Ann's idea to contact your county agricultural extension agent sounds like just the ticket to me. We contacted our county extension agent once a long, long time ago, in trying to find out why we were having a problem with growing azaleas and rhododendrons in one particular area of the yard but not in others. With all the budget cutbacks they might not still do that, but it's a wonderful service. Someone actually came out to see the problem here onsite and didn't charge us anything to do it. The fellow who came out was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. He almost instantly guessed what the problem was, semi-confirmed it by shifting a few plants within the ground from pushing gently on their stems, and sent some soil samples off to the state lab for confirmation: a moderately heavy infestation of nematodes (the bad kind of nematodes) that were eating away at the roots of the plants. I know this isn't your problem, but your roses might have something that a local county agricultural agent can diagnose just as quickly there. Our service was free, and I assume yours would be too, or at least not too expensive. Even if your agent isn't quite so sharp as ours was, you still probably wouldn't lose anything by spending a few minutes with him/her. We've had two (very mild) cases of downy mildew here. I double-checked those photos and the roses didn't have any ridges on the canes. But perhaps ridges might have appeared if the disease had gotten worse, so telling you this might not be especially helpful--unless you can look or have pictures of the plants in different stages of coming down with the disease. If the ridges are there from the very start of noticeable symptoms, then it likely isn't downy mildew. Your county extension agent is just the right contact for checking out Ann's other ideas regarding the potential for verticillium wilt and sudden oak death. Since they affect plants other than roses too, he might have had a better chance of hearing first about the presence in your area of those diseases before someone mainly concerned with growing roses would have. (I hope it's neither of those diseases. Fingers crossed for you.) One other obvious thing to think about that I didn't think to mention earlier... Try analyzing in every respect the locations of each of the plants that have come down with the disease, and be sure to tell your extension agent about the locations of the goners and whatever connections you might be able to come up with from an analysis of those locations. Example: You have your 180 plants spread among 6 different beds, but all the plants but one that died recently were located in the front beds as opposed to from the back of the house (maybe more likely something like a gradual spreading of chili thrips?). Or, you have losses in all your beds, but they all are located near the new stone edging you've given your beds (maybe too much reflected heat added now?). Or, your losses are in front and in the back, but started out only in those beds that you added some extra bags of ___ to last winter to improve the soil (maybe the bags' contents weren't insect/disease free). Or, your losses are all in places less protected from an especially cold winter that might have set up the roses for succumbing to the first disease to come along. Or, the losses are all close to the swimming pool (spilled some chemicals intended for a pool there?). One other suggestion that might help would be adding mycorrhiza, though it's some trouble when you already have the rose planted, and if it's something like verticillium wilt it might not help enough anyway. I once added mycorrhiza to two ailing established plants and I don't think I'd ever bother with that again, though I do still think mycorrhiza is overall a good idea and we use it when planting a new rose, when it's relatively easy to use. Those two roses I was hoping to help were virused and no amount of adding anything would have changed that. With this kind of (extensive and serious) problem that your roses are having, it might amount to a situation such as ours was. Or maybe not; it's hard to know, especially since the problem is still unidentified. In favor of adding mycorrhiza... would be the firm conviction of someone very knowledgeable in organic gardening circles that plants with this added boost actually can more easily repel disease, and that it's not simply a matter of additional pathways for more water and nutrients (that's a good hedge during droughts and also especiaally severe winters). You can't know whether or not a plant thus reinforced can repel something as serious as verticillium wilt, but if you are willing to go to the trouble, it's unlikely to cause harm. At least what I did in adding it to our already-planted roses caused no harm at all that I could see. For adding to established plants, use something like an especially large and long pencil for punching holes in the ground. (I had an extra knife sharpening steel that was about the diameter of two and a half pencils and it worked perfectly.) You want to punch 4-6 holes in the ground all around the rose, starting from maybe 6 inches out from the center of the plant and directed at the center of the plant maybe a foot down. Pour a small amount of mycorrhiza into each hole, and then spread the dirt back into and over the holes. You're counting on at least one root making contact with some mycorriza, either directly from the hole placement or soon as it grows some more to that spot. If you do decide to try mycorrhiza, be sure to never use any fertilizer that is higher than 1 or 2% in phosphate, as this will harm the mycorrhiza and might end up killing the plant that will have become somewhat dependent on the mycorrhiza working for much of its water and nutrients. One last thought: I still think it's a good idea to water very deeply every now and then if you can, because of the potential for a soil PH that is too high in a low-rainfall climate. This would be true even if your roses have enough water available for takeup; what you want is a flushing of the soil downward to get rid of any salt buildup, if one might exist (though it sounds as if you're giving a good bit of water). In a desert climate, there ought to be plenty of dry soil underneath the plant to take up the excess coming from a heavy watering, and a system flush is unlikely to make matters worse. If this summer was a bit hotter there than in the previous years where you've not had these problems, a higher-than-ideal PH might combine with the main problem, whatever it is, and make it worse by creating extra stress overall. If you are able to fill some watering cans for spreading water around while doing some deep watering, it wouldn't hurt to add a tiny bit of cider vinegar to the watering can, just on a guess that your soil's PH is very unlikely to be too low already and that adding a tiny bit of extra acidity probably won't do any harm. Big beautiful roots likely means no severe root-eating nematode problem. That's all I can think of. In spite of lots of people thinking about your problem from afar, I doubt that you are going to figure this out via internet suggestions. But if possible, do post pictures. The county extension agent idea is probably by far the most important suggestion to try. Best wishes, Mary

