@Ursula and @bumplbea for the s !

My desert roses are confused! Some are putting our new leaves, others are fully dormant (no leaves) and others like this have no new leaves but decided to bloom!



I am starting to put them back in the camping tent so they don't get rained on Friday (70% chance). The forecast is going to 36 on early morning of Sunday! Then it warms back up after that!

Looks like a tent is a good solution for you!

Gigi, it sure is a lot of work schlepping all these plants around for the cold weather, but trust me, it's worth it. By March when we're sweating and seeking the shade again you will have forgotten all this work.

In the meantime, I look at it as some extra exercise that certainly won't hurt my waistline after all the holiday goodies. I'll be right along with you, moving pots, and building shelters, plus covering up my hoop house for the few cold nights coming this weekend.

At least most of the orchids can stay outside for this one, it's forecast to stay above 40deg. all weekend here, so the Dens and Catts will be fine. Bloomers get to come inside to be enjoyed on the kitchen counter and under the new skylights. Vandas are all in the hoop house, right up against the wall of the shop, where it stays nice and warm.

The fancy sensor gadget I got for Christmas from my geeky husband is telling me (on my phone) that it is currently 71deg. with 87.8% humidity out there, even though the ambient air temp is around 60. No cover on the hoop structure tonight, either. I love it!

Ain't technology great! Your gadget sounds like a good thing to have Elaine and I love that you can see it on your phone. We put in a new irrigation controller and I can control all the different zones on the phone. Love not having to run back and forth to the garage when we have to adjust an individual sprinkler head.

Yes, this gadget is great. I've also used the Rachio system for irrigation controls at my daughter's house in Utah. It's so great not to have to run into the house to turn it on/off. Must remember to suggest it to the nerdy engineer here. He's usually all over that stuff.

I bought the Orbit B-Hyve for 6 zones and it has worked great. It is one of those gadgets that is worth every penny. Our sprinkler heads are forever getting messed up by the mowers and it is finally easy to adjust them.

Newsletter has one of your orchids @Ursula the other orchid may be in the next newsletter.
https://garden.org/newsletter/...

Thanks Gigi!

A small Abutilon, Passiflora and our local Duck pond -

I am going to look for more abutilons like that beauty of yours, they handle the cold weather well. The sky looks so crisp and cold in your duck pond photo.

Alice, so far we have been lucky this Winter, day time temps were mostly in the forties. But it was breezy today!

I hope if we have to move to NC I can learn to think that 40's is a good thing.

Does the abuiliton stay small? I'd like to get one if so

sedumzz said: Does the abutilon stay small? I'd like to get one if so

Yes, this one is at least 5 years old, it always stayed small like that. I have it sitting under some Vandas in a sunny spot, where it gets flooded daily. It seems to be happy.

It's a beauty, and the pond photo is lovely.

I've been very good, not buying new plants but I needed some Perlite and other supplies so I visited my favorite nursery. Uh, oh, they had a new shipment of roses, grafted on the good rootstock, Fortuniana, that is resistant to the nematodes in our soil. This beauty 'Tahitian Sunset' followed me home.

It came with two buds ready to open, showing mostly orange with red streaks.



But as they opened, they have mellowed to a lovely peachy shade with some pink overtones coming along. My favorite thing, a flower that changes color especially when it's sunset shades. Yesterday


And today, almost going towards yellow.

How lovely, Roses in January!!

Elaine, I would have bought that one also, are you gong to keep it in a pot?

These 80 degree days, in between the freezes, have all the roses ready to roar. Of course, now is the time to severely prune them. Hacking off branches full of buds is a painful chore.

I'm looking forward to my 81F day today to start spreading Nutricote in the greenhouse. Of course, it will be in the 30's tomorrow night. Sigh. I still have some alocasias up, going to start giving everyone a little nibble of food

Which formulation of Nutricote are you using?

180 day