Bumping this thread to report that...not surprisingly...the Azara is dead as a doornail. As is my Escallonia 'Apple Blossom' or whatever it could be. FWIW it was definitely hardier than 2-3 other Escallonias I'd tried...'Frades' being one of them...and had persisted since 2006, having variable winter damage each year but returning quickly in spring. I suppose it could still sprout from the roots, but the lowest stems, unlike any prior years, are like driftwood now. OTOH, both of them were some of the only Chilean shrubs to not mind our summers, and, when I'm in the mood again (not this year) I will probably reorder them. I think the novelty of having a plant from every continent is appealing; though I have a few Brazilian plants like Fuchsia regia (which might not return, but I doubt it...I've observed multiple times that even young plants put down roots 10-12") there was something really cool about being able to say a plant came from Chile. I might as well wrap up my antipodal/California plant deaths here: Grevillea victoriae - utterly amazing, looks better than some zn 7 rated rhododendrons. Is acting like it wants to be become a tree, so I've started limbing it up. Grevillea juniperina - more injured, but still alive Eucalyptus parvula - had been one of the better Eucs. for me. E. neglecta just gets roasted by the wind here. E. lacrimans was the hardiest but died after 14" of rain fell over 2 days one September. Anyhow it got to about 15' tall. After first round of 3F, was showing very little injury and foliage still smelled alive and was turgid. However, cold outbreak after cold outbreak took their toll, and the last time any of it seemed alive was probably late February. Then, the cold March finished that off. I suppose the roots could sprout, but I doubt it. Ceanothus 'Concha' - dead; had been in garden in since 2007 and showed light to moderate injury. In a raised bed on a south wall...about the best circumstances for it, because it protected it from winter wind and summer rain. Probably will retry, some day. I really wish someone would do more east/west crosses, or even just offer 'Henri deFosse' which is like a more saturated 'Gloire de Versailles' and would have been more likely to survive the winter in that same spot. Fremontodendron 'Ken Taylor' - dead, although it still had some green foliage until this week. (NB we are having yet another cold outbreak - the 15th since this winter started? But I luckily escaped freezing again) Was in a similar spot, but even more protected from rain by a wide eave on my garage. Even managed to bloom a couple years. I think it went into winter already dying, because last summer's consistent moisture - though loved by camellias and rhododendrons - was not to its liking and it had started to show leaf drop in autumn. Unlike the Ceanothus, I'm unlikely to repeat this experiment, but it was interesting. This winter was off-the charts cold. I've had, for example, a Rosemary 'Hill Hardy' since early 2006. Never shown a lick of damage. I was warned a few years ago by that seasoned impresario of midatlantic experimental gardening - initials A.H. for those of you in the know - that 1994 completely destroyed a giant rosemary of his. Mine was about 8 ft. X 6 ft. and 4ft. tall. So back in 2010 I pulled a runner from it and planted it right next to my house's foundation. (The mother plant was still somewhat sheltered, but about 8' from the house) Well, the mother plant? Utterly dead. I just took a chainsaw to it, to clear it out. The main stem had gotten to 5 inches wide, but even down in the layer of dead needles, the stems, trunks and runners were completely dehydrated and easily split open by pulling. Dead as can be. But the plant about 8 inches from the foundation still has some green leaves, albeit only 10-15%, and looks like it will probably pull through. (if the stems were killed, the green would no longer be, especially given the cold windy spring) A Cupressus arizonica 'Carolina Ice'? So cold and windy here that the foliage on the north side of it is burned! oh btw - not tree/shrub related, but on the antipodal front...a collection of rare montane Rhodophiala species has survived. Not the typical oxblood lily, but I do have one and it survived too. OTOH, it's looking like certain South African bulbs and rhizomatous forbs are gone, including some borderline priceless ones I'd rather not discuss in detail. This in a way is not surprising: eastern South Africa can have the odd cold outbreak when a front penetrates far to the south, but there isn't snowcover, generally, - Tiffendell ski resort has to make most of theirs and they are in the part of ZA most likely to have permanent snow cover. Winters can be so dry even in the montane areas that there are brush fires. OTOH, the southern tip of South America is much closer to Antarctica, and those bulbs probably come from places where, even though there is snow cover, the ground still freezes. So yes some things like Dieramas can survive the air temps taking a brief dip to 0F. While this winter had permanent, deeply penetrating cold, even with the snowcover, it was too unlike what they are used to. Cold, moist and frozen solid for almost 2 months, when what they want is mild, dry, and unfrozen.

