Hello from Rob

OK, this is not so illuminating - I have a cold - I guess it won't be the flu, as I've had a flu jab, which covers most predicted and common flu viruses that may be around.

It's also cold here in England - no surprises, it's winter, but the last few winters have been really mild, which has been great for many of my near tropical plants. Not everything is dead, which is good, though we've had a week or so of freezing weather.

My palm trees outdoors are looking healthy, though they are mostly able to take -15 Celsius, which is way below the temperatures that we've had. My Loquat fruit tree is OK, but it's been suffering this past few months from cracking bark, which may be a bacterial infection, called Fire blight, which has spread from the US - it's been around in England for 40 years or so.

So, I'm not spending much time outdoors, to help my plants, as I'm feeling as under the weather as they are. I use a variety of protection methods, including garden fleece, moving things to warmer micro-climates, as well as some salvaged polystyrene sheets that I place over and at the sides of plants. Even some garden netting has helped one plant, a beautiful red bottle brush (supposedly hardy-ish, but scorched in some earlier frosts). I have another 4' (1m approx) bottle brush plant that has been reliably hardy for a few years, and I now give no protection to. Looks wonderful when in flower, again with deep red flowers, resembling bottle brushes.