Hey Miriam...I think this is an excellent idea for a new feature. Unfortunately, we don't have that feature on our current site. As of now I can't think of any tricks that will help you filter for evergreen plants other than asking me on the forums. I apologize for being the bearer of bad news, but please feel free to ask in the future. Cheers...Robby

I am looking for plants that have leaves all year round. Is there any way I can tell which plants in the recommendations will keep their leaves? (I haven't found anything but maybe I'm missing something).

Hey Patricia...I definitely would bring your Magnolia inside for the winter. Unfortunately, bringing them inside will not decrease the tree's demand for light as well. These trees are full sun plants and being in your garage will also affect the health of the plant, but if it gets too cold you will also see an effect. If you are willing to risk it, you may want to try keeping it outside but close to a south or west facing wall. Keeping it close to the house will provide some temperature protection, but I also have to warn you that I cannot guarantee that this will be enough protection. I would suspect you are about 2 zones from of being the tree's lower limit for cold hardiness zones. Its lower limit is 7. Much of CT is zone 5. This may be difficult, but by providing some microclimates it may survive the winter. I have a trick that I use here in Northern California if we are supposed to have a cold snap that my lime tree may not be able to handle. I string up some holiday lights throughout the canopy of the lime tree. Luckily, I can do this because my lime tree is very small in size. When night rolls around I simply turn on the lights, which provides a small microclimate that is slightly warmer around the lime tree and it provides a festive look. If your Magnolia is not too big (I say this because Southern Magnolias can get HUGE), I would recommend stringing some holiday lights throughout the canopy to give a little extra heat to the plant. I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers! Robby

EWWWW! Thanks for the advice, I will clean out the leaves.

Hey Edith...You definitely want to remove the dead leaves from your pot. Dead plant material provides the perfect location for fungal or bacterial infection. If the dead leaves are infected, they will act as breeding grounds for disease causing microorganisms. Either throw the leaves out or compost them. The process of composting will "pasteurize" the decaying leaf matter. Compost piles, when it's done properly, will heat up to temperatures that can kill off disease causing fungal spores and bacteria. I bet what you are seeing on your decaying leaves is gray mold, aka Botrytis. Very common and very easily spread. I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers, Robby

I have a potted Meyer Lemon tree. When it has lost leaves, I've put them in the pot. Now, it looks like some of the leaves are molding. Is this ok, or should I keep the leaves out of the pot?

Another version of the dormant storage entails placing the geraniums in paper bags and storing them similarly to the German method. It is important to give them a boost of fertilizer when spring rolls around...I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions. Happy Overwintering! Robby

Another way you can store geraniums over winter is by simply putting them in your basement or another dark place for the entire winter. I learned this trick when I was on a horticultural tour of Germany. Germans love geraniums for their flower boxes. As winter approaches they trim back their geraniums and move them to their basements or a tool shed that will be cold during the winter months. They don't even dig the geraniums up. The average temperature should be in the 40's to the low 50's for the dormant geraniums. This is called dormant storage.

Hey Mary...First off, I was wondering in what general region you and your geraniums live. This could give me a better idea of what you would need to do. I'm going to assume that you live in a more Northern climate, since many folk in warmer climates don't normally have to deal with overwintering plants. My recommendation to you is to pot those geraniums in containers with a light and fluffy potting soil. Be sure to thoroughly water them after you've repotted them. It's important that the potting soil drains well (water should not be pooling on top of the soil line for more than 1 minute). Place these containers indoors in the sunniest position you can find. You may want to pinch off any new shoot growth since they will be weak stems (that's because they won't be getting as much light as they should be indoors). When spring rolls around, give them a light fertilization and then move them back outside.

Hey Charles...In all honesty, I will be adding coffee to our database fairly soon. I would have to do some more research for a plant that is fairly equivalent and match an existing plant in our database. Hopefully, you will see your coffee online sooner than later. I appreciate your feedback. Cheers...Robby