In the future do this when planting a potted rose; If followed to the letter, your rosebush will not know it's been moved and will suffer no stress. Planting a potted rose When planting a potted rose bush, care must be taken so soil doesn't fall from the roots or tiny feeder roots will be lost causing the plant to be stressed. You can overcome this problem by doing the following. First prepare the planting hole. Dig it twice as wide and deep as the pot. In the bottom portion of the hole you can mix horse manure or an organic fertilizer with the soil, but no chemical fertilizers. With a sharp razor knife cut the bottom from the pot. Then cut down the two opposite sides of the pot about two inches. Using masking tape secure the two cuts then continue cutting the sides to a point halfway down. Secure these the same as the top cuts were secured. Continue cutting the sides all the way to the bottom. You�ll have a pot in three pieces, two sides and bottom, held together by tape. Holding the bottom, place the pot into the hole. If the bush is a grafted plant, position it so the bud union (swollen knob/graft point from where the canes grow) will be 4-6 inches below the soil surface in cold winter growing zones. If the bush is on its own roots, position it so it�s no more than an inch deeper than in the pot. Slide the bottom from the pot. Pull soil into the hole until it come to the lower tape. Cut the tape on both sides of the pot and continue filling the hole to just under the top tape. Cut the top tape and fill the hole so just the tops of the two pot sides are above the soil. Pull them straight up and complete filling the hole. Do not tamp the soil. Settle it with a hose set to just a trickle so all the water stays on the soil around the bush. There should be a depression around the bush. Add more soil until most of the depression is filled. Until the bush is growing well, water daily soaking the area well. Planted this way, the bush will not know it�s been transplanted and should show no signs of stress. When watering, make sure you apply enough so it gets to the roots. A light sprinkling only wets the surface. This can cause the feeder roots to grow towards the surface. In dry spells the bush will wilt. Watering deep eliminates this problem and causes the roots to grow deep enabling them to better withstand periods of no or little rainfall. A five gallon bucket with a 16D nail hole in the bottom side and filled with water, then placed next to the bush will supply the needed water with no runoff. All the water will soak into the soil at the base of the bush. In sandy soil do this daily until the bush is growing well. In clay soil, do this when the leaves show signs of slight water distress but at least every other day until it�s growing well. If your rose has weak canes and wants to lay over, plant it 3-5 inches deeper than it was in the pot. The soil will support the canes. As the bush matures and the roots get established, stronger, thicker canes will grow and will support themselves. Many climbers and some ground cover roses have naturally lax canes.

Wow floodthelast! You have been busy! :) I still have a few things to plant out,I got most of them in though,my plan of having them all done by the end of the weekend did not happen! My smaller seedlings I put in all together in a grouping,that way I can just separate them all next year,seems they all appreciate being in the ground and have begun to grow already! Anywhere I am afraid the chipmunks will dig up,I sprinkled coffee grounds,I am more and more convinced smaller rodents do not like them at all,they play out there all day and dig away,but where the coffee grounds are,nothing,they avoid it! I do believe this is what put a stop to my vole problem. It does not work on bunnies at all,and I am not sure about squirrels either,I dont have any issues with them digging in my beds,just at the crest of the yard where they think I should have a million oak trees...lol..

Hi- Thanks for the feedback. I'm in zone 5a. I had been thinking maybe Patriot based on pics I have seen online, I'll have a look at Minuteman as well. I'm not sure when it was planted. We bought the house last year and the gardens had been neglected for at least 2 years. This picture is early summer- around the last week in June when the hosta looked its best. As summer progresses the leaves burn and fade and it starts to look quite unhappy. I have another of similar size, but a different type in full sun that is gorgeous in the early summer, but extremely unhappy right now. I plan to move it as well, I don't have a pictures of it before it got sun damaged though. I was thinking about putting beds for the hostas along one or both sides of the house or the side of the garage, so no tree roots to worry about. The east side of the house has a porch like the above picture and the hosta could hide the support columns. If I planted them on the other side of the house or along the side of the garage the beds would be adjacent to the foundation, and the dripline might be an issue in some spots. I could also consider some hostas under the crabapple tree on the right side of this picture would that be compatible? The neighboring plant is a hydrangea that I had just planted- Little Lime.