mollie - some of my clematises were damaged by this past winter too. I've actually lost a Sweet Autumn completely - I thought those things were impossible to kill! My C. montana was killed to the ground but is coming back from the roots. Since that one is only marginally hardy here, I do expect that one to suffer after bad winters. The rest seem to have done OK. thyme - the heptacodium is certainly a favorite of ours too because of it being such a butterfly magnet in September. It's an odd-looking tree here though since it grows against the big old cedar. If you look at the picture from the road, you can see that the tree looks like half a tree! The north side is missing - it can't grow on that side because of the cedar. But, if you look at it through the iron arbour, it fills the back, right side of the bed and looks like a normal tree! That is our main view of it so the odd half-a-tree side view doesn't bother us much. PLUS when the monarch butterflies arrive on migration in the fall, they like to roost in the cedar at night and come out in the morning to feed on the heptacodium flowers. So it works for them too.... I bought the tree as a relatively small shrub 10 or more years ago and pruned off all but one stem. Other than pruning off any winterkilled tips, and any branches hanging too low over the side path, we don't prune it now. This spring I bought a 'Blue Moon' native wisteria for a friend who wanted a wisteria. It had a flowerbud when I bought it. I held onto the plant until the flower bloomed so I could check the scent. Some of the natives have a reputation of being 'stinky', but I can confirm that 'Blue Moon' is pleasant.... If I had room for another wisteria I'd be tempted to try that one to see how it compares in growth - but we really don't need another one! I suspect my 'Paprika' rose now includes some seedlings that are likely crosses with the pink Angel roses at the other end of the bed! The color of the Paprika flowers is highly variable so I suspect there's mixing going on. I also have a 'Peachy Cream' Oso Easy rose between the pink Angels and the Paprika. The Peachy Cream is a much weaker plant though and barely made it through this past winter. The ninebark does make a great foil for brighter plants. There are red and rusty orange daylilies near it too that also look great with it. kato, mxk3, a2zmom - rodgersias do have lovely flowers but the ones in the porch bed show them off the best - because the flowers arch over the driveway, they don't get lost against other plants as they do elsewhere in the garden. That bed faces east so gets full sun from sunrise to about noon and then is in full shade from the house for the rest of the day. I didn't have a lot of hope that they'd do well there - the soil is unamended clay with generous amounts of builders rubble and foundation drainage gravel mixed in; it is also under the roof overhang so it can get pretty dry under there when we forget to water.... There's only about 12" of space between the base of the porch and the edge of the driveway. Not exactly ideal growing conditions for any plant let alone a rodgersia :-) I've always felt that rodgersias are more adaptable than their 'idea' growing conditions would lead one to believe. These ones are the proof of it! I'm not usually good at leaving holes in the beds for adding plants later - something usually finds its way into them... - but I do want some of those Mammoth mums and it looks like I need to be patient. I think I know who the wholesale supplier of the mums is for garden center that ordered them for me, so I may call them directly to see if I can talk them in to selling me some early if I go pick them up. north53 - looking at your zone... what interesting very cold-hardy stuff do you grow? It looks like U of Sask. is producing some very interesting hardy stuff - where do you look for hardy material? Rouge - Persicaria polymorpha is certainly an interesting plant, one I use in both the front and back gardens. The flowering decreases as the shade increases but I still like them and find them useful. Here is the one in not-too-dense shade in the patio area this morning: The Fringetree on the left of it is just starting to bloom and the Cornus kousa 'Milky Way' on the right will be blooming soon. And this P. polymorpha is in fairly dense shade under the edge of the pine canopy so will only produce a few flowers but I like its shrubby green bulk there:

I bought mine in April 07 loaded with buds. The first bloom was in the last week in May. But she was like the Energizer Bunny, kept on going, and going, and going.... This year, she was a bit slower in breaking ground than the Piilu and Marmori I had bought the year before in similar sized pots. They are both taller & have many buds, but I think it will be a few weeks before they open up. I'm hoping the Piilu will have at least one double or semi double flower this year. The ones in the stores were probably raised either further south or in a greenhouse. COTW has Marm & Mini starting in July, with P in April & May, with a possible late Summer bloom too.

which Lowe's? Sounds like something I may have to have.

Green, if you replant it, you will not only lose bloom this year (if you plan to do it soon) but very likely next year too. You could store it, outdoors, in a garbage bag (with drainage holes on bottom), or a pot, or a cardboard box...whatever the container. By storing, I mean just a temporary lodging for the peony until the fall, when you can plant it in its permanent location. It should be treated just like another potted, growing perennial and watered when needed. I set mine aside in a cardboard box, kept the roots soil-covered, watered once a week or so until September. It has lovely foliage which I enjoyed all summer. A little history about this particular peony (one of seven). This peony was one of my mother's. She gave me a piece when I bought my first home. Before we moved, there was too much going on...new baby#3, keeping the house looking good while it was up for sale, etc.. you know, life in general. I totally forgot about it! Coincidentally, my now-son-in-law and his family moved into our old home. Who knew??? Apparently the peony never bloomed for his mother/new owner. Eventually...about 25 years later, she boxed it up and gave it to my daughter saying.."it misses your mother, it won't bloom for me" lol.! I was so happy to get it back. Mind you, when it bloomed it only gave me one or three flowers, can't remember exact number, but it bloomed the following spring....after it had been stuck in a box all summer. It is glorious now, having been growing in its all day sunny spot for at least the last 7-9 years. One year I moved a gifted peony in spring, in bud. I planted it right away, watered regularly, the many buds started to swell (good sign).... then they just dried up! The peony kept growing, the foliage was fine, but I didn't know then what I know now. They did flower the next year though. Green, I can appreciate what yours means to you. Ultimately you have to do what is comfortable for you, without stressing too much about it. You won't lose it no matter when you plant it. The tubers are strong reservoirs, they won't let you down, lol! I hope it brings you many years of pleasure and joy! Maybe you'll get yourself an Itoh peony one of these days? ;-) Hope this brings a smile.....