I'm glad you posted in this forum. Don't delete it because I'm sure many others besides myself will enjoy following your progress. You can post in the Heirloom forum, too.

Rene, Roses actually love clay soil for its richness. I have Houston black clay where I live and I don't amend for aeration or drainage. My Austins are puttering along like champs. The clay actually helps with water retention I've found so the soil stays moist like they enjoy. We've all been the crazy gardener at some point! Josh

Yeah, I started my broccoli from seed too late this winter, and it bloomed last week on that warm day, so it's pretty much out of the question this late. Like 'mams' said, I just planted seeds for carrots, potatoes, and radishes. Some baby lettuce and spinach, but I'm not sure they'll produce much before it warms up... Your summer plants (tomatoes, beans, cucumber, peppers) can be started from seed inside, but not put out until it stays reliably over 50-55 at night, usually late April or early May (especially peppers, they need that warmth). Being very lazy, I will not start inside, I'll just put seed in the ground in April or buy seedlings in April. For seeds, that shortens the length of production and harvest, but as I said, lazy. Nurseries and hardware stores are starting to stock pepper/tomato/bean seedlings now, but it's pretty early. They will mostly survive, but waiting a bit will get you healthier, more productive plants. As for zuchs, you can plant seeds directly outside as early as now. They are a bit more cold tolerant than the other summer standards. If buying zuch seedlings, maybe not now, but sooner than the others (early april?) On a side note, I'm trying brussels sprouts here in Sunnyvale for the first time. I planted in fall, and they've been sort of overwintering (not growing much, but staying alive). Does anyone know if I they will still grow into summer? I've always thought of them as not very heat tolerant, and If they're gonna end up not producing anything, I could use the space for the afore mentioned zucchini seed planting...

Wait until fall, and check the 10-day weather forecast to make sure a late heat wave isn't on the way. ===>>> good idea .... but the key in MI .. for me anyway ... is a cool tending toward cold night... to offset whatever the day may bring .. so tending toward mid to late sept ... IN MY MI .. nights are dipping into the 50s ... and thats great .. we often talk about a recovery period at night ... i can go as late as the end of october ... only limited by how cold i want my hands to get in cold soil.. and dragging hoses around ... and putting away hoses.. so they dont freeze solid and burst ... i am sure.. as you go up zone.. you add weeks.. if not plant all winter long ... as sara noted.. dormant is best ... and that is around when the leaves of other trees are turning.. subject to yours being potted ... a dormant tree.. needs little water.. compared to an actively growing tree ... and it gives the plant months before the heat of next summer ... to get those roots settled.. to be ready ... ken ps: pots can go dormant earlier.. if nights are cold.. and the media loses all its heat every night ... or go dormant later.. because the pots stay warmer ... but exact specificity isnt all that big a deal ... its sunlight levels that trigger dormancy ... and as the sun declines for winter.. so do the plants ... temps are probably secondary ...