Looking through old threads I see that you ws many many perennials last year. If the plants you have growing are enough for you to work with this year then there is no need to ws more just to ws. I encourage you to do what you are comfortable doing. This is supposed to be fun. Though I spend hours and hours in my gardens each day and work hard it is fun for me. Some of my perennials go into the regular beds if I know what/where I want them. For others I use my holding beds like Donn's "pot condo" letting the perennials grow anywhere from a season to two years. Then I decide where to plant them in my regular beds. Because perennials take 2-3 years to bloom and mature I like to start new ones every year. There are so many varieties to try. I have three holding beds full of perennials and will only ws a few new perennials and some annuals this year as I concentrate on reworking my other beds and making new beds. Some of those will go in the beds, others will go to family and friends or sold or composted or left to grow on another year. I also put some annuals in the holding beds if I am unfamiliar with them or am not sure if I would like their form or their bloom.

I'll prove my will power... with a quote. "Just because you like something, doesn't mean you should buy it." and I'll give you a story. When I was a little girl (think young, half toothless, and hair in braids, and I had bangs... UGH!) anyway - when I was young, I really REALLY wanted a horse. I begged and pestered and bothered my parents. I read every horse book I could find, I learned how to draw horses and squiggled them into notebooks instead of taking notes at school. I dreamed about them, and all that... but, still my parents said no. I got a little older and I still would ask. Every year on my birthday, I'd say I wanted one... and finally one day, my dad said "maybe"... which I translated as "yes"... and that led to more drawings and more books and more dreaming and more pestering because maybe didn't mean yes. And then I grew up. To this day, I remember wanting a horse and the lesson of what "maybe" really means - it doesn't mean yes even with pestering... And, it taught me the lesson that even if I want something, doesn't mean I can (or should) have it. When I think back on it - we lived in the country but didn't have a barn. Where would I put a horse? and how would I have taken care of it, fed it or any of the other things. yes, while it was a nice dream - it was quite appropriate that my dad didn't ever move past saying "maybe" because I didn't have the responsibility to really know how to care for a horse by myself. Anyway - all this said - If I know I can't fit them, I won't be buying more plants than can fit into my apartment. want does not equate to need. :) And I would need a huge apartment - if I were buying more than 2 or 3 plants... because they won't fit. (and THIS is why I'm not as plant addicted as the rest of you guys. there's no point to my buying a dozen plants to have them not 'thrive' in my tiny place.)

Nothing that should be seen as concerning jumps out at you when you look them over - some very minor mechanical injury from getting banged around while they were handled at the greenhouse, some evidence of over-watering in the past, and it looks like maybe a bit of an adverse reaction to something applied (insecticide, fungicide, ......) in the past. They want warm temps 70-80*, moist but never wet or soggy soil, and all the light you can give them, during the winter especially. If you do decide to put them in full sun, make sure you take a little time to try to acclimate the leaves to the new site over a week or two. Best to move them to a full sun position at the onset of a stretch of cloudy days. Would you describe yourself as an experienced grower, or are you just getting started? Al

Dee, I was hoping upi'd see this. I can't even find a cutting on E-bay anymore((( I hope you are doing better