I sure hope it's okay and I understand the sentimental meaning with trees and children. My maple was protected and has recovered, never having lost it's leaves except on ends on the very top branches. However, my mature crepe myrtles and vitex were totally black and wicked looking from the frost. Just over the last week, we're seeing signs of tiny leaves coming out. We're just south of Chapel Hill with full sun. If you scratch the branch with your thumbnail, do you see green? I think someone else mentioned that on one of the early threads and so I checked all my damaged shrubs/trees. Last week, I did another check and wherever I didn't find green, I pruned back to green on my buddleia, vitex and hypericum. I don't know if that's good advice on a maple -- someone else probably can answer. Best of luck, Cameron

Helen, Thanks for that link. I think it is a wonderful resource and expect I'll use it a lot. I looked at Marietta's data and it pretty much confirmed what I've learned in 11 years (just began our 12th) of living here.....and that is that our temperatures are all over the place in April and early May. I have found our native pecan trees and native Bur Oak trees to be even more reliable than all the historical records and averages and such. Only two springs since we've moved here have the native pecans bloomed and leafed out early enough to be frozen back by a late freeze or frost. The bur oak has been wrong three times. They both have not yet leafed out even though most of our other trees have, but they both are budding. I really think that for my part of the state, way down in southcentral OK, once we get past the lows on Thurs. morning and Friday morning, we likely will be OK. I'm not terribly worried about those two nights, but I'll be watchful. Our two-year-old granddaughter is here today and tomorrow and we are planting her new 'Peter Rabbit'-inspired garden, both the cool-season and warm-season crops. I wouldn't let her put all her little seedlings into the beds if I really felt like a late frost was a good possibility, but I am prepared to cover them if cold temperatures threaten. Some years I have planted tomatoes as early as about March 9th or 10th and only had to cover them up on one or two two nights. For the last 3 or 4 years, though, I've planted later and later because we've had later and later frosts. This does feel like a different weather pattern. It seems more like the spring weather we had in the early 2000s. I hope that's true because those are the years I planted early and got away with it. Dawn

The National Weather Service JUST issued a Frost Advisory for about a dozen counties in southcentral OK for 1 thru 9 a.m. Friday morning. Gee, guys, thanks for all the advance warning. Luckily, I wasn't waiting for them to advise us to cover up or bring in plants (I did both those things late this afternoon) but the Advisory is kind of late for anyone who wasn't already watching the weather and figuring it out for themselves. Jo, You may have to put something around your young fig trees' trunks to keep them from being gnawed on this winter. It has been warm enough during the day that bugs are still around even though we've had cold nights. Some years I see insects even into December in surprising numbers. I think a lot of them can handle cold weather if they hide under mulch or plant debris or whatever. I still have grasshoppers, including new small ones that hatched in September. Susan, I brought two containerized tomatoes into the garage, and covered up two that are out in the garden. We are expecting a freeze here, though, so if it gets cold enough, the covered-up ones won't make it. After covering up those plants and dragging the containerized plants (the 2 toms, a few peppers, and some brugs) into the garage, I harvested the last of the purple hyacinth beans for seeds and stripped the peppe plants of any peppers of decent size. Then I took one long last look at the Texas hummingbird sage, tithonias, petunias, marigolds, morning glories, black-eyed susan vines, zinnias, begonias, periwinkles, salvias and four o'clocks and sighed because by Saturday they'll probably be frozen and it really will be over for this year. They just look so beautiful right now that I hate to say goodbye to them. It has been really chilly here today so a lot of the flowers, though still blooming, are looking a little ratty. The okra and pepper plants started dropping leaves this week too as if they knew their days were numbered. I hate the morning after the first freeze...seeing all that blackened foliage. I haven't received any catalogs yet except for HPS's, but have received a few e-mails from companies that have their websites updated for 2011 and also saying "the catalog is in the mail" (that one was from T&M). Susan, It's a long tomato list! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Text of the Just-Issued Frost Advisory for SC OK

