Nana, no, don't seal the ends - the cuts will be too small to matter. It's up to you whether or not to shorten any branches - as the tree grows this year, the branches will thicken and most likely straighten as well - but you can certainly do so. Just remember to follow the good pruning principles of cutting to a smaller branch going in the direction you want, to the trunk or to a bud facing the direction you want the growth to go. Don't shorten lower branches more than higher-up branches, trim so that the lower ones can still get sun on them. Keep your pruner sharp. You can take out any branch that is crossing or rubbing another branch, to the point that future growth hopefully won't cross or rub either. Do look carefully at the tree before you cut, and try to visualize what it will look like without THAT branch. If in doubt, take off half what you thought needed to come off and look again to see if that was enough. If still doubtful, you can go away and come back later to do more trimming - branches can always be cut later, but gluing them back on doesn't work!

Hi- I had the same problem this winter. I started my beds in December--we just moved here to the carolina area. Anyhow- what I have been doing is pulling aside some mulch and adding a mix of compost/manure & bark mulch wherever I put a plant. As for my peas I put them in a pot. I'm adding more mulch around the plants cuz its very hot here in summer and I really think the beds will be fine in the long run they just didn't rot as fast I wanted--but I'm ok with it. A gardener friend of mine said she adds bark every spring to hers as a mulch--just a tip. she says it degrades faster than some other mulches and has added to her beds kept them friable and soft. good luck--don't despair--everything rots eventually. Mary

Okay, now I have a question JAG. I forgot to add gypsum when I mixed my first two ten gallon batches of gritty mix for the dwarf navel and tangelo. I did remember when I mixed the third batch for the dwarf tangerine. All three turned rather yellow initially because I bare-rooted and transplanted them in November. They are greening up now and putting on new leaves and I might be imagining this but I'd swear the tangerine looks the best. All three are getting a weekly dose of FP (2.5ml/2gallons) in water adjusted with some white vinegar. The question is, should I be adding some supplemental calcium to the two plants that don't have gypsum, or does FP weekly provide enough calcium to keep these plants healthy? Tom

I finally got around to doing an inventory of who's poking their heads up. I'm thinking beginner's luck really applies to me (like Hykue already mentioned for her garden), since almost everything seems to be coming back. My garden is in Whitehorse, Yukon (Zone 1a). Here's what made it: Delphiniums - 'Summer Skies', Pacific Giant 'Guinevere', and assorted miscellaneous ones that were here when we moved in. Re-blooming Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbury') Asiatic Pot Lily 'Mt. Duckling' Primula cortusoides - coming up like crazy and now its blooming, one of the earliest ones in the garden, came up at the same time as the Delphiniums Columbine - Aquilegia vulgaris plena 'Black Barlow' and A. flabellata 'Ministar' (Blue Angel Fan columbine) Dianthus deltoides 'Confetti White' (White Maiden pinks) and Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Tiny Rubies (Cheddar pinks) Campanula cochlearifolia 'Bavaria Blue' (Bavaria Blue Fairy Thimble) - came up a bit later than everything else so I was worried about it but it looks like itÂs doing fine Rosy Pussytoes Cutleaf Anemone  another one thatÂs growing like crazy. Goat's Beard Sempervivum 'Emerald Express' Tanacetum coccineum Robinson's Mix (Single Painted Daisy) Subalpine Daisy Baby's Breath - a transplant from my mother-in-law's garden last year Speedwell - Veronica allioni unknown var.; Veronica RedFox; Veronica spicata 'Sightseeing Mix' (all are coming up like crazy) Aster alpinus 'Dunkle Schone' (Dark Beauty Alpine Aster), and Aster alpinus 'Pinkie' (Pink Alpine Aster) - the Dark Beauty has tons of growth, the Pinkie is slower but alive Double-flowering Almond - I really had doubts about how this one would do when I planted it last year but it's flowering! Icelandic poppy  just about to flower. Peonies 'Sword Dance', 'Sarah Bernhardt', and 'Sorbet' - I was worried about them but the ÂSarah Bernhardt is coming up like crazy and the others are alive, too. I had thought the Sword Dance was dead last year so stuck it in the ground in a patch in the middle of nowhere, pretty much ignored it, and now itÂs coming back. IÂm amazed. Common Bleeding Heart  survived but I planted it in what turned out to be a poor spot last year so IÂll move it as soon as I can this year. Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) - planted it in a very bad spot two years ago and I'm amazed it's still hanging in there. I'm going to move the poor thing this year. Potentilla nepalensis (Cinquefoil ÂMiss WillmottÂ)  another one that I planted in a really bad spot two years ago and it survived. IÂd actually forgotten it was even there and so wasnÂt watering it or anything but then went to dig up a spot for azaleas and found it! So IÂve moved it to my new shade bed while apologizing to it profusely. Hosta undulata ÂMediovariegata' is slowly coming up; still no sign of Hosta fortunei Âaureomarginata Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis ÂRoseaÂ) Lilacs  two unknown varieties that were here when we moved in Chives - these were here from the previous owners. I accidentally weeded a bunch out when we first moved in and then discovered more the other day. A few other odds and ends  raspberries that we transplanted from my mother-in-lawÂs garden last year, rhubarb that was here when we moved in, two Ashleaf Spirea that appeared out of nowhere, tons of JacobÂs Ladder and Yarrow and Oxeye Daisies, and a mixture of wild and domestic strawberries that are all in bloom now. The casualties (what doesnÂt appear to have survived or are iffy): Dwarf Arctic Iris (Iris setosa var. arctica)  two donÂt have anything but I just noticed that one has a couple of green shoots Phlox divaricata ssp laphamii ÂChattahoochee Johnny Jump-ups  maybe these will come later since they did fine last year Blue Marguerite (Felicia amelloides) Nepeta faassenii ÂDropmore Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ÂJack FrostÂ)  I think IÂll try this again but somewhere else in my yard. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea ÂDouble MixedÂ)  not surprised these didnÂt make it, I didnÂt really expect them to but thought IÂd give them a try False Spirea (Astilbe taqueti ÂSuperbaÂ)  another one that I planted before I knew what I was doing and that probably would have done fine if IÂd put it in a better spot. Poor thing. IÂve got some other Astilbes in a different spot this year.