Here's a rundown of best way to overwinter gunnera, got this from a local nursery (the best, Hughes Water Gardens in Tualatin, Oregon - outside Portland). Make a chicken wire circle screen around the plant, allow about a foot out from the plant crowns and if possible a foot above the plant (once the leaves have been cut off). Cut off the leaves, many folks use the leaves to cover the crowns from water but I use my leaves (leaf-casting). Once the leaves and stems are cut down and the wire fence is in place, dump your tree leaves into the circle and over the tops of the plants. I use maple leaves as I don't have to worry about creating a nursery for black walnuts, horse chestnuts, etc. (I have tons of garbage trees around). I load up the leaves and tuck them lightly in around the plant crowns. I continue tossing leaves on top until I have at least 6-12" on top of the crowns. I usually put some sort of wire mesh across the top just to make sure the leaves don't blow out. When I put the leaves on I don't use wet, mushy ones that are already heating up as a compost but allows some air in the batch. In the Spring, I can pull off a some of the top layer and the leaves of the plant will simply start pushing through all the maple leaves. When I know that frost is past, I pull back the maple leaves to allow the gunnera leaves to come through. I usually leave most of the maple leaves in the "pit" as they will continue to compost down. I've never had any problems with any kinds of bugs on this plant, at worst I get horse chestnuts falling and tearing the leaves (limited places to grow him) and too much hot afternoon sun. to handle both of those problem, I erect a tent around the plant with a type of shade tarp that shelters the plant through summer. As for ideal growing conditions, I sunk a huge plastic tub ito the ground (with a single small hole) and used half potting soil and half manuere on it. This way I can water the gunnera and he can sit in water and my trees don't suck it all up. they do love the water and while they have some resistance to cold (Ireland has a problem with these being invasive), it's just not an evergreen. I hope that info helps some folks. If well cared for, each year the plant will come back with slightly larger leaves so consider him an investment in your garden. great plants and thanks to Hughes for the writeup, mine have been doing great now going on 4 years! BTW, some plants I have bought before were really lame and didn't survive no matter what I did so the stock you purchase does make a difference. Don't get frustrated if you lose one and you did everything right.

A "good" group meeting seems tough to find, for whatever reasons. In addition to helping yourself, your own experiences are a benefit to others. Nationwide on any given day, there are also seminars packed with people seeking information. I feel better after having joined several on-line forums, support groups where people communicate The "been there, done that" approach from individuals is great, and many times provide contact to care otherwise unknown to you. All done from the comfort of your home. Just like using GW to ask questions . Some get lots of replies and support, some get few. The topic has nothing to do with handicap stalls.

The motivation thing is the most important. Also you need a plan so it won't be just willy-nilly. Example - have a weight-in, a short program sometimes would be good with some brochures you can get from various organizations, then a time to talk after everyone does whatever is in the plan. In other words I think you must have a good structure for it to work. Also, is your church pretty good size? I've never gone to a church I thought was quiet large enough to get one going.

Good suggestion Pecan - but I tried it early on! And they can only exempt the most severely-disabled kids. For kids whose disabilities are more moderate, there's a 'TAKS-M' modified test. That test covers grade-level material but in a modified format. He just took the test last week and said it was 'easy' -- which unfortunately, could mean anything! However, if the reading TAKS-M is any indication, the test probably WAS easy. But we will see... What I was thinking is that since he's already taken the standardized test, how about we change gears RIGHT NOW to go back and cover 3rd grade in the remaining one month? I know it's not much -- but to my way of thinking, he can either learn multiplication and division now, skipping adding and subtracting fractions with mixed denominators (how's he supposed to learn that anyway without multiplication and division?) Or he can continue to 'skip' multiplication and division. Either way, there's a 'hole' in his education -- But which is the better topic to skip? Incidentally, I also asked them to teach him during summer school and got NOWHERE.