'until I gave it to a woman who KILLED it.' It was in a 12" container, braided trunk, between 5-6'..I planted pink and green Fittonia's on the soil. They were trimmed every so often so didn't get spindly during winter.

Some plants look great combined, but when it comes to trees, I'm all for standards...it's a matter of opinion, what one likes. Agree???

Some people like bushy trees.

Bushy vs standard also makes a differene for space. Two standard trees equal one bushy tree. :)
And space is something I'm lacking.

Thanks...I'm going to lift Dahlias today or tomorrow. It's rather cloudy, but temps are in the 50's. Supposed to be in the 60's tommorow. Can't believe this weather.

Last spring, we didn't buy many garden plants, only a few for window boxes and edging. For some strange reason dh selected an Alocasia..The label was marked Ornamental Cabbage, lol. I wondered why he'd choose an Alo, but didn't utter a word..Guess I'll lift the Alocasia too.
The Alo was more than we usually pay for annuals, 'in this case a bulb.' It's not even that pretty. lol

Have 10 or so plants outside..all large. What the heck!!

Have a great wkend.

Thanks for the info.

Got lucky, 41 degrees at 6:30 AM Saturday. Really close though, less than 100 miles away, a pretty hardy freeze. I was wiggin' out, literally running around like a chicken with its' head cut off Friday evening. Then DH came home and calmed me down, we noticed the temp didn't even match what it was saying for the current temp, and he said it would be fine and stay above the prediction. Sure enough the 5 degree gap held. I brought about 20 plants in, and most are still waiting to go back out, busy doing other stuff over the weekend.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled end of summer.

Mornin Purp(and gang)...

The spider will be fine,I know...after all I watched one come back after being burned to the roots in full sun...as you may recall that little thing even put out an "airplane"(aka as airplane plants...remember that?).

Things up here in "Rochopolis" have mellowed somewhat as well but naturally I will still be jealous of your environmental advantages. lol ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: 5 day forecast in roch

Morning,

Hey Purple, Congrats on temps staying above 32F.

Think optimisically....running around like a chiken with its head cut off means burning calories.
Well, that's how I think about it anyway. :)

You're bringing plants back outside? lol. Which plants?

Early morning temps were 49F. When I woke this morning it was 51F. They're saying temps will be in the 60's...three days of rain.

Hey Asleep, are you awake?

Are the two underlined phrases, links? I can't open either. Of course, my computer's working like sxit.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ *cough snort*...YES! Yes Toni...I'm awake(now)!

The link is just the 5 day forecast here where I live. Purp had posted a similar link above and I figured I'd put mine up as well so we could compare/contrast how horrible it is up here in the north compared to lower alabama. Her lows are higher than our highs(imagine that!)! lol

Hi everybody, thanks for your concern!

IKR! That's why I stuffed all of my crud in a Uhaul and dragged it down here, hint, hint, to all of you freezing your butts off "up there!" But, July-Sept, who's more miserable then? Who wants to join me in the 'tropical island' fantasy, where it's the temp of your choice every day of the year, surrounded by warm waters and cool beachy breezes? You're all welcome to visit my hut, it doesn't have walls anyway...

Toni, I'm taking them all back outside. 8:20 AM, windows open. Aren't you glad you'll get to hear me whine again for the next frost scare? Yeah, I'm sure.

So sorry about your computer. My Mom's computer just puked & she's decided on a laptop to replace it. I think that's cool, she can take it on trips & won't have to sit at her desk to use it. She has an awesome back porch where she could sit and 'compute' while she enjoys her yard. If you decide you need to replace yours, might be something for you to consider. I think about it for myself too.

Marquest, think I've told you before, but worth saying again, you have the best 'pot collection' I've seen! The plants don't suck either. Smiles!

Purple-- I am joining you in this fantasy! I want it to be warmish to where I can wear long sleeves and not sweat, but also cool enough during the evening that I can wear a sweater. But not too cold. Do not try to make sense out of this. :)

Asleep...cough, snort...ahem. j/k..
Time to wake up..stop coughin' and snortin'. :)

Purp..I will definately join your fantasy club. Heck, I already live fantasies, why not imagine a humid, tropical, sunny land with a nearby lake???

It's not my computer....the problem is att's, internet connections.
We'll probably change to a different provider. I've had it with that rip-off, over-priced company.

One thing I like about PC's is speakers. I listen to music on YT.

Thanks though.

Purp, whine all you want. I listen and whine, too..Perhaps you should have a bottle, I mean a glass of wine when you're whining?

Thank you purple. I love pots. I am always on the lookout for pots. Most of them come from Goodwill or my local thrift shop.

Whine about the cool temps all you want. I will be doing a lot of that when I see my first snowfall.

