DEFINITELY mulch them. And yes, heat-stress. Remember -- we have had record-setting heat for weeks now. I know it's worrying to water water water, when everything you read urges you to save water, BUT there are things you can do. When I wash dishes, I use a dishpan. I use a very mild dish detergent -- "Eco-sensitive" brands. The RINSE water from all pots and bottles goes to the nearest roses outside the door. When I'm done washing, DH carries the dishpan out into the garden, and empties it onto our less-sensitive plants. Not one bit of it goes to waste -- or goes down the drain. If you boil corn-on-the cob (or other vegetables) let the water cool, and then give it to your plants. That's exactly the way my Great-Step-Grandmother watered the roses in her farmhouse garden in rural Texas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The minutes I spend outside, dumping rinse water gives me a quiet early-morning garden visit that's priceless. I'm sure it was the same for Grandma Mintice Cain. Any roses that come up with spider mites or aphids get the dishwater tossed directly at them.

Okay, thank to all who have replied, but I am still so confused about this vine. I've read to cut it back, or keep it cut back to 18-24inches during the first year of growth. I don't even know how old this plant would be considered. I do know that I had one long spindly vine growing up the trellis, I had read that isn't what you want. So I decided to cut it back. But I was so scared to do anything to it. It still looks like the pic above, in this post. Except now, I've cut back that one spindly vine and I see nothing happening now. It looks just like it did the day I purchased it, weeks ago. Now it's not even climbing the trellis. I guess I'm waiting now for something to happen where I cut back, but don't even know what I'm looking for. I can't even tell what's what on this thing. Branches, twigs, hard wood, soft wood, last years wood, this years wood, leaves, buds, I couldn't for the life of me tell you where what starts and where what ends. It's a tangled mess, all down at the bottom. There are two or three main stems coming out of the dirt. I assume that's the start of each section of the vine. So I'm assuming, if I see three main stems coming from the ground, somewhere amongst all the tangled mess, there should be three endings, to each of those stems, in which I could train to climb the trellis if I could find an ending. I don't know, but maybe I should just leave it alone. It's not dead, it's green, I see one ending that might be showing new growth, but if it is, it's still only gonna be one long lanky little vine growing up the trellis all alone, because I can't tell where what starts and where what ends. I'd much rather sacrifice any additional blooming this year and have this thing put out new growth from the ground. But I don't know if I should chop this thing all the way to the ground or not. I just planted it this year, know nothing about it and have done nothing but stress since I got it. I guess if it starts growing again, and I do have that one piece start growing up the trellis, I should just leave it and enjoy it. If I knew that cutting it back all the way to the ground would help it in any way shape or form I'd do it. That way I can see it as it grows, where the starting and ending points are, if that makes any sense. Because as it is now, I can't tell what's what. Scroll up to see the pic of what it looks like and tell me what you'd do if it were yours.

I also have been going thru that,live out in country. One nite it was a skunk. We also have racoons and opposoms. If you live where ther is squirrels they will also dig. Good luck I know it was a skunk because we got a soluntion we put out and real sorry to say it kills the wild creatures but not dog or cats I am now trying d hot pepper

Paula, You have to realize the sad, sickly plants stay home as "back up plants" in case hail or some other disaster strikes, and I only bring "the best ones" to the Spring Fling" to give away. Diane, Speaking of getting better, I hope your infected finger is improving, and I hope the infected finger isn't your green thumb! Leava, Doesn't it seem peculiar that we often talk about what a stress reliever gardening is but then we forget to mention all the times it brings more stress into our lives? lol I was just trying to provide a balanced view of gardening in case anyone here is laboring under the misguided belief that it is all fun and games. : ) Let's face it, none of us has a Martha Stewart type of estate with a staff of gardeners, landscapers, etc. We all live right here in the southern plains in the Real World! Dorothy, I second that suggestion! I always buy a bag of Epsom Salts in the springtime "just in case the pepper plants need it" but, really, they never need it....but I do! Gardening, like aging, is not for sissies, you said, and that is so very, very, very true. The cow incident happened to me 3 or 4 times and then by the time someone came to help me herd cows, they'd totally disappeared without a trace. Wily cows who are good at escaping from a pasture often seem to have an uncanny ability to put themselves up again. About the 4th or 5th time I saw cows that then disappeared before anyone could get there to help herd them, we figured out they were escaping from a downed fence at Ranch A about 1/2 mile from us as the crow flies (but much farther by road), traveling through Ranch B's pastures, coming through that ranch's broken water gap gate onto our property, and then traveling through our creek until they reached the woods beside the garden. If the cows hadn't left hoofprints on the creek bank one day, the whole neighborhood probably still would be thinking I was losing my mind and seeing imaginary cows. Rancher A fixed his fence, Rancher B fixed his water gap gate and I haven't been visited by an entire herd of cows since then, although plenty of other animals, including goats, have managed to find their way to my garden. If I didn't have a fence, needless to say, I wouldn't have a garden. I now know why country women's hair turns gray. Dawn