FG, A southern exposure gets really hot and dry in NYC during the summer, and heuchera needs partial sun to look good. Ivy would survive, but are you sure you want it climbing all over the place? Aside from the sempervivums, which are a great idea, do a search for drought-tolerant plants, unless your sun wants to water the boxes at least once a day all summer, and make sure they're hardy to zone 5, or they're not likely to last through winter. Consider some evergreen herbs like lavender, thyme, santolina, and similar, although they'll look a bit ratty in cold weather, and intersperse them with hardy dwarf succulents like aptenias, delospermas, sedums, saxifragras, and such. Also consider one or two hardy dwarf shrubs, if the box is large enough for 'em: boxwood, taxus, dwarf juniper, maybe even one of the dwarf holly cultivars. Check out Roslyn Nursery's website for more ideas. Don't forget grasses, which can look great in winter with dried seed heads and good stem colors. Good luck, and have fun! Jim

Hi Hi Scottfsmith. Thank you of your message, looks like you saw mine message. Sorry i didn't know you already have this book, well now you can have backup copy of it if you lost it someday or it is burned in fire. Also other saw it also. Good to see it is good book in your opinion. Hi Theaceofspades thank you too about your peach variety list. You said Redhaven is most reliable with great peach flavor. What is your determination about reliable regarding Redhaven peach variety? What you meant by that exactly i meant. I think you mean flower buds are hardy. Or do you mean peach fruits don't drop off the tree when unripe, or something else? Good to hear Redhaven has great flavor, i have read something similar earlier. Hi Harvestman. Just a small comment here. You talked about high brix peaches, i think you mean sugar content here. I think brix orginally meant to grapes, measuring sugar level of grapes. I think high sugar level is get when there is sunny and warm weather (Not sure the last thing at this moment altough.). You said you have 3 straight wet season. I think you meant growing season by saying season. This sounds like you have had rainy weather there, many times when there is a rain, temperature doesn't rise as high as sunny weather (Altought i know southeastern U.S.A. rain little time but hard and then it might be sunny rest of the day). So if this idea is applied also to peaches, results might be less sweet peaches. I think you might be right that you can't control rain (Maybe some control can be done, but not all control). Harvestman remember, that fruit trees are mention to be many years plants, so fruit quality may change year to year. Hi Theaceofspades you said i think it is important compare peaches that ripen at the same time. Good point, thank you.

Hey Guys! I just found this thread. I gave Strip Poker to the WNYHS, I didn't know what to do with it. I found it in a batch of Striptease at a big box store in 2000. Acouple years later, I gave the whole clump to the club. They did a program on registration with it and Shazam.! I got to name it. I have a nice hunk of it now and I guess several of the members do too. I have a number of other Striptease sports as well. Strip Poker IS similar to Hanky Panky. My SP is bigger and more vigorous than my HP. The color change is similar, but not really on the same schedule. And not the same every year. Glorious in the spring. I don't have Yellow Polka Dot Bikini ( and I want it! )It sounds similar as well. I'm not sure what the club is doing with SP. I have only given a piece to my MOTHER so far. Nancy

Here is this GREAT advice on growing GE, from forum member dhaven, which I have saved for future reference. "dhaven Some varieties are very picky about growing conditions, and unless they are planted in optimum conditions, they will either remain small, or fade away and die. The best example of this I know of is Great Expectations, which also happens to be my favorite hosta. A great many people have lost this one, sometimes more than once. I have three very large mature plants, and they are the prettiest thing in the garden. It took some experimentation, but there are three things that GE absolutely must have to thrive. First, and most importantly, plant it shallowly. It's going to be a very large plant, so the natural inclination is to plant it deeply, but this will kill it faster than anything else. Plant it so shallowly you are convinced that it will tip over, and you've got it right. Secondly, it likes a lot of light. Dappled shade is ideal, but it will take several hours of direct sun, either morning or afternoon. Third, it likes a lot of water. If you give a GE all three of these things, you will increase your chances of growing it into an absolutely stunning plant. If you want to try any of the hostas that have the reputation of being difficult, be prepared to try different locations and growing methods, and possibly go through several plants before you discover what works for that variety in your location. When you do find out what works, please share the information with the rest of us!"