Hmmmm.....I hadn't considered what to do by the time they are too big to tie, mad gallica. The problem is, not a whole lot of shrubs will fit those particular screening needs in small spaces. Have they stopped being recommended, I wonder? Brandon...we get lots of heavy snow most winters. This is my first winter with the Sky Pencil. I think I will be happier in the spring having it tied so it won't splay out. It was so easy too. Not having to tie it is one of the advantages of your zone and less snow, enjoy it. :-)

Thanks everyone. I have tomatoes and peppers, but sure haven't seen any larvae. Do they like anything else? I've been looking over my tomatoes and haven't seen anything, unfortunately. I even have some milkweed growing in the garden and saw some poop........but it wasn't even monarchs, but rather tussock moth cats (I think??). Its been an upside down summer this year. We saw this Carolina moth a few nights ago at dusk, and got all excited.......but then saw a bird chasing it! We were very happy to see it had survived. We were standing on the deck cheering for it........"GO!!!....RUN!!!!"

It looks normal to me. I have a few with the same appearance this week, we had temperatures similar to yours when we hadn't even experienced light frost yet so the hydrangeas were not dormant and had all their foliage still. Not very attractive, and I'm really happy I found time to move the two that were flanking my front door - not a site for deciduous shrubs that made sense to me. That frozen foliage will eventually drop and you can pick it up then. I doubt the brief cold caused damage but with plants so young if you do find they experienced some, just wait until growth begins again in spring and cut back to the first visible buds. There is a long established hydrangea straight out from my kitchen window with blackened foliage. I'm not worried about it, it just isn't pleasing to look at right now.

RedSun is right, soil temperature is important - you'll want to wait until the soil is 60F. Warm weather plants will just sit there and sulk until the soil warms to their liking. If the tomatoes are becoming pot-bound, them move them up to a larger container where they'll be more comfortable while waiting for the soil to warm up.