Wow, I guess there are more people trying this than I thought... thanks for the replies. I also tried in vain for several years to root hardwood cuttings from various mulberry trees in pots inside. Then last year I collected a giant "water sprout" which was much thicker than the pencil size which is so often recommended in the literature, but more like finger thickness. I also used much longer pieces, over 12 inches. I got 100% rooting success with pure perlite in gallon pots covered with a clear plastic dome. I had them in my sunroom on a seedling heat mat for the colder nights. It may just have been the particular tree I collected from, but I'm betting the large size of the cuttings, perhaps combined with the heat mat, made them root well. In any event, I collected from the same tree for this current experiment, using mostly same year large shoots, along with one or two with older wood. I also did mulch heavily with straw as glib suggested. I hope one of us at least has some success to report this spring! ps. apparently this type of rooting cuttings is routinely done by some people with pomegranate, and an appropriate soil mix is first put into the ground where the cutting is to go (see the recent post about rooting pomegranate on this forum)

Welcome to San Antonio. It's not always this hot. I've been to Minneapolis in January and can say I'd rather live here even with the summer heat. Find things to do inside for a few months and then spend the next eight months outside. You will get lots of help here on this site, so don't hesitate to ask. Our weather in San Antonio isn't as tropical as it seems in the summer, we can get hard freezes in the winter so you have to choose plants that can handle both heat and cold or move your plants around accordingly. The big difference is that the next day it will warm up again. A GW San Antonio plant exchange is planned for Oct. 10 and we would love to see you there. Look for more info as it gets closer. Also on October 17 is the Herb Market and plant sale at Aggie Park. Master Gardeners are there to answer questions. When you get a chance check out Rainbow Gardens for excellent advice on plants that work here. I tried to post the link below in the URL box so you could just open it, but GW rejected it. It's a list of garden events you might enjoy in San Antonio. http://gardeningvolunteers.org/phpweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_printable&PAGE_id=10&lay_quiet=1

I've been asking myself the same question lately. I was in New Mexico for 16 years so I know it can be better than this. But, duty calls; My Dad is 90 and my Mom is 81 so I need to be around to help them. They had just 2 boys and it doesn't seem right to leave it all to my brother to take care of. I do dream of living someplace warmer when I retire. As for right now; it's warmed up to -6 and the wind has died down so that the windchill is ONLY -27. It's time to go out and clear the driveway and shovel the sidewalk before it gets dark. Will someone make a cup of hot chocalate for me to thaw me out in a couple hours? Ron

sneed, I have found they actually prefer to lay eggs on the underside of vines. They bend their bodies to lay them right up against the underside of the vine. Here is what I do... when I inspect the vines, I pick up the vine and inspect the underside too. Then I bury that portion of the vine, either with dirt or mulch, so the SVBs can't get at the vines. So at that point I don't have to check that portion anymore. That way the vines also re-root along the vine and plants survive. SVB will still lay eggs on the leaf stems but you can try to remove them, or inject the leaf stems with BT solution if you wish, but this method has slowed down the SVB enough for me to give me some good pumpkins. I live in SVB infested Texas, with 2 or 3 generations! I also cover my young plants with tulle netting, or any other netting should work. Then at least until the plants overgrow the netting , or start flowering, I never have to worry about SVBs or Squash bugs. I would definitely do that if I were you.