I used to think you couldn't plant in the heat. You can pot up any own root rose in hot weather and locate it where it gets some afternoon shade. YOu can mulch the pot and keep it moist. If you plant in the garden in heat you can ease the transition by giving it dappled light for several days or a week. I stick evergreen branches around the plant to create a little shade for a short period until it settles in. This works in NC where it gets in the 90's. I don't know how well it would work in TX or AZ. NJ it could work. I think rainfall is more crucial than low temps and you can simulate rainfall. Linda

I have and RdR in a pot that I've wintered (outside, don't have a garage) for 5 years now and it's done just fine. But if you intend on putting it in the ground it might be best to do so now rather than waiting. Plant it deep, deeper than it is in the pot by anywhere from 4 to 8 inches, and mulch it a good 6 or 8 inches high or even higher if you can. And try not to disturb the root ball at all when you remove it from the pot to put it in the ground. If you decide to keep it in the garage there are two things you need to do. First, get the pot off the cement floor by putting it on wood blocks. Concrete is like a sponge and will suck the moisture from the pot as well as transmit temperatures. Second, do water it! Make sure it is well watered going in and about once a month either give it a drink or put a shovel full of snow on top of the pot. It doesn't need a ton of water but it does need to stay hydrated. It isn't how low the temperatures go that kill them but the rapid up and down change of temperature and the drying out (desication) that does them in. Rose de Rescht is one of my favorite roses. Lovely pink blooms with a button center and a heavenly scent! Enjoy yours!

Hi Liz, I'm in Fort Worth, Texas, and we are just now, and for the next several weeks entering the idea time to plant/transplant bearded iris. If you are not happy with the location, now is the time to move them. According to their web site, The Fort Worth Iris Society is having their annual rhizome sale Saturday Sept. 27th at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Center starting at 9:00 AM. That would be a good place to meet folks from the area, get advise, and maybe pick up a few rhizomes. Good Luck... Dan

Hi High alt, I definitely second the motion to plant them now! Fall is a GREAT time for planting. The only real negative is the fact that you have to wait all winter to see for sure if they'll come up in spring, but most of them will---and they'll be so-o-o far ahead of where they'd be if you waited till spring that it's worth possibly loosing an occasional plant. Anytime the soil's not frozen the roots will be growing! And with Achillea--which is virtually indestructible--I'd be amazed if they died overwinter. As Charlene says, be sure they're well watered when you put them in, and after that be careful that you don't keep them too wet. There's some Achillea millefolium growing in an isolated area by the Kmart I go to and it is NEVER watered or taken care of in any way (it's a Kmart, after all!), and it just keeps going and going and going..... The only thing I'd be hesitant to plant in fall would be something that's only marginally hardy in our zone. I still have some things in pots I bought earlier this year that I never had time to put in that I hope to get planted yet, and in terms of mulch, I don't plan to do anything once they're planted. I do have bark mulch around all my perennials to make it look nice and help conserve moisture, but I won't be adding anything else that's actually on top of the plants. With some plants--especially ones that like it dry or are in any way a succulent type of plant--the crown can stay too wet if there's not enough air circulation, and they could rot out. If you do decide to mulch over the top, be sure it's something that allows free air circulation. One word of caution--be sure whatever you're planting is thoroughly hardened off if it will be cold for the first few nights after you plant it. Or else wait till we warm again and you know it will be warm for the first several nights before it gets really cold again---that way they'll harden off naturally as the temps drop once it's in the ground. You especially need to be sure you harden off things you get in the mail since you don't know what conditions they've been in before they were shipped. The plants you have sitting outside in pots I'd just leave out there! If they've been out there for over a week now, they've been exposed to some pretty cold temps and should be well enough hardened off to be just fine. If you move them inside, they'll just need to be hardened off all over again. I'm not familiar with Coreopsis 'Autumn Blush." Is that one listed as z5 or colder? Some of the newer Coreopsis's (sp?--Coreopsi!!!) are not reliably hardy. I hope that one is--it sure sounds pretty! Happy gardening, Skybird P.S. Charlene, good luck with your "little sticks!" I LOVE your descriptions!