Yeah, I'm thinking they'll need more moisture and won't stay as large in this area as they are in other areas of my yard...due to less moisture around the tree. We get some litter from the trees, but nothing unmanagable. The biggest obstacle I think is the poor soil quality. I had a heck of a time digging just to put pavers in for a walkway to the curb. The only main traffic I think will be dog walkers. Some people let their dogs walk over any and every plant, I don't get that, I let my dogs go on the easement grass areas. I've gone as far as to put "pesticide application" signs on my pachysandra beds next to the city walkway. LOL. I don't care if the little dogs are on my plants, but those monstrous dogs do damage. I've tapped on my window one time when someone was walking their dog on a 20 foot leash and he's trampling all over my plants in my front yard (oh my goodness, I've turned into one of THOSE ladies...LOL!) I don't care that much about the hostas, they're pretty indestructible, and it's technically city property anyway.

Must resist the urge, must resist....I've tried some of those box plants (but from Home Depot, not Meijer) and had dismal results. Better to wait till May and get a potted plant from a reputable nursery for about the same price. On the other hand, you could always pot them up now and keep them inside for planting out in the spring. Gardeners are a thrill-seeking lot.

Hey, Kat, I recently met someone who attended the exchange you hosted last year and we both wondered whether you had plans to do it again. Are you?

Too bad the 2 in the middle are the worst looking as they are the best positioned for caging/trellising. But I guess I'd cut those two off and leave the 4 corner ones for now. But you may have to eliminate at least 1 of them also depending on what sort of trellis/support you plan to use. I'd rig up some sort of tall 4 legged tepee set in the center of the box with lots of strings tied around it for support for them to climb or make a round 5' tall tower out of fencing. Like Rodney said, no way to know. You need to put plant tags on each plant when you plant them. As with Earthboxes, when they say 5-6 cukes they mean small bush container varieties not big vining variety. Plus they like to over-estimate the numbers by at least 1/2 again because it makes them sound better for growing. Dave