Hello everyone,

I am in dire need of some hands-on advice regarding my plants current state,

I intend to keep this brief as the subject is by now riddled with anxiety, I will keep an eye on the posting for any eventual follow- up questions..

Hubby & I moved in the deep of winter last year, I have a number of plants that I collected in the time we have rented homes, ~my thought being to have something of substance when we finally move to our own house.

I have held on to plants in such a manner for the last 5-6 years, never thinking of it as anything BUT a investment in myself..

I have a few ( here my husband disagrees with me) large sized tubs that houses some of my more coveted clemmies etc

I had also now last a number of transplants from my old garden in plain nurserypots.

When we got ready for transporting the plants, it had been a deep freeze for the whole past week & still going strong,

I dont remember without consulting the almanac but it was in the low teens & due to it we discover a major muck up when uncovering the mulch raised around the little camp, ~ that the pots them self were frozen to the ground,

impossible to remove with out shredding to pieces..

This was also in the garage, unheated but still better than outside, the plants got improvised housing in anything from our small room garbage cans, & even garbage bags, ( filled with 15 clumps of hosta & more!)

We got them over to our new basement that is quite large &

Standing close to the stone foundation it feels like a minizone of gently damp air, not moist & ever so slight.

The temps never drops below freezing, we also have the washer & dryer in the other end of the space that does not warm it up but keeps the general temps steady.

Running along the longer sides of the walls are small rectangular windows that are letting in a very pale weak daylight, No doubt the dirt on them is the cause but they also have this kind of "icing" or ribbing on them for privacy I think?

Well, it would have been fine if I only would have manged to keep the original plan of having them in the grounds, at the very LEAST heeled in by bloody february.

Instead I am looking at my wonderful by now 8 year old peony, that has lived & steadily improving with age mind you, the trick seems to be to dunk the whole pot so when you have to move it, the roots are still left alone.

My love has spent the whole winter reaching for the puny source of light halfway up the wall..

It has growth that is about a half inch thick AND over 4 ft tall.

It does not have a hint of green ANYWHERE due to the cholorphyll deprivation...no?

Doubtless I am going to have to do without its blooms this year...

This is pretty much the same state of all of the plants..

The currant bushes are the only thing that remained the same & started sprouting only recently, I am not too suprised as they seem to be though as nails..

My worries currently concerns all my phloxes, ~non mildew sensitive, phew..

Viburnum /snowcone bush?

Perennial daisies.

Hostas & numerous ornamental grasses.

Peonies,

Daylillies

A climbing hydrangea

I am thankful for ANY response even if it is with a idea or regarding a single plant, I am stuck & really need to act on it now before it starts heating up outside for real..

It is a bit frustrating to think about the year I have had with them already & just as I am about to close the circle, complete the whole idea, I nearly kill them all..

gggrrrr..

My apologies for any misspellings & potentially offensive language, I don't seem to be able to keep it coherent enough to be brief but I certainly do not want to cause displeasure for anyone. This is rather dis-shevelling (?) as I ahve spent the most part of the last 2 weeks standing around drumming my little fork in my hand only to alternate with tuttering around the encampment coming up with ZILCH..

Totally & utterly stuck,

I have no good plan for this.

Golly,

thanks again all.

Thanks everybody,

Kerstin L KM, Chicago, Il. Zone 5