Toni, I don;t think making it a standard would help. It is not because it is bushy the darn thing is heavy. Probably because of the roots. Maybe I should raise it next summer and do a root prune. They just look so pretty when the get a chance to spend summer outside. I hate to have to leave it inside.

I wanted to combine them because I like the different colors together. I am sort of like purple I like group pots because they seem to compliment each other.

When I grouped them together I thought they looked pretty so I wanted to put all three in the same pot.
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I have this one
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and

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and this monster. and I wanted to combine them.

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Now Marquest!! Hello first off and I KNOW you have an addiction for the same plants and love for pots as I do...

You know, it's a darn sin that we all don't live closer so we can all help each other and have plant parties...Depressing quite actually..

I have seen more plants so beautiful posted by my friends here than at any nursery I have been at!

Look at those beautiful colors and pots!!!!!

Ok, my las plants have been brought inside now that temps have reached below the 30's/.//I hat eit so much but then the house is once again full of beautiful plants and smells so good. I no longer have to go outside to enjoy it! I sit right here in my living room surrounded by orchids and citrus in full bloom..Relaxing and smells so goo..

I found a new spot on my porch...I tried covering all the windows with painter plastic and it is working wonders!!!
I now have a new place to store plant with just the use of a small space heater!

Have a wonderful night all

MIke

Awesome Ficus!

Plants are in storm position this afternoon (which looks a lot like frost scare position.) If the pre-storm gusts are any indication of what's coming, my efforts will have been necessary.

But was sitting here looking at the plant below, as I have been for the past week, amazed by how much bigger the door made it get as it passed over the threshold. It's nowhere near this big outside. Plants are supposed to hang 3-to-a window, um... they'll be staggered in height/drop if so. I can't take it back out, I'm enjoying seeing it so much in here, compared to where it was outside in the back yard.

Who else has magic doors that make plants bigger when they go through it (in the direction of coming inside?)

Neottopteris nidus, synonym Asplenium antiquum. (Shadows are making it look like all of the tips are brown, but they aren't.)

From another angle.

Well tomorrow night is frost for sure, I'm runnin around (sweating profusely, mind you, it's 80 degrees) like crazy bringing in plants that don't seem to have ants, soaking those that do, digging up the ones in the ground, this is crazy. Does anybody else's doorway make plants get 3x bigger when they come inside? There's still over 20 hanging plants outside & no more hooks in the ceiling, yet. No, they don't have to hang, but that doesn't stop me from wanting them to. Deep breath, keep telling ourselves it's only for the next few months...!

Just done dragging in huge cycads, Date Palms, and Washys. They would have probably been okay, but I would kick myself if they had gotten hit by the cold. A lot of times, the weather people talk up the cold so much but it amounts to be no big deal. Supposed to be dropping to around 26 f. Which is really cold for this early. Usually, Fall, even late Fall is fairly mild here, it's Spring that traditional is really delayed. But in recent years, the pattern seems to have flipped. (Now Early Spring gets warm to hot early.).
Back into the 60's in a couple of days though.

nj

where do you overwinter them - in the house? greenhouse? garage? they are all huge plants...Rina

Yeah, I try to err on the side of caution, even though it is irritating the next day. But if they didn't warn ya & "it happened," we'd b pretty p-o'd, right? Just no pleasing us picky plant people.

We seem to have escaped frost last night by maybe 1-2 degrees. Tonight's supposed to be colder, so I'm not moving a thing temporarily back out until tomorrow. I feel bad for the plants in the shed today but I think they'd prefer to stay in rather than get out in the cold wind. That's what I did with the plants that had ants in the pots. I'll deal with that 'next time' if they still have ants.

The good news is the number of pots, waaaaay down from last winter. There's about a dozen in the shed, and only 61 in the house. So that's less than half of last year, but with waaaay more plants in them (I conglomerated lots of individual plants into multi-pots to save space, and it's working!) Except for 2 pots of parlor palms, (which don't have a suitable companion since I don't want anything dangling from the edges of those,) all pots look like a mini jungle. I'm diggin' it.

Rina,

...They go into a large, detached, loft garage with unobstructed, south-facing glass doors. Palms do better there in the cool of winter than the warm, drier house.

Turns out, I didn't need to do that work--only got to 32f, 31f tonight.

This post was edited by njoasis on Wed, Nov 13, 13 at 12:08

nj

Thank you for answering. I am thinking of doing something like that - have old double garage that needs repairs/new roof. Thinking of building a 'storage' loft - obviously suited for plants.

