It`s funny the things you have to do when you are a "hobbiest" to grow corn. I never see the big fields of corn laying on the ground after a storm. I guess maybe all of those rows that the big boys grow, affords some sort of wind protection barrier for the plants. I doubt it would be feasible to stand 50 acres of corn back up after it got flattened by the wind & rain! LOL! I wouldn`t want to do it I can tell you that! ;) tdscpa: I may just try that little technique of yours next year. I have tried in the past to just plant the seeds deeper but it really didn`t seem to help much. I have spoken with others who have done the same thing. They said theirs still blew over too. I think I tried planting those suckers about 6" in the ground one year. Took `em a LONG time to come out of the ground & some didn`t. I understand that the corn makes most of its roots near the surface ( about 1" to 2"down ) so what you are saying about the way that you do that would work. It would get the roots established & growing & then you pile more dirt on them, effectively re-enforcing the roots. Very good idea indeed! nchomemaker: I may try that this year since the plants are already about 3 ft high or so. I doubt I have but maybe 4 weeks left before I will be picking corn. Big aggravation to have to go to these lengths to keep my stalks up but I don`t think corn was meant to grow like watermelon vines do on the ground! LOL! Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Will save me from having to buy a few bags of concrete!! :-)

Hi Joyce, Sorry no one ever wrote back. I haven't been to visit this forum in awhile. If you haven't figured out what to do, it is ok. Doing nothing this time of year won't hurt a thing. You do not need to stake anything. Broken branches can be cut off or left til spring to do the same. Once spring rolls around, you can remove all the damaged canes. It is ok if you have to remove a lot from some. They will bounce back and grow like nothing ever happened. Hope this helps, Remy

I honestly do wanna do contests, at least locally eventually, but the house needs some work and I'm not quite there with the gardens. The back grass is only half grass. :P This year is funny because it was a pretty hard winter temp-wise but the stuff that's blooming is doing so at the same time as nursery stock. So I guess it's good stock! The purple next to the Zagreb is the (Double Delights) Expression I got recently. It was straight lavender and then the new blooms got darker once I put it in the ground. :) The little guys at the front are mostly new Kurt Weiss Greenhouse florist gallons from Lowe's. I have about 10 total in the ground and in pots and am trying to see how some do after winters, and just trying to ID some others. Worst case can bag them up and replant like some annuals.

the stake it came with.. is probably a shipping stake ... in case the box got inverted.. hold the pot from crushing the plant ... rather useless once shipping is done ... it has no use.. if it doesnt reach into native soil ... sometimes i used to pull it out.. and replace it in the same hole.. with a longer stake ... anyway ... let the soil dry a bit ... dig away from the lean... a bit ... then go to the lean side.. and lever it upright ... and then refill the hole on the lean side ... clear as day to me.. do the words mean anything to you?? ... lol ... then put some real stakes in a couple feet from the plant.. and tie that sucker up ... by fall.. you can probably release it .. was it bare rooted.. and planted into native soil ... is the potting media left.. wildly divergent from native soil ... summer heat is starting .... if you somehow decide bare rooting is necessary.. i might wait until fall to do that ... btw... you dont mention how big it is.. if its small.. it might change my answer ... somewhat ... ken