whats in the pots??? soil/dirt .. or potting soil? if you have multiples.. i suggest you try a variety of methods, rather than investing in one method.. which may or may not work .... in other words.. experiment ... i only have experience in sinking pots with native soil ... sand.. which is never a drainage issue ... i see the following issues: drainage wetness at the roots heave of the pots timing sunlight on dark pots and i am sure more than that ... i know a hosta guy who has hosta seedlings in trays .... of course shorter than your stock ... he simply pulls a cover over railroad ties.. with chicken wire for rodents.. and plenty of rodent bait ... you might try some bails of straw .... around a group of pots .... and then some lose [key word] straw around the pots to protect from sunlight ... this will reduce wind.. and sun ... anything that is heavy is not recommended .. like un-shredded leaves .. light and airy is the idea ... good luck ... and as noted.. do NOT put ALL YOUR MARBLES IN ONE BUCKET ... ken

Adam, I think your plan of leaves and a milk crate is perfect it is a great example of Yankee ingenuity, please do not change a thing. I might also put them up against a northern wall or against the north side of your house if you can as this extra deep shade offers a little help in the spring when temperature fluctuations fool hydrangeas into trying to bloom too soon. After all the extra care you are giving them this fall try not to be too tempted next spring to remove the milk crate before the danger of frost is gone. I am sorry that I seem to be offering you nothing more than confusion, I am afraid it stems from pure laziness on my part I am just looking for the most blossom with the least effort. I am not offering any extra winter protection to my Endless Summer hydrangeas as all the market hype (and the reason I paid the extra $10.00) on that variety has been based on its winter hardiness. I am thinking though that your little baby Endless Summer may benefit this winter with extra protection (leaves and a milk crate) as its root system may not have had enough time to establish before the ground freezes. As far as my experiment this year with the anti desiccant Wilt Proof I am waiting until all of the leaves drop which now that we have had our first frost I am guessing should be sometime in early December probably the same day that I bring home my xmas tree which I am also spraying with Wilt Proof. I am hoping that it will help the buds retain the moisture it typically looses from high wind damage. I have already sprayed a number of evergreen shrubs that are often damaged by the wind as well as the many shrubs that I transplanted this fall to help with transplant shock. I thought it was pretty expensive so you may want to wait until I report back to you this spring. Now for the confusing part, most macrophylia hydrangeas will bloom on old wood and new wood but there are different variables in different varieties in different zones. The two biggest variables are winter/spring damage to the buds on old wood and how early/late in the season the new wood develops buds. Often in late March early April we will have a warm day which of course in New England is always followed by weeks of high winds and freezing cold repeat this weather pattern over a few months and you have a typical spring. On a hydrangea that opens its buds at the first hint of a warm day the buds on the old wood will typically be damaged and lost by the cold or in my case (I think) the wind. Keep in mind sometimes you might only loose some of the buds on old wood (typically the top third of the shrub is more vulnerable), a good example of this is shown on the Pia hydrangeas in the photos of my front garden. Now if a variety will develop buds on new wood early enough in the growing season but not too early to get damaged by the late spring frost (like Niko) you would still have blossoms that year regardless of what happens with the old wood. So for me most years I dont have old wood damage to my Nikos as a result I have both new wood and old wood blossoms. I hope I have explained this correctly. Katy

Hi everyone... I am late checking in today...busy day in the garden, (again). Tis the season! I've been reading through the posts here, absorbing as much info as I can, and in one sitting, that's a lot to take in. Sooo much good advice, and I must say, it's really helpful. Dawn, backing up a bit, I had to laugh about that neighbor of yours, she reminded me of that British woman who played the part of the overbearing wife with the hen pecked husband in the comedy show on OETA, "Keeping up Appearances". I'll bet anything when that lady's husband told her what Dawn said about the tomatoes, she went and ripped them out either in embarressment or anger/or both. Well, I did check out the tomatoe forum, and found a few good tips. One of the problems with that forum, you already gave me a head's up on. For a less experienced gardener, (as self here)one would have to discern what was good advice, and what was not. Still, it was interesting browsing and looking at some of the pics. One of the ideas you gave me was that I have double windows on the front of my house, which faces west. I have just made a rustic trellis and lashed it together. I think it looks pretty cool. This is replacing the one that just wore out after several years. Anyways, I usually grow Purple Hyacinth vines on that trellis, to block that sun and shade those windows,.... and I have some started this year as well. I thought since the Black Cherry tomatoes grow so "viney" and tall, I might plant one or two right in the middle, bordered on each side by the Hyacinth vines. I would never have the space to winter store a bunch of tomatoe cages for as many tomatoes as I'm growing this year, so I generally use fence trellis's for good or bad, they seem to work okay for me. And yes, I like the idea of letting the vines "flop" over. It used to bother me when they'd start doing that, but now I'll just let em do their thing and not worry about it. About cutworm protection. My dad used to put a 16 penny nail just at the edge of each newly planted tomatoe. It must have worked for him. I don't know if other folks do that or not. Jay, your gardening techniques seem really well adapted to your climate out there. It must get pretty challenging at times. There are times when I wish for "few trees", since as I've said before on this forum, my neighbors humongous tree's have roots that sneak over in my garden area because they know there is water and food over here. If I didn't have good sandy loam I'd be done for. I ran into some of those feeder roots today when I was out there digging holes for the fall tomatoes I'll soon be planting. I put extra homemade compost in each hole to at least make sure they get a good start. No "sprawling" for my tomatoes. For several reasons, space, rot,.......and snakes. Ill be growing Old Time Tennesse and Evan's Sweet muskmelons and Blacktail Mountain watermelons on some cattle panels that I have. I have to grow vertically wherever I can, to save space, and I think it looks neater, and keeps you from having to bend over so much. It might discourage pests, I don't know. I have found that snakes like to hang out, (literally) on any kind of vines tho. Weather or not, your still pretty blessed up and over there. I grew some beautiful tomatoes in Wyoming, but we only had three months time to do it in. There is no such thing as spring and fall gardening in Wyoming. I've known it to have an 8 ft snowfall in May, and early snow in August. Sure feels good to be back in Okie again :) All in all, what we are able to grow without being spoon fed genetically modified stuff on the market, makes all the labor intensive work and challenges well worth the effort we put into our gardens. It really does have to be a labor of love, and one has to love doing it. And we do. Shekanahh

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