What temps do you maintain during winter?
Rina

Minimum of about 30 f. on coldest of nights, days can be anywhere from 45-65 f.. in mid Winter, so it is fairly chilly if not cold. But as I said, it gets a lot of Winter sun then as the angle is low and winter weather is often clear. Under these conditions, I have no problem overwintering Washys, Butia capitata, Queens, Sago Palm (and a few other cycads), Sabals of many varieties, Citrus, Oleanders, Phoenix dactlyifera, canariensis, and even P. Roebellini.

Front room looks like this now!

I love the jungle!

Hi.
Before replying, i want to make sure my post goes through.

IE problems again.

Toni-- it made it!

Morning,

Marquest...Purple is the one who gave me the idea to combine plants..
Some plants were combined, but this summer, i combined many many more.
All look and are doing nice..the only problem is Crown of Thorns. They're really heavy..hauling them inside was a pain in the butt....arms, face, blah blah

Your Ficus are beautiful..nice colors. Are they different cultivars?

I cut mid-bottom leaves on both my Rubber Trees...new leaves grow out, and need to be plucked to keep a 'standard-look.'

I hope you have muscles like The Hulk, lifting combined Ficus. lol.

Hi Mike..yeah, if we were neighbors, you could carry heavy plants in for me..I need a man with muscles. :)

Purp, beautiful BNF....I tossed mine last wk after finding mealybug.

BTW, what did you do with your succulent garden? Is it still outdoors..
Sorry if you answered this question, but IE isn't working again, so i haven't been able to come here the last couple days..after trying numerous times.

Nj...our temps have been 27-29F, too. in fact, we got quite a bit of snow Wed..enough to acculate, but melted the following day.

i agree...Oct was much warmer than it used to be. Did you ever go trick-or-treating? We'd don in our little costumes, w/o the need of a coat. it'd usually rain at night after trick-or-treating ended..The last few years, it's cold and raining during daylight hours. Still, kids managed to collect candy this year.

I can't make out your photo???

Purp, I second loving your jungle..:) Toni

Hi my name is Cameron. Its been a long time since I posted in the Houseplants forum. The title of the thread caught my attention. I had to bring all of my houseplants in Sunday and Monday. Every Winter the window by my dining gets crowded with more and more plants lol.
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Toni, I'm working up the nerve to take the sheets off of mini garden. And waiting for it to warm back up before going back outside at all. It had ants, and I have no idea how I would have watered it inside, and weighs ? 100 lbs? It was a tough decision. Do I rescue some plants? What if that critically disturbs those left in that would have been fine? Which are not hardy (IDK?) What will I do with them then? It's 'full' in here, the pots and space they're occupying. That thing takes up 6 SF of space. Unless the mini could go outside often for sun, the plants wouldn't have been happy inside anyway. I decided to let mother nature sort out the non-hardy ones, then re-do, start over in spring, not using anything not hardy.

I was fooling myself about the longevity of what I did, and wouldn't be in this position if I'd had more restraint, done more research first, but am happy with the trial run in general. The container works well, good spot for it. I was too anxious to put the gravel on it. After that, it's impossible to move/add anything without totally messing it up, stirring the 'dirt' and the gravel together. Lessons learned.

Glad others like the jungle, TY, TY! Need to sort it out a bit more, the Dracs need a spot closer to a window.

Hello Cameron,

You wrote, every year your window is more crowded than the previous year.
Believe me...soon your entire dining area will be so filled you won't be able to step in the room. lol.

Nice collection.

Purp...so, your succulent garden is still outside?
100 pounds!! Sheesh. That is heavy.

IDK either. lol.

Your succulents are small right? What if you place 'x' succulents in tiny pots until temps warm up for good?
Space is a problem, no doubt about that, but we find a way, right??

Covering at night is fine, but they'll need some light during the day. I don't know how cold your day temps are, but if they're under 45f, be sure soil is dry, otherwise, they'll rot.

I'm assuming your succulent stand is sheltered from rain?

Larger succulents endure cold temps compared to youngin's. Wouldn't you think?

It's ashame losing plants. Do you have any favorites in the group? I'd definately save them.

Good luck...

Julianna...we must have been typing the same time, so I just noticed your post.

Yeah, it's working, but IE isn't....AGAIN. I had to use a different search engine to get here.

BTW, I left three plants outside. Two Agaves and one Optunia...they'll either live or, well not. Toni

Thanks hopefulauthor,
Every time I go into the Garden Center at the BBS I get tempted to buy a plant or two. I have another window that has several houseplants in front of it, and half of my room is dedicated to my plumerias lol.

Well I took the sheet off, stuff looks OK, for now. Nothing feels mushy, or looks discolored. Cool! I was really hoping this one, what my son calls a "butt plant," would have time to finish making its' flower. (A Lithops, I think.) I've never watered anywhere near these 2 'butt plants' when watering anything in the mini garden table thing. It's under the porch roof at the west end, so the sun hits it after noon, until about sunset. I hadn't watered anything in there for a week before the cold came.

