Usually daffodil bulbs are planted in autumn in time to catch autumn or winter rains. Over the cooler months they first develop roots and then put up their leaf shoots. As the weather becomes warmer the leaves grow very rapidly and the flower stems begin to emerge. When the flowers have finished it pays to feed the plants with some tomato fertiliser. This helps the bulb to form the buds for the next season. As the spring moves into summer the leaves gradually become yellow, wither, and die right back. This is normal. The bulb is taking a rest over the dry season. Some daffodil types - such as Earlicheer, start into growth before the trumpet-style daffodils - and keep their leaves for much longer. If they are living through a wet summer (or someone is watering them) it will take much longer for them to go into resting. But they do need to rest. While they are growing the bulbs are also creating offsets - small bulbs - which stay attached to the main bulb until they are big enough to flower. This may take a couple of years. Over that time all you will see are leaves. At this time of the year stop watering. Let the leaves die back. Let the soil in the pot become seriously dry. (It can take ages, particularly if the weather becomes cooler. The plants just aren't using so much. If you add more the bulbs might rot because the roots also die right back.) The bulbs need to stop growing for a while. Later on, maybe November or December, repot the bulbs into fresh mix and water them once. If they were growing in the ground they would start making their roots in summer, making use of whatever water is reaching them. This is always a good time to thin out the bulbs so they aren't too crowded in the pots. Early daffodils really bulk up and have big roots systems, too. After that, I would wait until the soil is dry at least an inch down in the pot before watering again. There's no need to feed them at this time. They have plenty of food already stored. If your drought has eased, and you can put your bulbs out in the yard to catch the rain, you could do that - probably on the south east side to catch the morning sun. Make sure your pots have 'feet' under them so the pots are well-drained. Earlicheers and daffodils like them begin to flower in the early spring - whatever that month is for you. Perhaps February/March. If they don't flower for you next year - don't despair. If you can plant them in the ground in a sunny place where they can delve down and which also gets ample rain they should flower again for you the following year. Or you can let them grow on in the pot - feed after flowering time, let them dry off, and get back into their cycle of production. Personally, I don't think you need to put the bulbs in the fridge to have success in flowering. If your local temperatures are extreme, however, it would be prudent to put the pot/s into a cool zone on the northern side of your house over the hottest months of the year.

I agree. Its hard to know what the rose is going to do when you see it sitting there at the nursery. All the tags tell you that each one is wonderful and so forth. Even a great rose will not grow well in a bad spot or may have a bad year due to weather or pests. Maybe you happened to get a bad plant. What can you do except try? Colors will be a little different than described and for me the plants are always larger than the book or label says. Some plants poke along for a few years and then magically take off once established. Then there is the matter of rootstocks which change the way the plant grows. Huey roots grow well for me in so cal but I have to worry about virus and larger sized plants than if they were own root plants. What I do these days is grow the mail ordered own root plants when I can. I like the shapes of the plants and they seem to give more new shoots each year. I try to get a virus free plant whenever I can. The small "twiglets" require patience to get going but in my garden, they surpass the grafted ones I can get at the nursery after only a few years. That being said, I still buy the random rose at the nursery just to try it. If I love it, I will usually try to get a virus free one from the mail order later. Getting advice here is the best thing I ever did. Years before I came here, I read a book, got all excited about once blooming antique roses, spent a small fortune mail ordering a bunch of them, waited 4 years and never got one flower. They don't bloom here. It's not cold enough. They are now happily living next to a pretty cabin in Big Bear. You will always have roses that did not meet your expectations and hopefully there will be a growing number of ones that are favorites.

