Full sun to part shade is fine, just don't coose deep dark corners. T

Ahh, cracking. The next phase. Often fraught with frustration - but it doesn't have to be. I did forget one point on the husk removal - after you've gotten the bulk of the husk material off manually(and stained your fingers/hands), you really need to wash them to get as much of the remaining husk off as is possible. The big boys just pitch 'em in a cement mixer with some rough rocks or chunks of broken bricks - and I've got a friend who used an old clothes dryer - with the heating element removed - to roll 'em around for a while with water & rocks/bricks to get them almost squeaky clean. I don't have either, so I just put 'em in a 5-gallon bucket, fill it with water, and stir vigorously with a stick, pouring off the black water and adding more, until it comes off fairly clean. After the BWs have cured for a couple of weeks or more, then it's time for a session of cracking. A good heavy duty hard-shell nutcracker(not one designed for cracking pecans) is really helpful, but a bench-mounted vise is quite serviceable. Here's my main tip for BWs and hickory nuts - soak them in a pan/pot of warm water for an hour or two before you begin a session of cracking. The shells will absorb enough moisture that they will bend, buckle, and split, rather than explode into pieces when you reach 'critical pressure'. With a vise or nut cracker, a pair of diagonal wire-cutting pliers(for making a snip here and there in the nutshell to release nutmeats) and a nut pick, I can usually extract intact halves/quarters from the most inhospitable walnut or shellbark/shagbark hickory. A vote for the 'improved' nut varieties with thinner shells and open central cavities is in order. Emma Kay, Clermont, Thomas Myers, Neel #1, etc. are primo black walnuts, with thin shells and kernel % 2-4 times greater than the typical wild-type BW. Hickories - I'm still waiting for mine to bear, but I've had occasion to sample a few named varieties, and I have a local shagbark selection that won 1st place at the KY State Fair several years back. J.Yoder #1 and Grainger are probably two of the top shagbarks. Fred Blankenship's KY discovery, 'Simpson #1', may be the best shellbark to come down the pike.

In southern MS, pretty much all brugs should be hardy in the ground for you. The topgrowth dies back after more than 4-6 hours at 27 degrees or less, but the rootball can survive longer, colder temps---as long as they're not wet. Wet + cold = rot. Potted brugs generally grow more slowly than ones planted in-ground, but they can eventaully get quite big. But remember, the soil in pots gets colder/freezes quicker than the soil in the ground, so unless you plant on bringing that big pot indoors, you have a higher risk of losing the brug to the winter cold. The soil in pots also gets hotter during the summer, and requires more frequent watering. Then there's the 'bucket method', which I use for my more temper brugs, chiefly those with Versicolor genes. I take a 3-gallon bucket and drill several 1" holes around the sides, but NOT in the bottom. I plant the brug in the b ucket, then plant bucket and all into the ground. Come fall, I cut around the outside of the bucket and lift the whole plant for overwintering in my greenhouse. I cut back the top just what's needed in order to get it inside, but I do strip off all the leaves. They generally drop them all anyway, and removing them while still outside eliminates the risk of bringing in pest eggs on them. I think it also helps the plant deal with the shock of root-pruning, by giving it a little chance to recover before it has to support the water needs of full-sized leaves. My in-ground brugs have gotten bigger each year. The oldest one, a nameless, seed-grown white, puts tp about a dozen trunks each year now, and they usually make it to 10-12' before first frost. Brugs aren't all that deeply rooted, I've learned from digging them up. They spread out pretty wide, but not deep, and they have a tendancy to break or blow over in high winds. One way to avoid damage when you're expecting strong winds (like when there's a tropical storm coming) is to remove most of the big leaves. Brugs drop and replace leaves constantly, so this doesn't seem to hurt them. Of the ones you mention, I've had CG and Frosty Pink in the ground here sor several years now. Both are quite hardy and heavy, work-horse bloomers. I find they're happiest here with direct sun from dawn to mid-day, then bright, indirect light until late afternoon.

Hi Tdogman, Here is a picture and she looks pretty bad. I purchased all of the Monarchs from Shady Oaks Butterfly Farm and some died and I have released 9. This one seemed pretty normal to me but then I am a newbie and have had no experience looking for disease. They have all been on swamp milkweed which I got from a creek that runs by a park near my boss' home. I only started this to educate the children I nanny for in mid June and did not have time to plant Milkweed in my yard. I guess the Milkweed she ate was bad. How do I now clean out the pavilion that I need to use for 30 BST? They are in all stages and so far are eating a lot and seem to be healthy. They are all being fed on dill and parsley from Whole Foods and from one Fennel plant in my back yard. How do I euthanize--just put her in the freezer? Betty