Astrantia is a difficult plant to germinate from seed because it requires a warm-cold-warm cycle and often, the older the seed, the longer the germination period can take. In other words, you may need 2 warm-cold-warm cycles. I don't believe it is considered ephemeral and personally, I've successfully germinated 2 year old seed. My experience is that the seed germinates best if scarified first and then given a 4 to 8 week warm period followed by a 12 week cold period. There are several reasons that might have resulted in failure to germinate. The seed may have been sterile (the seed pod was empty) especially if it was collected from hybrids or the warm and cold periods may not have been long enough. By the way, Astrantia Ruby Cloud, Astrantia Rose Symphony, and Astrantia Primadonna are seed strains. The only time I've had a true hybrid produce viable seed is when it was in close proximity to Astrania major (the species) and I've never seen seed produced by A. Shaggy either. The species reseeds abundantly here in Montreal (similar to a Zone 4B or 5 US) and our summers are also hot and humid but less than New Jersey. Since our growing season is shorter, Astrantia takes between 2 to 3 years to bloom from seed. I grow my plants in partial to 3/4 shade in moist loamy soil.

If the water-holding capcity of the hole and the surrounding soil is simiar, so that the hole is neither more wet or dry than the surrounding area, then things are probably fine. You will lose the leaves and maybe some wood, but that is the price you pay when you move and want to take the plants, you do the best you can. We moved last June and I did the same. The plants had a miserable year and they are still recovering this year. Sometimes a dirty maple that may have some Verticillium or other disease in it can truly suffer as the disease can take hold and the plant never returns to its original health, or maybe even dies. You should mulch well, water when dry, probably 1-2x per week, and trim back any dying wood or twigs as you notice them. If there is a branch in decline, I suggest removing it so the tree doesn't have to expend energy trying to compartmentalize the damage. I didn't take all my maples when we moved, but the ones that did not obviously impact the landscape plan came with me. I had a very large and beutiful Aratama that was incredibly happy in its old home. I dug it into a 25 gallon can and it has not been the same. It is still alive and will be for a while but it will never be what it was and I often wonder why I did not just leave it for others to enjoy. I would probably dig it up again, but I would still feel like I made the wrong choice after the fact.

Ihave Nonamé Zone 9B, NorCal..but I would like a plant I could recommend/give to family in Oregon/Washington. ------------------------------------------------ I am in WA, ~ 150 miles north of OR. For OR, WA I will recommend "Willamette" . It is a saladette size bred by OSU. I grew it last year . and am growing it again. It is prolific and taste was good too. I am also growing : Oregon Spring, Siletz, and Legend. All bred by OSU for PNW. Black Krim and Brandywine did not do well for me. Sey

I am just south of Mrytle Beach, in Charleston. I am growing in ground still, root knot nematodes not a problem yet. Still get lots of tomatoes. Key is to get an early start. Be prepared to set some out a little earlier than you should and then protect them on cold nights. You may only get two cold nights in all of April. If you can protect them just those two nights, you will get a 30 day growing advantage. This makes a huge difference in plant growth, number of buds, and number of pollinated blooms before the humidity makes the pollen too tacky to work. This will happen some time in June. I leave my cages off so I can cover easily if necessary. I put the cages on after threats are past. I stagger plant out in case my gamble fails. At least some will survive. Try Big Beefs. They are tough, productive, resistant, red, and taste good. They are a good bench mark for other varieties. You can pick them up at the big box stores, but cannot not always count on real early in this region. As the humidity increases, your plant will cease pollinating(buds will be plentiful though) and the heat will normally cause a shut down in August. It will look alive, but the heat here impairs the function for normal processes. If it lives through summer, it may produce new buds in the fall. But the heat damage from the summer is pretty severe. Sometimes, it is best to start fall with new plants. Or just skip it if you have a good season. I used my fall gardening time to establish a winter garden. Since the ground never freezes, and there are many cold hardy plants that can easily handle 22 or down to 18, a winter garden makes a lot of sense. It is almost impossible to grow normal spring varieties like Lettuce (bolts in March) or carrots (gets woody) outside of winter, and easier than falling down to grow in the winter. To see the possibilties check the vegetable growing section New Year's Eve harvest post.