I'll be the dissenting opinion here on soaking and say that they don't need to be soaked, but I definitely agree, do not trim the roots. Your hostas just came out of a cooler/cold storage and are not quite ready to grow. In a few days they will start to wake up, but until then they really don't need water. Dormant hostas store what moisture they need and can only hold so much. When they don't have leaves they have absolutely no way to get rid of excess water, but the roots will keep trying to soak it up until cell damage starts to occur, if you soak too long. If they are shrivelled up and dried out then yes, soak them for a little while (30 minutes to an hour is usually plenty) but if they are plump roots just plant them, water good to let them know it is time to wake up, then wait for them to emerge. If you get regular rains that is enough water in the meantime. As to the crown depth, hostas grow from underground rhizomes and new root growth emerges from above the old, so the roots should always be underground. If your soil is well aerated (loose and light - not compacted) then ideally the dormant eyes should also never be showing after planting. If it is really hard and compact you should improve the soil, but if you can't, then just plant about a half inch below the surface, so at least the roots are covered with soil. The rot problems people have with plants that are too deep is not really a depth issue but a lack of oxygen issue. Keep your soil well aerated and they will happily grow below ground. Good luck! Chris

hello ladies :) lovely to hear from you all :)) i hope everyone is fine and busy painting :) or still busy spring cleaning ?? yuuuup... this IS sort of a little turning point for me... who knows i may just go into this for good. anj... i organize shows and events but the economy over here has been so bad that companies are kinda cutting down their entertainment budget ( i guess that's just fair... entertainment isn't a priority) anyway... i should be keeping this going for a while and seeing what comes out of it :) just hope that my creative juice doesn't run out so soon! you all take care :) i will have time to come in here more often now :) see ye! luthien

I love GW. I agree 100% with GreenDesigns and all of you who suggested that the range should go on the one wall without any openings and the refrigerator should go back on the wall where it was. In fact, the mental picture I had of the kitchen that way was so beautiful that I completely forgot how we ended up with the fridge in the middle of the other wall. So we tested it out and rolled the refrigerator around the room (it's nice to be able to do that since it's the only thing in there) and tried it out everywhere. And then I remembered how we ended up with it in the kitchen design no-no spot. It's a monster. It's a 31 cu. ft french door model that is basically 36"x36". On an unrelated note - it rolls around like a Cadillac - so easy to move! Here it is in it's proposed spot: Anyhow.... the little walls opposite from each other next to the doors to the living room and laundry room stick out not quite 35". The little wall on the other side by the dining room sticks out not quite 31". The doorways are tiny - the one on the south wall is only 30" wide. Putting the refrigerator on either end of the run that you all so wisely suggested just feels cramped both ways. On the dining room side the refrigerator door opens into the dining room opening which is where people always seem to congregate when we entertain. I was constantly having to open the refrigerator door in their face and say "Excuse me". On the other end of that run it makes the entry into the kitchen from the living room seem very cramped and makes for an odd view from the hall/living room. And we'd have the same problem of the refrigerator door swinging into the opening. I guess since that rubbed us the wrong way with the old layout we gravitated towards the polar opposite. I so badly wanted it to work that way you suggested, especially picturing the backsplash I want for the range, but the structure of this house (a very tiny 1950 tract home) is not cooperating. So I think we will have to break with design guidelines and stick that monster frig in the middle of the wall. Hopefully with the wall cabinets it won't look too strange in the middle of the counter run. I haven't given up on your suggestions completely. This is not our forever kitchen but it is our right-now kitchen so we have to go with what feels most comfortable even if it looks a little odd. If we ever have the opportunity to build a larger kitchen I am keeping GreenDesigns suggestion in my notes because I LOVE the idea of a range in the middle of a larger counter run and the refrigerator wall as more of a snack center with a smaller counter run to one side and the toaster oven right there. And I haven't abandoned the idea for this kitchen entirely yet either... Thank you so much! I have learned so much from this discussion. I'll definitely post pictures of whatever we decide to do and I'm sure this won't be my last question. Back I go to rolling the refrigerator around...