We finally cooled down a bit (were in 95-100 degrees last week), got a little rain too. I thought my daylilies were going to be done today with the exception of "Sears Tower" which is finally sending up 2 scapes, BUT I found some more 1st time scapes coming. Seems my MLa season bloomers will be Aug/Sept in this climate though it is very hard to tell since everything came from different zones in the spring and their bloom cycles are all mixed up this year. Mariachi, Prairie Tornado, and Carnival Flair look like I may actually see their faces this year after all. At least I might be able to collect pollen for next year. And I confess...still making a few impulsive crosses. Edward, I agree with gonegardening...I have a whole collection of pollen in the freezer for next year. When is your avg killing frost? okbt, 15 Sept is our avg first KILLING frost. We frequently have a few lighter frosts before that. Good to know about covering the pods with bags though. Petalpatsy, fairysoapgirl, I had to quit for a few days when it was hot like that too. I went out really early in the morning and could make a few crosses if the pollen was ripened but sometimes it just doesn't cooperate. Frozen pollen came out on a few days too. I'm already going through daylily withdrawals.

Ginger is a great herb for settling a queasy stomach. Buy and drink as much as you can-look for one made with REAL ginger. It says so on the label. I remember when I was a kid, if any child got a "stomach bug" Dad would buy that person his/her own big bottle of ginger ale, to be kept cold in the fridge. And only that person could drink from the bottle.

First and Last frosts shown below are 'average' and vary year to year. There are lots of tables on the web with different dates, this is just one example. Within each town or city there will be differences due to microclimates. Use the dates as guidelines. For example, I live outside of Baltimore MD, which is listed with a last frost date of March 26th. Balitmore is always at least 10 degrees warmer than my yard, so I use April 22nd as the last frost date for my gardens. City State Growing First Last Season Frost Frost (Days) Spring FallMobile AL 272 Feb. 27 Nov. 26 Juneau AK 133 16-May Sept. 26 Phoenix AZ 308 Feb. 5 Dec. 15 Tucson AZ 273 Feb. 28 Nov. 29 Pine Bluff AR 234 Mar. 19 Nov. 8 Eureka CA 324 Jan. 30 Dec. 15 Sacramento CA 289 Feb. 14 Dec. 1 San Francisco CA * * * Denver CO 157 3-May Oct. 8 Hartford CT 167 Apr. 25 Oct. 10 Wilmington DE 198 Apr. 13 Oct. 29 Miami FL * * * Tampa FL 338 Jan. 28 Jan. 3 Athens GA 224 Mar. 28 Nov. 8 Savannah GA 250 Mar. 10 Nov. 15 Boise ID 153 8-May Oct. 9 Chicago IL 187 Apr. 22 Oct. 26 Springfield IL 185 Apr. 17 Oct. 19 Indianapolis IN 180 Apr. 22 Oct. 20 South Bend IN 169 1-May Oct. 18 Atlantic IA 141 9-May Sept. 28 Cedar Rapids IA 161 Apr. 29 Oct. 7 Topeka KS 175 Apr. 21 Oct. 14 Lexington KY 190 Apr. 17 Oct. 25 Monroe LA 242 Mar. 9 Nov. 7 New Orleans LA 288 Feb. 20 Dec. 5 Portland ME 143 10-May Sept. 30 Baltimore MD 231 Mar. 26 Nov. 13 Worcester MA 172 Apr. 27 Oct. 17 Lansing MI 140 13-May Sept. 30 Marquette MI 159 12-May Oct. 19 Duluth MN 122 21-May Sept. 21 Willmar MN 152 4-May Oct. 4 Columbus MS 215 Mar. 27 Oct. 29 Vicksburg MS 250 Mar. 13 Nov. 18 Jefferson City MO 173 Apr. 26 Oct. 16 Fort Peck MT 146 5-May Sept. 28 Helena MT 122 18-May Sept. 18 Blair NE 165 Apr. 27 Oct. 10 North Platte NE 136 11-May Sept. 24 Las Vegas NV 259 Mar. 7 Nov. 21 Concord NH 121 23-May Sept. 22 Newark NJ 219 Apr. 4 Nov. 10 Carlsbad NM 223 Mar. 29 Nov. 7 Los Alamos NM 157 8-May Oct. 13 Albany NY 144 7-May Sept. 29 Syracuse NY 170 Apr. 28 Oct. 16 Fayetteville NC 212 Apr. 2 Oct. 31 Bismarck ND 129 14-May Sept. 20 Akron OH 168 3-May Oct. 18 Cincinnati OH 195 Apr. 14 Oct. 27 Lawton OK 217 Apr. 1 Nov. 5 Tulsa OK 218 Mar. 30 Nov. 4 Pendleton OR 188 Apr. 15 Oct. 21 Portland OR 217 Apr. 3 Nov. 7 Carlisle PA 182 Apr. 20 Oct. 20 Williamsport PA 168 Apr. 29 Oct. 15 Kingston RI 144 8-May Sept. 30 Charleston SC 253 Mar. 11 Nov. 20 Columbia SC 211 Apr. 4 Nov. 2 Rapid City SD 145 7-May Sept. 29 Memphis TN 228 Mar. 23 Nov. 7 Nashville TN 207 Apr. 5 Oct. 29 Amarillo TX 197 Apr. 14 Oct. 29 Denton TX 231 Mar. 25 Nov. 12 San Antonio TX 265 Mar. 3 Nov. 24 Cedar City UT 134 20-May Oct. 2 Spanish Fork UT 156 8-May Oct. 12 Burlington VT 142 11-May Oct. 1 Norfolk VA 239 Mar. 23 Nov. 17 Richmond VA 198 Apr. 10 Oct. 26 Seattle WA 232 Mar. 24 Nov. 11 Spokane WA 153 4-May Oct. 5 Parkersburg WV 175 Apr. 25 Oct. 18 Green Bay WI 143 12-May Oct. 2 Janesville WI 164 Apr. 28 Oct. 10 Casper WY 123 22-May Sept. 22 *Frosts are rare.

Quote from Cynthia's roses, "What is this fertilizer you speak of??" Seriously, I made an unusual effort this year and fertilized them all once in the spring, though I didn't notice any particular difference from last year. Every year I pull out the liquid fertilizer and swear I'm going to top up at least the wimpy roses later in the spring and summer with a weak solution, and every year the bottles get rained on and that's about it. At least by fall I have the excuse not to bother. I agree in principle with not fertilizing in the last 6-8 weeks before the first hard frost, but I've hardly put that to the test even remotely any year. By Halloween however I'll probably go put away those extra bags of fertilizer and Ironite that have been sitting on my front porch since April. I think that counts as fertilizer work, right? Cynthia