DO NOT FERTILIZE TODAY. The sod was already heavily fertilized before it was cut. That's the last thing they do to the fields they are cutting. Wait until Memorial Day. Before you water for 10-15 minutes, measure your sprinkler output. The 10 minute rule for new sod/seed works unless you have a high performance sprinkler. Some sprinkler systems can put out an inch of water in that time. All you need to do is mist the surface, not drench the depths. Measure yours with a tuna or cat food can. Put several cans out and see how much water you can get in 10-15 minutes. All you need is about 1/10 of an inch for these initial sprayings. That's just enough to keep the sod from drying out. Pending the results of your watering system flow test, the schedule you propose is probably a good watering schedule to start with. I've never seen that particular schedule before, but looks good to me. When you cut back on the frequency in the later weeks you should water longer. Before you back off on the watering frequency, double check to be sure the new sod has rooted into the underlying soil. Try to lift a piece. If it seems stuck, then start backing off and watering longer. The idea is to develop deep roots that will resist the summer heat. In the subsequent weeks try skipping a day and see if the grass looks okay. I assume it will be fine. Then skip the next day. On the 3rd or 4th day, try watering for 30 minutes. Eventually you want to extend to the point where you are only watering once a month in the cool months and working your way to once a week in the heat of summer. On the rare, hot, droughty summer you might go to once every 5 days. But you will be watering a full inch (or thereabouts) when you water. You'll have to come to your own timing based on sprinkler output, wind, humidity, soil type, grass height, shade, rain, and a few more factors. During a normal summer I water 3/8 inch per week in my soil and shade situation in San Antonio. With my sprinkler that takes 3 hours. Last summer during the drought I was up to 7/8 inch per week. That was extreme for me. More questions?

As no-one has followed up this interesting post, I'll give my thoughts. First of all, the quoted hardiness temperatures generally refer to survival temperature, not the temperature when very slight damage occurs. Secondly, this temperature is very dependent on exact conditions and can only be considered a very rough guide. Length of exposure to damaging temperatures, humidity, wind speed,age, stem thickness, protective leaf canopy -- all will alter the result, and can vary over a few yards. Poncirus has developed hardiness by becoming deciduous, by generally delaying its springtime growth even if there is a short warmer period, and by developing bud scales which protect the flower buds as they form. Poncirus hybrids maintain some of these features but to different degrees. I also have citranges which show leaf curl after hard frosts, but I don't think the plant is damaged by this. Some leaves drop later, but are soon replaced by new ones. What is more damaging is a lighter frost after spring growth has started. Even Poncirus new growth can be damaged. I don't think your query about whether 'these plants haven't stayed cold enough overall' is relevant unless spring growth has begun.

Okay, let me say we go to the HOSTA SPORTS, and you choose from the list on the left, GOLD STANDARD (97). It shows the family tree of sports from Gold Standard, with the little color letters being like for example, Captain Kirk (yg) I know that means "yellow green" But which part is yellow and which green? Is the first letter an indicator of the middle (or leaf) color, and the second the margin/edge color? Like yellow leaf green margin? That's part one of the question. I could not find a KEY there to explain their lettering system. If you go into the descriptions of the names of some very changeable hosta, there are a bunch of letters which HAVE to mean something. WHERE IS THE KEY? What do these mean, when they are used one after another to explain the pattern of color change for the shape-shifting hosta? Let me give you an example of the complicated hosta, such as one I was puzzling over today: I was checking sports of FRAGRANT BLUE. specifically, SECRET LOVE. It's leaf color is shown with the abbreviations: bl,(y>w)e Now that just blows my mind!! I got Secret Love in a pot in my garden, but I could not look at it and with this abbreviation know what the heck to expect, or even figure it out... I can see that bl = blue? y = yellow w = white but they put the ( ) around it, and then wind up with the e = _________ what.....???? So if there was a key somewhere on the website, I could make a stab at learning it. Someone put a whole lot of time into adding that tiny little box of information for a whole bunch of hosta, and I know it could be useful, if I knew what it indicated. So do you need a link to MyHostas.BE Sports? Thanks, Ken. Here is a link that might be useful: myhostas.be sports index

I see no one has answered you yet. I made my mom a needlepoint pillow couple of yrs back-only 1 I've ever done but it had piping around edge. I made sure piping was pinned through so it didn't disappear when I started could run stitch or 2 through it so it won't move back into casing & started on a side as easier to work after you go around & come up to meet where you started, I just measured it & cut it about 1/4 in. longer than I thought I needed by pulling the fabric back do the cut & put the ends of fabric over the starting fabric & edges of fabric ruffle tucked inside itself & finish by hand. It came out beautifully. Trying to sew over it will twist it I think, but I rarely do things like other people so I do what I have to do to get results, maybe has something to do with being a leftie?? Hope someone else has a better explanation. Jan