Hi Ademink! Are these some that spent their first season planted in a wheelbarrow? LOL...just had to ask. Here is my suspicion...that the temps are heating up so much, so quickly, that it is causing the blast. My suggestion...if they are planted in full sun, move them. My later double ones are in a bed where they are shaded a good bit. I have lots of varieties, both single and double, that bloom just great in the woods....the reason being is that they sprout, grow, and most bloom b4 the leaves start to emerge. Geranium just finished blooming in the woods, and now a poeticus variety is just now pretty well finishing up. I think the shade of deciduous trees and shrubs is fine, where full shade, like from a building where they would get no sun would be harmful. What do you think? Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Explanations of causes of bud blast.

Larkspurs are not considered tender ... I usually direct sow them here in the fall and the seeds sit in our coldest temps - lows can be 15 at times - and then germinate in the spring with flowers a bit later. I also wintersow them - I mean as early as December (when it's freezing) and they germinate when they are ready. i just don't like transplanting them because they have long roots so that's why I direct sow them.

Ken thanks for jumping in to assist. I see now that I did not offer enough information so I will answer all your questions 1 by 1. Later on today I will take some photos & post them. I can not right now as it is raining hard. 1. As for the pots. They are the typical black pots that the nurseries use to display the specimens for sale. The sizes of each are listed below next to the description/size of each plant. 2. My location is zone 6a in Pennsylvania between Allentown & the Poconos. 3. About my soil, it is terrible, a mix of clay & pulverized shale, I'm in the Slate Belt area. For all my landscaping I have brought in literally "tons" of enriched topsoil, compost etc. which I have ammended to the planting areas, turning in deeply & well. I have been working on this soil for many years. Right now there is an area in the rear of home (shaded most of the day, early morning sun only) that is ready for planting, drainage would be good & the hose bib is close by if needed. 4. Well if size matters, here goes..... (all measurements taken from where soil & truck meet to top of specimen) Norway Spruce #1 is 3' tall in a black 12"w x 9"h pot. Norway Spruce #2 is 2 1/2' tall in a black 10"w x 9"h pot. Boxwood Spiral is 3 1'2' tall in a 15"w x 12" h pot. 5. When I take the photos later today I will tip these babies out of the pots & shoot photos to show the condition of the roots. 6. Now as for the bargain, the Norwood Spruce were $7.50 ea. & the Spiral Boxwoods were $8.50 ea. At those prices I thought I would give it a try to bring them home & hopefully be able to save them from danger. Even though I am a novice & will follow direction & work hard to protect these guys. My ground is not frozen at this point & I do have a nice shaded area behind my house. I am not sure how you "make sure to keep them dormant", watering, mulching etc in this situation. Any education/input would be greatly appreciated.

brutuses - they are called pants stretchers. Still made today. Very useful if you have someone who wants creases in heavy pants or jeans; also just to hang pants up to dry, especially during snow or rain storms. usafarmer - you have my understanding and sympathy. I found the amount of laundry almost unreal when I took care of my aged mother - even after she had to go into the nursing home, *I* still had all her laundry except for the sheets! (for you others - it's about the quantity of laundry as for triplets, only in adult size). She and I both loved the fresh scent of clothes hung outdoors, but let's get real here: There is only one of you and only 60 minutes in each hour. I timed it before facing facts - it took something like 10 minutes to remove a load of sheets and line-hang them compared to 45 seconds to move them from the washer to the dryer. Folding takes the same time regardless of where you stand; but you never get chapped hands from the dryer. Multiple that by 5 loads a day, and you've spent close to an hour doing nothing but hanging stuff up!!! Several baskets for dirty things are a life-saver. Label each basket and train co-residents to use them. I prefer 4 baskets: whites and bleachables; dark stuff including jeans; colored stuff; terry stuff. When a basket is nearly full, it gets dumped right into the washer, from there right into the dryer. Putting away is divided into 2 groups: hang or fold. Stuff to be hung gets hung immediately from the dryer (which also prevents wrinkling) and foldable stuff gets folded right out of the dryer and stacked into sorted piles. Put the hangared things immediately into the proper closet- it takes the same number of minutes whether you lay them across a chair or put them into the closet, so don't go making unnecessary guilt for yourself. The piles of folded stuff are put into the basket, grouped according to owner (his socks, t-shirts, shorts on the bottom; then my undies; etc.) Kids old enough to be potty-trained were taught to put their folded stuff into the proper drawer (label with a picture until they learn to read). I put away everyone else's, again: because it's quicker!!! Maybe you spend a few seconds more on opening the drawer, but look at all the time saved when you aren't stumbling over piles on the floor, lol. There is one more *very* important reason for putting things where they belong: YOU deserve to live in a neat home. You will also find that you feel better and have more energy when you don't have to climb over [or even see] piles of stuff sitting around. BTW, a young neighbor of mine cut down cardboard boxes to fit the kids' drawers. She did indeed fold almost everything wearable right into the appropriate box - I think winter coats were the only things found on hangars. Frankly, I never figured out whether she didn't wash until the box was empty, or spent time unloading and re-loading each box. And, re kids laundry: as soon as they celebrate a double-digit birthday (10), then they are old enough to take complete responsibility for their own clothing, including washing, drying, and putting away. Sorry, I don't go along with letting junior's room get stacked up; it may be his room but it's in your house. Any out-of-place item found on *any* floor, sofa, or chair, goes into the chore bag [an old pillow case a good bag] - and the item can be redeemed in trade for any chore out of the job-jar; while any item left in the bag for more than a month is either given to Salvation Army or put into the trash on collection day. If they don't want it enough to earn it back, then it doesn't need to become clutter in your house. The job-jar starts along with toddling and should be age appropriate, from helping mommy dust chair rungs to a teenager washing X number of windows. The job-jar's point is not to punish, but to enable an earned value on time and effort which can then be traded for a mis-placed belonging out of the bag.