Yeah, I had a suspicion it was a scam so made a post just in case. Thanks for confirming everyone. Not a very smart person to have provided us with the apartment shipping address just to get some freebies. To stoop so low is a pitty. I would have gladly given them for free if asked nicely. The person will create new accounts, but that name, address, and city is on my do not associate list...hehehe. Sad to see these sort of things happen here but it's just one insignificant bad apple. In the future I will check the age, posts, and contributions of the person before trading with him/her. Now back to the business of trading and growing great plants or experimenting with new ones. Cheers!

1) I am working overseas and will not finish this contract until 1st week of April. If I had all my supplies and hive(s) (- bees) set up before I got home...would it be too late to start a hive(s) from a NUC or package once I got home 2nd - 3rd week of April? Answer. It's important to get your packages ordered early. They always sell out. I order packages from Betterbee in Greenwich NY It's about 1 hr 1/4 away from me. They'll be taking package orders starting on Jan 4th. They usually have 3 or 4 delivery dates (saturdays) starting around april 15th Picking a date is hard because it all depends on the weather both up here and in Georgia where they get their packages. Delays from one week to 3 weeks aren't uncommon. You want to get your bees off to a good strong start but anything can happen. My first year I had a late delivery date. I was thinking that all the established hives would be building up while I was still be waiting to get bees. Well the weather here was cold and steady rain so the delay didn't hurt. Nucs usually come later because they have to be established already. I'd advise starting with package bees because you will be learning right from the get go. You'll have to install them in the hive, check for queen release, check to be sure she's laying a good brood pattern. In other words you'll be involved every step of the way and you'll learn more, and things will be gradual. 2) Everything I have read...the Italian bee seems to be the most docile bee. Would that be the bee for the beginner? answer. Italians are what I started with and still have the most of. I also have some Russians. It's all a matter of opinion. I don't find my Russians to be any more aggressive than my Italians. Russians have many good traits. One thing I definitely noticed with mine is they overwinter in a smaller cluster and consume much less honey. When buying a package, you may not have a choice as far as the type of queen you get. 3) How much time do you average a week working your hives? I have read numerous posts that "you experts" suggest starting with 2 - 3 hives (to gauge potential problems). How much time per week to manage my bees effectively with 3-hives? answer: You have to remember that this is agriculture so anything can happen and will, and it's all variable You'll plan your sight and get everything ready to go ahead of time which will take some work. On the big day, plan to spend a couple of hours being your first time. Once you have the hang of it you can install a package of bees in a matter of minutes. The first time you'll be double checking instructions and going over all of the details. You will be very excited and nervous at the same time. After your successful at that you do a check back in about 3 or 4 days, only to see that the queen has been released. At one week you'll check for signs that she's laying. You'll probably be feedin 1:1 sugar syrup to help them build up. In general there's lots of work in the beginning, less in the middle, lots toward the end. It's not an everyday thing and sometimes more than a week between any actual work. You want them to do their work without too much disturbance 4) I would like to sell my honey (- what we eat of course) and my wife is really into crafts so I am sure she will be interested in making candles etc. If the market was available in my area (which I am sure it is)...how much money could I expect to gross from my hives on an average season? answer: That's the toughest question of all. The saying goes the first year is a building up season, the second is a harvesting season, but it's all relative. (remember the agriculture thing)I've had 1st yr hives that gave a surplus of over 100 lbs and others that only made enough to get them through the winter. This year with some established and some new hives I got 375 pounds from the 5 that produced surplus. It ranged from over 100 to 35 lbs. We kept about 150 lbs and gave some away and are selling some. I'll probably gross about a grand but I'm not making a profit because I'm putting it back into bees and equipment. I hope to make another few hundred selling lip balm, salves, candles and soap. My first year I made enough to cover about half my costs. You'll get some wax from cappings but it won't amount to very much. You'll need to buy more for any real amount of crafting 5) I know I have read in several posts that an average hive produces about 110-lbs of honey (some 200-lbs). How does that compute into 1/2 pint, 1-pint, 1-qt jars of honey? I would think honey would weight a lot more per gallon than say water or milk? answer: Honey has to be sold by weight, so you'll be dealing in half pound, one pound jars etc. Do not get the idea that I am thinking strickly about the money...because I am not! When I get home in April, I want to semi retire (it pays well over here) and I would like to know what to expect. We have a huge garden, goats, chickens and soon to have meat rabbits. I have been slowly building a nice herd of goats the past 4-yrs and think I might break even or be in the "black" on them for the first time this year. We love the country life and if I could start these bees...who knows...diversity is awesome. I am just excited thinking about my little black / gold pollinators in my own garden. No more flowers falling off my pumpkins because "ZERO" bees to pollinate them. Sorry for rambling...I am just excited! I will continue to hang on "your guy's & gals" every word...so keep the posts coming. I am only up to about the 10th set of posts so far...so a lot of "back dated" ones to read. Hopefully by April I will have it all figured out (the process anyway). Sorry...one last question. How many times a week do you get stung...and...do you ever get used to it? answer: That's pretty variable too. A lot depends on the demeanor of your bees (demeaner dey are, da more you get stung)Actually if you work them at the right times and move slowly you may not get stung very often. This past year we worked our 10 hives mostly without gloves and sometimes in tee shirts, moving slowly and being as gentle as possible. I probably got a half dozen stings over the course of the season. If the bees seemed like they were getting angry we just backed off and waited, and wore gloves and long sleeves when it seemed necessary. A friend with a feisty hive got a half dozen at once, so you never know. Thanks, You're very welcome

Yellowgirl has it correctly. Sounds like Hydrangea paniculata. Yes, it is best to prune it at the end of winter, early spring...in zone 7 that would be late Feb. to early May. Pruning hard to within 12" of the ground would create long whips with big blooms on the ends that would probably flop about. Whereas is you leave some woody stucture on the plant and prune more lightly it will create more numerous and smaller blooms that don't flop so much. There are many selections of Hydrangea paniculata, most have upright forms in the garden ('Tardiva', 'Floribunda') and 3 or more have weeping forms.....H.p. 'Grandaflora', H. p. ' Webb's form' (selected in Montgomery, Ala. and happier in the south than Pee Gee Hydrangea) and 'Limelight' seems to also have the weeping aspect. All get large, to 12 or 15' tall if left unpruned. Otherwise, expect 5' to 7' with creative, selective pruning. Great plants. Very forgiving. Always bloom no matter what unstable weather throws our way.

Lily of the Valley, Mixed Dutch Irises, Mixed Freesia, Stargazer Lilies, Mixed Platycodons, Calla Lilies, Mixed Lilies, and Mixed Hostas. You have a mix of annual and perennial bulbs here. You don't have to dig anything up now. Let them grow. However, in the fall what you should leave in the ground to come up and flower next season are the perennials : Dutch irises, stargazer lilies, mixed lilies, platycodons, hostas. The freesias and the calla lilies are not going to stand the winter outside, so put them in pots and bring them inside.