I respect your opinion Gil, but you see, alot of us live in rural areas that don't have access to speciality nurseries like you folks living in the big cities. I will order live perennial plants, roses, daylilies, Irises from reputable growers that have a good reputation and customer service, I too have had too many bad experiences with shipping live plants from some of the popular mail order businesses on the Internet. I only order rare or unusual that I know I would not be able find locally around here and I will only order from those that have a guarantee policy. For McFaydens, Veseys, Botanus, companies like that, I've been only ordering bulbs, tubers and rhizome plants too. Sorry to highjack your thread Janet, hope your plants make it as well. Sharon

I remember a thread 'lacey' which sings the praises of S. marilandica. Here it is: [The wonderful Spigelia[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/why-doesnt-every-nursery-in-the-country-sell-dsvw-vd~1637801) I know it can be a bit 'iffy' in terms of over-wintering it in a zone 5. I have two S. marilandica plants that have survived the past 2 winters but probably should be in more sun to do their best. I would be disappointed if either don't make it.

I've ordered from them quite a bit over the past two years ($1000+ plus in plants) and my experience has been mixed. I've had several plants that have been damaged in transit, and some that weren't really healthy or were smaller in size compared to what you can find in a good retail nursery. If you have customer service issues, which I did on several occasions (damaged, missing, and unhealthy plants) they don't answer their phone and it takes them a couple days to get back to you on email. Their inventory system isn't very good so occasionally you won't get something that was ordered, but you don't know until the shipment arrives and it's not included. This is a small family run operation. On the positive side they have some unique hard to find plants and are friendly to work with. Note: I just tried to access their website and their domain registration expired in mid-January. Don't know if this means they are out of business or just haven't paid GoDaddy.

I'd pick in the ground with twice weekly water. You didn't say how long a "bit" is, and I picture hosta roots rotting from standing in the same water (in the saucer ) for too long or drying up. -Babka