Hi Chris, Its a poly Rubbermaid tank that's darkish grey. Would it work to put clear plastic over it until it warms up?? Or would that cook it? No fish, but tadpoles. Would the heat hurt them? color=green> I was really wondering if it was metal. Since it is "plastic" and gray I'd say it is probably "drawing" a little extra heat on sunny days. (Now that you described it I have seen these in our local Tractor Supply store.) I've noticed this year in my area it has been more cloudy than in previous years. I think that factors into the mix, too. I'd hesitate to cover it with plastic now. It would probably heat up......possibly TOO MUCH for the tadpoles. And I'd hate to see you lose the tadpoles/frogs. Now the waterlilies would take the extra heat. :-) I have fish in both my ponds so I wouldn't cover them with plastic either. My two ponds are above ground. I built treated lumber frames, covered them with treated plywood (inside) and then dropped liners in each one. The smaller pond is 4' x 6' and has been going for 6 years. I bought a pond kit on clearance at Walmart for $35. My larger pond I built last May. It is 6' x 11'. I'll include a link to my Facebook page if you want to see pictures of last year's ponds. I haven't had time to take pictures yet this year. I had Green Smoke last year. I wasn't real impressed with it, as far as color. I have Dauben this year, and it reminds me of Green Smoke.color=green> I first saw Green Smoke at Longwood Gardens in PA. I love the coloring on the first two days. LOL! After that the petal tips "throw" the colors for me. That purple/deep raspberry on the tips just doesn't work with the rest of the flower. But I do love it. I've grown it two years in a row. I've seen Dauben at Lilypons and it is a little to pale blue for my taste. But it is a blooming fool! I do intend to grow it one year. This year I also have Panama Pacific again and its doing well. I also have a Fire Opal from Menards. I've had good luck with their water lilies, but this year I was a sucker. I should have known that there aren't any hardy purple lilies, but the picture on the container was purple, and they wrote that the color was Purple. Well, its light pink that turns to white the second day. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.color=green> I've grown Panama Pacific. Probably two years ago. Lovely color!!! Of the hardy waterlilies I have Attraction, Sulphurea, and Pink Grapefruit. LOVE the Pink Grapefruit. It blooms and blooms. Attraction (red) is not really a deep enough red, but it grows vigorously and quickly helps provide coverage in the spring. Haven't see Fire Opal. Sorry it wasn't purple enough for you. So many of the catalogs "lie" about the colors. GRRR! What do the McClane and St. Louis Gold look like? Where did you get them? color=green> McClane is a deep blue/lavender. The flowers are HUGE. The foliage is nicely striped and splotched. These stand up pretty high, too. St. Louis Gold is a deep yellow. And I've not had a tropical that flowered this much! The plant is a little less vigorous with foliage, but it just pumps out the flowers. I'm about a hour from Lilypons in PA. I either drive up or order online from them each year. Wonderful water gardening company. They also have a location in Texas, too, if I remember correctly. Do you overwinter your tropicals. If so, how? I've tried a couple times, but it hasn't worked. I was thinking of digging a deep hole with the post-hole digger and just keeping them down in there.color=green> I've tried without much luck. I have had the tropical set seeds, which I saved, and then raised from seed the following two years. Seeds were from a blue (un-named) waterlily that I had purchased at Springdale Water Gardens in VA. The seeds produced flowers in shades of blue, pink, and lavender. I think the first year I had about 15 that I grew from seed. I had 20 gallon tubs sitting EVERYWHERE that year. LOL! Lilypons and Springdale offer a "heated" pot that the catalog blurbs say will keep the tropicals warm enough to overwinter IN the pond. But I think only through zone 6 or 7. It sells for around $50. My problem is I wouldn't want to grow the same tropicals every year.......well, other than Green Smoke. I got my tropicals from William Tricker.color=green> I've seen their online catalog and they have an excellent selection. I'm tempted to try them one year. Lilypons is so good at getting stuff to me quickly that I just use them most of the time. I placed an order on Wednesday morning earlier this year. I had the order at my front door on Thursday! I'm spoiled! My leaves on the Juno and Red Flare are huge. I wonder if the leaves get larger, as an attempt to get more sun. I'm thinking I should find more sun for it. If it wasn't blossoming 'cause its not warm enough, you'd think it wouldn't put out so many leaves either. It looks very healthy. I have a volunteer butterfly bush that grew up in the rocks around my lotus bog. Its shading the lotus too much, but its so hard getting rid of the bush, since it attracts such beautiful butterflies. Ooohhhh....so many plants.......so little sun! haha Thanks for your help.color=green> I lost my lotus this year. I'm going to try to raise another one from seed next year. I've had good luck growing my own. I have a friend in Malaysia who sends me lotus seeds occasionally. I've grown a white and a double pink from seeds she sent me. Good Luck, Chris Here is a link that might be useful: Facebook Account....Click on Photos to see pond pics

The answer to that is usually: It was planted in a spot that is too shady; it was not pruned twice per year; or it was propagated by cutting from a non-flowering parent. Modern wisterias should be grafted. Walls facing south or west are the best areas for planting wisteria. They need lots of light and sun. The soil must be rich; if it is not, you should amend it with well-rotted compost. Finally, pruning is important. Tie in all the stems you need to extend the plant where you want it, and snip off the rest of the stems to about finger length. Cut right above a bud. You do this around January time. Six months later, about July, you should prune it back about one foot. Then, the following January, you take it back to finger length again. Feed your wisteria once or twice per year with a high potash food. You can use rose fertiliser; it is rich in potash. You could feed once in February; and then again in June. It really depends upon where you live and how fast your plants start to come into active growth after winter dormancy. It also depends uponw which type of wisteria you have: wisteria floribunda or w. sinensis. It is late spring for Chinese wisteria (w. sinensis), or early summer for the floribunda. If your wisteria still does not produce much, I would think about replacing it. It probably has not been grafted. You could get one that is, and you check this by seeing if there is join somewhere along the main stem. It looks like a knobbly joint a few inches above the surface of the soil. Grafted ones have proven their flowering and will continue to do so with the right care.