{{gwi:106521}}
That's what we're yakkin' about. If you look close at the bottom, you can see something's going on with the butt plant. That pic is from the 8th.

This is crazy, the windows are open now, up 40 degrees so far today from this morning.

Cameron, looks like I was typing when you added your pic. Wow, I was studying the big copy on PB - you've got some really cool plants there. Awesome!

Here's the butt plants a minute ago! (Edited - pic stuck to 2 edits, then as I was finally clicking submit, noticed it wasn't there. MORE gremlins today!)

This post was edited by purpleinopp on Thu, Nov 14, 13 at 14:26

Purpleinopp that's such a neat arrangement of of succulents. Its funny your son calls them butt plants lol. Thanks for the compliment on my plants. In previous years I would always have to rush bringing them indoors in one day. This year I brought in a few at a time to avoid the last minute rush lol.

Darn computer!

Cam, going to BBS will do it. :)
Wait until you start ordering online..lol.

Purple, your butt plant, lol, 'yes, Lithops' is producing a flower.
I don't dare keep lithops anymore..I kill them. It's a good idea not watering too near lithops.

Your succulent garden looks great. Too healthy for plants to be move. It's ashame if you must uplift to over-winter indoors. If bringing succulents inside is mandatory.

Purp, I have to ask..what's the skull??!! lol
Is it real or a plastic jobby?

Someone talked about a fairy/spelling garden on another thread. Was it you?

Crazy weather..it's supposed to be 65 this Saturday..according to yesterday's prediction..it might have changed.

You mentioned ants. It's too bad you didn't place ant bait on the board where skull is sitting. Unless you have another 6-8 weeks, I'd think it's too late now.
Actually, if by chance you haul the entire dish garden inside, you can still add bait.

I'm going to try posting plant pics now that they're indoors..

Back plant room

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Front plant room
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Living room

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There's more but I don't know if pics will load.

BTW, I left 3 plants outside..Agaves. So far two are doing okay, one is leaning. Probably from rain, snow and freezing temps.

Online is even worse than the BBS lol. There's so much to choose from. I find myself saying, "I want that one, and that one..." I really like the organization in each room. I try to be organized but I fail each year :P

Toni, my daughter found that skull in the woods, a deer. It looks crazy sitting there, I'll do something more interesting with it next year. AFAIK, as long as you never water Lithops, they won't die. I've never watered those plants since I got them, though if it's raining while blowing hard from the west, the mini gets a little wet. Between that happening occasionally and dew, that's apparently all the moisture they need.

Wow your house is Packed! Have you counted pots? You have a lot of really big ones too. I'm still stunned there's only 61 in here. Should top-out at about 70 if I'm able to bring in a few more that are in the shed - if they are still alive and I can get the ants out. My Mom's peace lily in her garage looked a little shaken from the cold yesterday. I should have put it farther back in, away from the door. (She's visiting my brother.)

Morning Purp,

Poor deer.
When we used to go hiking in the woods, we'd find skulls, too..I couldn't look, turned my head, ASAP.
I often wondered what happened to the poor gals and guys..the image was branded in my mind for days.

I can't recall if the plant was Lithops or another succulent, but I once read 'x' plant is only to be watered in winter, and left dormant in summer.
However, I disagee...
But, Purp, I don't remember if it was Lithops, however it was a suculent.

Lithops or Livingstones are very pretty plants..beautiful..especially when they split and bud/flower.
Same with Baby Toes..'can't recall botanical name.'
A small succulent garden, filled with Lithops and Baby Toes would look nice..and watering wouldn't be a problem since they need very little..in summer!

You're right about your succulents getting a little rain..
That's one reason I kill Lithops. The few times I bought them at HD...those I didn't water shriveled up. The others that got some water watered, 'the room is too cold,' they rotted.
It's a no-win situation.
Hope yours survive.

Purp, have you researched Lithops? If not, you should. There's more to them than meets the eye.

Yeah my house is packed, same with the green house..It's supposed to be 65 tomorrow...if so, I have to redo the gh. Can't even step inside. Literally..I'm not kidding..
Thank GOD for the gh. Most plants are large..too large for the house. I wish it was larger though. lol.

Yep,, your home is filled, too. You planning on adding more plants? lol.
Wish we were all neighbors..An entire area with people who love trops and sux. Sharing and Caring....

Purp, there's 61 plants in the one room? Yeah, add a few more..lol.

Purp, are you against chemicals? You know my feelings, but I'd rather use baits than find thousands of ants walking in the house.

Oh oh, your mom's Spath. Hopefully, it'll perk up.

Is there windows in your shed?