I just started going organic this year in my garden. If I had not been listening to an organic gardening radio show and just looking on this forum this discussion would have made me think that most of the people doing organics were a bunch of crazy anti business radicals. This discussion has had alot of people trashing a company because it is a chemical fert company. Most of the people who are trashing the product did not even read the lable to see what was in it. If this product had chemical fert in it and some one tested it they would have a major case against MG/Scotts. You may not agree with the company and you should support local organic providers over the large companies that are coming in to "jump on the band wagon" but in some areas these product are what the person just starting out can find easily. Some new gardeners would decide that it was not worth it if this product was not avalible. You can not like a company but you can't trash them for not being organic and then trash them because they are starting to move in the direction you want them to just because they are not moving all they way at one time. The best way to get a company to move to the organic side would be to do some testibg and see if the product is organic and if it works and then support the product. If MG/Scotts starts make a lot of money on organic products then they will start making more of them and less of the chemicals that we don't like. The only way to get the companies to change is through sales. Think about how your rants will be seen by people thinking about do what you agree with and try not to scare them off because you come off as totally insane.

I just discovered them. I put some of the trailing kind in the garden and kept some in a hanging basket. I like plants that volunteer. So, that's good news to me.

Daniel, I agree with Helen's recommendations. August is a really tough month for plants here in general most summers because it is so hot and dry. If your plants survive being moved in August, I'd just try to keep their soil evenly moist so they can settle in and recover from being moved. I normally would not move any plant in the summertime, but if I had to do it for some reason, I'd move as large of a rootball as possible with plenty of soil attached and I'd prune back the plant quite a bit to make up for the fact that the roots were disturbed. If your plants wilted or drooped or even dropped leaves after being moved, I'd leave them alone and just keep them well-watered (but not soggy or sopping wet either) until they perked up. Feeding plants actually can stress them so you want to watch your recently-moved plants and give them time to recover from bring moved before you feed them. Once they stop wilting or drooping and start producing new foliage, then that would be a sign their root systems have recovered from being moved and then you could feed them. Critchlow, The petunias likely were yellowing because of the hot August weather. Petunias often struggle in Oklahoma's typically hot July and August weather. Yellowing foliage is merely an indicator of stress---any kind of stress----and can indicate a plant is too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold, hungry, or even stressed by pests. So, I am not necessarily convinced your plants died because you fed them with Miracle Grow. It could be that the heat was just too much for them. I love petunias but don't grow the standard bedding plant kind of petunias very much any more. Once the hot weather sets in, regular bedding plamt type petunias can really struggle and go downhill quickly in our climate. In recent years, I've switched to a petunia called "Laura Bush" because of its' heat tolerance. The Laura Bush petunias were developed from native petunias found in Texas and other areas with hot summers. Mine still were blooming and looking good after enduring high temperatures up to 110 degrees this summer. I just pruned them back by about 50% (a recommend method of pruning them hard in summer when they get too tall/long and lanky) on Sunday. Because LB petunias tolerate the heat and hard pruning so well, they will regrow and put out a new flush of flowers within a couple of weeks of being pruned so drastically. I used to raise a lot of petunias, including Wave petunias, from seed in winter so they'd be blooming by April but once I started growing the LB petunias, I quit growing all the others because LB was just so much better-adapted to our summertime conditions. For much of OK this year ( the areas with plentiful moisture and milder than usual summer temperatures), petunias likely were happier than usual for longer than usual since the weather was cooler and milder, but in far south central OK, I don't think I've seen any really happy petunias since June, other than the LB petunias. Back when I grew regular petunias, they usually were just burning up in the heat by early July and rather than deal with all the yellowing foliage and stressed-looking plants, I'd take them out and replace them with more heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant plants like periwinkles, gomphrena, dwarf zinnias or moss rose. I don't even raise LB petunias from seed any longer, although of course that is how I planted them the first couple of years--from seeds sown indoors in flats under lights in mid-winter. They reseed themselves all over the place in our garden so now I just wait for them to sprout in spring. If there are too many of them in one area, I either transplant the extras while small or just yank them out and compost them. I have used MG many times over the years and don't think it ever has killed any plants, although I am not saying it couldn't happen. I do think that a person could dilute it improperly or give a plant far too much of it or could use it too often and that they might kill a plant that way, but it is not a common occurrence, so don't be so quick to blame yourself or the MG for the death of the petunias. I think the August heat more likely is to blame. Dawn

The problem with this type of potting soil is that it contains granular fertilizer. We advise against it in the planting instructions as well as indicate in the warranty that use of any granular products in the first year will void the warranty. Granular fertilizers, even those mixed with water are too hot for own-root roses. This is why we recommend liquid only, such as Alaska Fish Fertilizer. We want you to be successful with your purchase. We know that you spend your money on a product and want that product to perform at the highest level and to provide beauty in your garden or patio for many years to come. We feel very strongly about how you care for the roses that you purchase from us and that is why we have specified that you should not use any packaged soil mix or potting type soil that has granular fertilizer as a component of that soil mix or potting soil, or to use any granular fertilizer product for your regular maintenance for the first year. Here are our reasons: · All fertilizers whether they are slow release or immediate release react to moisture and temperature. Packaged potting soils/ planting mixes are exposed to many different climatic stresses, such as heat and moisture. A bag of potting mix with granular fertilizer in it that has been exposed to the sun or warm temperatures has most likely already released the “salts” in the fertilizer thus making the planting mix very hot and not suitable for transplanting or using in pots. · We do not know how long the soil mix has been packaged, how long it has been stored or what weather conditions it has been exposed to. So, to be on the safe side we strongly recommend that you do not use potting or soil mixes that have granular fertilizer as a component. The success of your rose depends on it. Our recommendation of using a liquid fertilizer product such as Alaska Fish Fertilizer is intended to give you and your roses the best chance at performing beyond your expectations. Utilizing other products that do not originate in a pure liquid form are not recommended and will reduce or eliminate your chances of having a successful gardening experience and void our warranty. We want you to be successful. Please read the planting instructions, the label of the soil mix you may want to use and the warranty for our roses at http://www.heirloomroses.com/info/about/guarantee/. Thank you for your understanding.