The procedure for preparing iris plants for shipment from one garden to another varies according to the iris variety being shipped. There are essentially four basic categories of irises: bearded (bearded species and cultivars, arils, and arilbreds), crested (cristata, tectorum, japonica, etc.), beardless (Siberian, Japanese, Louisiana, etc.), and bulbous (Dutch, juno, reticulata, etc.). Bearded irises are shipped dry. These irises can be moved at any time during the growing season, though they are traditionally divided about 6 weeks after bloom. It's important to get them replanted into their new garden at least 6-8 weeks before freezing weather to give them time to root in adequately before winter. Use a spade or fork to dig up your iris clumps and wash them off well with a hose until you have removed all dirt and can easily see where the rhizomes (rzs) are attached to one another. With a sharp knife, cut through the attachments (or you can break them apart with your hands, but a sharp knife will make a smaller, cleaner wound). Inspect the rzs thoroughly. Discard any rhizomes that are soft or mushy or show any other signs of disease, any that do not have viable roots, and any that are just too tiny to bother with. Many folks also discard any rzs that have already bloomed (they will not bloom again, though they may grow additional increases). Remove any dead, spotted, or unhealthy (brown or yellow) leaves, and wipe off any insects on the remaining leaves. Cut the leaf fan back just enough to accommodate the size of your shipping box without having to bend or fold the leaves. Snip off any dead roots but leave the plump roots intact. As a preventative measure to avoid transmitting any plant pests or diseases to your trader's garden, soak the rzs in a solution of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water for 20 minutes, then rinse in clear water. Dry the leaves and, using a permanent marker, write the name or description of the plant on a single, central leaf. Avoid writing across several leaves or on the outer leaves of a fan. As leaves dry, they tend to separate from each other, and the outer ones shrivel and die. After you have separated, inspected, cleaned, and labeled your rzs, lay them out in a shady, dry area for a couple days to allow the cut wounds to scab over and the plants to dry thoroughly. It is extremely important to ship only completely dry plants, as any dampness (even moisture retained between the leaves) can result in mold and rot developing in transit. Once your plants are completely dry, pack them loosely into a box using a minimal amount of a breathable and absorbable packing material (excelsior, dry wood shavings, crumpled or shredded newspaper - avoid styrofoam packing materials). Punch holes in the box to allow good air circulation, and your irises are ready to travel to their new home. Crested irises may be shipped either dry for larger species such as Iris tectorum, or with the rhizomes and roots kept damp for smaller species such as Iris cristata. These irises can be moved at any time during the growing season, but it's probably best to do so immediately after bloom is finished. It's important to get them replanted into their new garden at least 6-8 weeks before freezing weather to give them time to root in adequately before winter. Use a spade or fork to dig up your iris clumps and wash them off well with a hose until you have removed all dirt and can easily see where the rhizomes (rzs) are attached to one another. Depending on the size of the rzs, you may wish to divide them either into small clumps or individual rhizomes. With a sharp knife, cut through the attachments. Place rhizomes of small crested species into a bucket of water to prevent them from drying out. Inspect the rzs thoroughly. Discard any rhizomes that are mushy or show any other signs of disease and any that do not have viable roots. Many folks also discard any rzs that have already bloomed (they will not bloom again, though they may grow additional increases). Remove any dead, spotted, or unhealthy (brown or yellow) leaves, and wipe off any insects on the remaining leaves. Cut the leaf fan of larger crested species back just enough to accommodate the size of your shipping box without having to bend or fold the leaves. Snip off any dead roots but leave the plump roots intact. Dry the leaves and, using a permanent marker, write the name or description of the plant on a single, central leaf. Avoid writing across several leaves or on the outer leaves of a fan. As leaves dry, they tend to separate from each other, and the outer ones shrivel and die. After you have separated, inspected, cleaned, and labeled your plants, wrap the rhizomes and roots of smaller crested species in damp (not wet) paper towels or peat moss. Place the wrapped rhizomes and roots in a plastic baggie or plastic wrap, securing snugly around the base of the leaves. Pack the prepared plants loosely into a box using a breathable and absorbable packing material (excelsior, dry wood shavings, crumpled or shredded newspaper - avoid styrofoam packing materials). Punch holes in the box to allow good air circulation. Ship crested irises to arrive as quickly as possible to avoid having the roots and rhizomes of smaller species dry out in transit. Beardless irises are shipped with the rhizomes and roots kept damp. These irises should be transplanted only in early spring or early fall when air temperatures are moderate. It's important to get them replanted into their new garden at least 6-8 weeks before freezing weather to give them time to root in adequately before winter. Use a spade or fork to dig up your iris clumps and wash them off well with a hose until you have removed all dirt and can easily see where the rhizomes (rzs) are attached to one another. Depending on the size of the rzs, you may wish to divide them either into small clumps or individual rhizomes. With a sharp knife, cut through the attachments. Place all rhizomes into a bucket of water to prevent them from drying out. Inspect the rzs thoroughly. Discard any rhizomes that are mushy or show any other signs of disease, any that do not have viable roots, and any that are just too tiny to bother with. Many folks also discard any rzs that have already bloomed (they will not bloom again, though they may grow additional increases). Remove any dead, spotted, or unhealthy (brown or yellow) leaves, and wipe off any insects on the remaining leaves. Cut the leaf fan back just enough to accommodate the size of your shipping box without having to bend or fold the leaves. Snip off any dead roots but leave the plump roots intact. Dry the leaves and, using a permanent marker, write the name or description of the plant on a single, central leaf. Avoid writing across several leaves or on the outer leaves of a fan. As leaves dry, they tend to separate from each other, and the outer ones shrivel and die. After you have separated, inspected, cleaned, and labeled your plants, soak them overnight in a bucket of clean water to make sure they are fully hydrated for their trip to their new home. After soaking, wrap the rhizomes and roots (not the leaves) in a wet paper towel, damp peat moss, or hydrated polymer crystals. Place the wrapped rhizomes and roots in a plastic baggie or plastic wrap, securing snugly around the base of the leaves. Pack the prepared plants loosely into a box using a breathable and absorbable packing material (excelsior, dry wood shavings, crumpled or shredded newspaper - avoid styrofoam packing materials). Punch holes in the box to allow good air circulation. Ship beardless irises to arrive as quickly as possible to avoid having their roots dry out in transit. Upon receipt, beardless irises should be soaked in a bucket of fresh water overnight before planting. Bulbous irises are shipped dry. Most bulbous irises are handled similarly to tulips or daffodils. Dig dormant, mature bulbs in summer after the foliage has died down. Rinse off all soil and remove dead foliage. Inspect bulbs for signs of disease or insect damage, keeping only healthy bulbs for trading and replanting. Juno irises require a bit of extra care as they have both bulbs and fleshy roots. Care should be taken to dig these irises with the fleshy roots intact and to package them carefully to avoid bruising either bulbs or roots in transit. Allow bulbs to dry for a couple days before packaging for shipping. Pack them loosely into a box using a breathable and absorbable packing material (excelsior, dry wood shavings, crumpled or shredded newspaper - avoid styrofoam packing materials). Punch holes in the box to allow good air circulation. Bulbs should be replanted in mid to late autumn.