When we had 8 ft. of snow the winter of 2010, every plant in my garden survived, thrived and bloomed profusely in 2011. Warm January to March weather in 2012 followed by freezes in April killed a lot of my butterly perennials and stunted others--what my mother referred to as an "open winter." For many perennials, the normal/usual freeze/thaw cycle is essential to plant health & survival in colder zones of the U.S. I normally don't cut my butterfly bushes/buddleias back until spring but there's one growing outside the window beside me that still has foliage on it the end of December which I don't recall from previous years--I keep garden notes. Makes me think I'll keep closer watch going forward. Baptisia a./false indigo gave a poor showing this year after several years of growing tall, robust and lovely. Why is that? I have multiple plants in beds around the garden so location seems to be less of a factor than weather. I'm leaning toward chalking this up to a less-than-stellar garden year with hope next season will see things rebound. I'm a gardener, which makes me an optimist.

For clarity, (from my experience) softnecks don't truly scape, but sometimes they revert. Softneck garlic has been selected over the years (centuries?) to no longer produce scapes, mostly for the ease of harvest. Nature creeps back in via recessive genes and scapes do appear sometimes. Of my favorite softneck varieties (early red italian and Lorz italian), which I grow about 1000 plants of each year, i've rarely seen a scape over 18 years. This is probably because I continue to select my own seed every season and wouldn't plant one with a hardneck. To confuse matters more there are also the Asiatiac, Turban and Creole types which are referred to as "weakly bolting hardnecks", meaning they don't always make a scape though they are still classified as "Ophioscorodon" (hardneck) as compared to "Sativum" (softneck). Below is a link to a great website with more garlic info that you could ever read. I've sold seed to them in the past and highly recommend the company. -Mark Here is a link that might be useful: Gourmet garlic website

I would not recommend Crepe Myrtles AT ALL they provide ZERO shade and are best used as a border tree for privacy and they grow Straight up and down even as a mature tree. I always shake my head when people plant these in their front lawns as they are going to be very disappointed. They are the WORST tree for shade and are on the most hated list for tree preservation groups because the cities always tries to pass these off as planting shade trees to meet quota. They are again only good for border trees and a punch of color not a shade tree AT ALL. I always try to warn people away from planting these in their front lawn.. ughh ..I would pick a Jacaranda every time just plant it close to the edge of your front lawn so the roots are not a problem and provide shade to your lawn and sidewalk. Also FYI if the tree roots rise which they shouldn't if planted deep enough and in proper planting sacks , the city is responsible for maintaining that tree in most cities. Within 5-15 feet in from the sidewalk most cities have responsibility for tree growth maintenance ie tree roots which is why I encourage people to plant as close the curb as possible. Consult your local tree foundations as to city responsibility to canopy within 5-15 feet.. Also while these trees are incredibly fast growing trees it will take some time before it ever becomes an issue if at all, we are talking decades.. by then your tree is most likely under protection of city tree ordinances. LUCKY YOU!

Xeric, where do you live? I dont see any reason at all why you shouldnt plant them now. With most perennials, you can plant them anytimeeven during the winteras long as the ground isnt frozen. The main problem with planting when its really, really cold out is that since they wont start growing, you dont know till spring if theyve actually made it or not. When planting at this time of the year, put them in and then water them really wellSLOWLY and DEEPLYso the soil BELOW the roots is well watered. Then dont water again over winter unless the soil down at the level of the bottom of the roots is drying out. If we get a long, drawn out and dry fall, you may need to water again before winter really sets in. Rather than trying to divide them now, put the 4" plants in as one plant and then wait till they start growing well in spring and then go thru them and dig small rooted "plugs" out of the middle of them to transplant where you want them. Pink Chintz should be pretty easy to successfully plant now. Also, as Bonnie said above, if theyre planted now, the roots will be growing pretty much all winter, anytime the soil isnt frozen, so theyll get a really, really good start when they start to grow next spring. Were glad youre here, and dont be afraid to start your own thread when you have questions. Any fall/winter posts are welcome on this threador any posts at all for that matterbut youll usually get more responses if you start a separate thread and people can see from the title what youre asking about. And if you start a separate thread, you can also have replies sent directly to your mailbox if you choose. I got back from my trip last nite and found that the temp had only gone down to 36 while I was gone! Even last nite, which was a little bit colder, it only went down to 34. Guess I really didnt need to cut my tomatoes down after all, but with as cool as the days are going to be this week, and with as cold as the nites are getting, they wouldnt have developed anymore fruit anyway, and they can ripen slowly in the garage as well as outsidewhere Id need to keep worrying about them freezing. Since cukes dont "keep" if you "hang them in the garage," and since I wasnt quite ready to give up on them yet, I did cover them. Theyre easy to cover because of the "framework" provided by the trellises theyre on. Just uncovered them about an hour ago, and theyre looking the same as when I covered them. I already have a bunch of cukes in the fridge, and there a lots of little ones on the vines, so the longer I can leave them outside, the longer Ill have them to eat! I covered a couple summer squash vines that have small ones on too, in hopes that they may keep developing, but that may or may not work. It sure is nice out here today! Its 60 in the shade on my deck, and Im sure its much warmer in the sun out in the yard (but my thermometer on that side of the yard needs new batteries!) BP and Dafy, its really nice to see the two of you around here! We miss you when youre not posting. My perennials, which were, in large part, ignored this year, are looking typically "fallish!" Buds are just starting to open on the Hillside Pink Sheffields" Dendranthema, and Im not planning to cover it this year, so it probably wont have time to develop its usual fall splendor! If Im around when were gonna get a hard freeze, Ill cut them and bring them in to enjoy indoors! The many dried flower stems on my Acanthus are going to be wonderful winter interest this year. Theyre visible in this pic behind the flopping (not enough sun) Agastache! From Garden - 2009 July to Fall Im hoping for a nice mild winter so I can get the tomato area turned over this year and ready for spring, and maybe even do some perennial "rearranging" over winter. Skybird