If you are still looking, I have some perennial salvias. I did not see these on your list. I have regeliana, transylvanica, nutans, and a couple of others. The coneflowers that I have are all from seed wintersown this year so I have not seen the flower to confirm they are labelled correctly. I can't pack until Tuesday, though. Becky ramazz

Hallo, Yes I am indeed having problems articulating myself in this issue, I have no idea why, I spent the longest time editing it, to the point were I decided it had to be posted & done with.. About half of the plants have been sitting in our semishaded & windprotected gangway for the last 3 weeks already. Everything is in pots for the time being but I was concerned about having to prune off part of the roots , I just have no experience with that, don't even know what to look for.. The stuff still in the basement is things that are in the dry seemingly dead/dormant group... I have for example quite sizeable creeping phloxes, who are in appearance as they would be out side during winter, Those I am not too concerned with as they have a way of bouncing back from the dead, I am back down to the basement, Thank you So much for such prompt reply, I hope I naswered your question , if not, get back to me please. Kind regards Kerstin

hi Ilovemy trees, I am in 5b too (Central IL) and I have gardened for years and just started having a very little bit of rabbit trouble (They disappeared two good sized petunia plants in full bloom) last summer. But over the winter the voles cleared out almost the whole flower bed along the garage: obedience plants, a mass of probably 4x2 that I have had for 10 years (5 teensy plants remaining), 1/2 of a really nice geranium that was probably at least a foot wide at the bass, several helianthus, a lot of bee balm, who knows what else. Another smaller bed they "took out" a beautiful napeta, completely imploded it, two teensy sprigs sticking out of the mound of soil, surprisingly left alone a 2 foot mass of white iris...too early to tell if they got my Henry Eilers BES, and the Double Trouble sneezeweed. Durn rascals! My brother had excellent luck with mousetraps baited with slightly chewed tootsie rolls, but I have a nosey dog and can't do traps. Guess it'll be annuals in those beds this year. Boo hoo. So much of gardening is trial and error...plus what works this year backfires next year. It seems like I have a run of daisies one year, and then next year it's the bee balm that shines. The voles nibbled the bark off my yew bushes on one side of the house! But they are staying green and healthy looking so far! So don't put all your eggs in one basket!

Do you have a cold frame? A greenhouse is a brilliant asset but since not many of us can spare the space for one, a cold frame is a good winter protection for tender cuttings. Yep, the top growth may die back but it is the roots where the action is so as long as the pots do not freeze for weeks at a time, they should be OK. If your winters are too cold, then simply keep them in a dormant state in a garage or basement - they are not dead, just resting. I sow a lot of my seeds all year round and frequently have cuttings to overwinter from summer...and I just assume that the plants 'know' what they are doing, will go into dormancy and when the conditions are right, will start to grow top growth again the following spring. There are always losses, especially with tender pelargoniums, which are susceptible to over watering (I keep mine practically dessicated now) but if the cuttings have developed enough roots, they will be perfectly OK coming through the winter.