I really appreciate the encouragement. I did have to take a break for a while. I went to visit my aunt in Iowa and the trees I planted for her last year are really doing well. The Contender peach has about 10 fruits developing, Polly has about 5. There are also a handful of apricots and cherries. Thankfully the hail missed her. She has one mature apple on her property. I am guessing by the photos that it's Wolf River, I bought her one without knowing she already had one. She gave me some of the applesauce she made from it and it was extraordinary. Then I bought some Braeburn and Jonagold to make pies. Believe me I really appreciated the complex, sweet/tart flavor of the applesauce after trying to make pies with store-bought apples. It kind of gave me some impetus to keep going. I have all of the small fruits that were mentioned above, along with the trees that are supposed to be no-brainers. I have come to the conclusion that if I had to live off of the earnings of a fruit crop it would have to be pie cherries. I really couldn't possibly give up now with my whole yard an orchard. It is always hard when what one did for the love of it becomes something one must do out of obligation.

paul, I'm sure it's frustrating not having a choice of temperatures in your apartment. Do you have any outdoor space (balcony, outdoor windowsill, fire escape) where you could put them in the fall for a while? Why don't you try to swap them for something else more suitable for your growing conditions, rather than pitching them. I'm sure someone would be happy to take them off your hands. (I've already got one that I'm waiting somewhat impatiently to bloom, so I don't need any more!)

I definitely have thrown in the towel. We haven't had any significant rain for weeks and it seemed pointless to keep watering containers that were struggling with almost nightly frosts. Although many containers were in a sheltered area and didn't get totally ruined, I've given up. The issue is many of those containers had begonias and callas in them that I want to save, so it was easier to dump them while I didn't have to do it in cold weather. Though I felt like a murderer tossing such healthy foliage. I've left a couple of containers that have nothing that needs to be saved. I plan to plant my containers differently next year. Instead of such mixed plantings I think I'll do some with only a begonia in it for instance. It's difficult to remove the plant I want to save without destroying the entire thing. Also I have stuck a couple of lovely bloomers in the garden shed while I decide what to do with them. Those have the alstromeria that I will be bringing in and a fibrous begonia that I managed to keep last winter. Not sure if I'll try to re-pot it or just bring the whole thing indoors. I took slips of the coleus, plectranthus and some geraniums. Coleus were the first to succumb to the frigid nights. The plectranthus are tougher. Another plan for next year is to just do a mixed coleus container. That way I could shelter just that one. This year I had them scattered among all my pots, making covering everything a chore. Even if we get an extended period of nicer weather, I still have tons of stuff to do in the yard to prepare for winter. Though I picked all the tomatoes, I still have to dig up carrots and then there's all the perennials to cut back. I work on that gradually, remove what's ugly and leave those that still look okay. So though I'm done with many aspects of my garden, I'll be out there to the bitter end.

I have found that using whole ground cornmeal works the best for blackspot. You can buy it at nurserys and at feed stores. Take a handful or two, and dump it under the rose, close to the stem, about out to the drip line. Water it in. The water activates the chemical process that cures the blackspot. You can use this ad lib. I also feed my roses with epsom salts and granulated molasses. You can get the epsom salts anywhere and the molasses can be obtained at a nursery or feed store. The new leaves that come out will not have the blackspot. There isn't anything you can do about the old leaves except pull them off. Be sure and put them in the trash can, not on the ground. Also, you can help prevent the blackspot by watering in the morning, water the roots and try to keep water off of the leaves. Watering at night, getting water on the leaves seems to aggravate the condition. Good luck. Cecelia