Deanna, my guess is that folks that are sowing hundreds of containers of perennials year after year, either have a lot more land than I do, or are giving extras away at plant swaps, or to family, friends and neighbors. This is my fourth year of wintersowing, and I am almost at the 100 mark, but perennials only make up about 10 - 15% of what I sow. I do tons of annuals for containers for the front porch, and the rest is herbs and veggies (especially tomatoes). I'll always do a few perennials, because in my zone, not everything will make it through the winter, and some perennials, such as Rudbeckia, tend to be shortlived anyway. Plus, it gives me the option of ripping out plants that aren't performing well, or I've just grown tired of. Bonnie

based on my I-Bs, the stems are fairly tender at the beginning, they do get woody pretty quickly...since I pinch my buds when the cluster was around 1 inch in diameter, I can't tell you if they flop after a big rainstorm or not...for the stems that are fairly old, say 8 weeks or more, they are thick, more some than some the Annabelles I have seen...and these stems are getting hard and woody already...so my bet is all those people getting that IBs in the one gallon pots are now have blooms and they realize the blooms are flopping like most Annabelles would, thus the disappointment...I do think this plant will not give the 12 inch size blooms or the very sturdy blooms the first season...so I am watching what's coming for these in 2010...I usually reserve judgement on these new plants till they have been in my garden for at least two winters...will do the same for IBs here...the general negatives I heard on these new hyrangeas are - ES (wilting, not blooming the next yr, what's wrong)..Blushing bride (boy, what with that leggy growth behavior, floppy everywhere)...Twist-n-shout (will it even rebloom, Penny-Mac the parent was a bust)...Cityline series (very vivid colors, too deep purple, dont overwinter well in Penn, Jersey or areas further north)..Forever-n-Ever (powdery mildew galore, most PM prone of all rebloomers I have had)...you get the drift, there is always something negative about a new release...

I've had two but not at the same time. The first was from Germany and worked out good. She was a real part of the family and we continue to keep in touch with her. She was here in 2001 at the same time as the terror attacks. I know that was a very scary time for her family in Germany. The other was from Brazil and was here in 2005. She was a nightmare and ended up going to live in another state. This was her goal all along. I found that most are from fairly wealthy homes which is why they can afford to come here in the first place. With the German girl, she told me that it cost her parents $18,000 alone for the program costs. She said that this covered her program in Germany (the one she pays to come here) and the program costs for the U.S. It also covered her airfare and her week long introduction course in New York. It did not cover her spending money. Her parents gave her $400 per month. We did not receive any money, but we knew we wouldn't. Also, we read thru many bios and picked the ones we thought would be a fit for our family. The info provided to us had written recommendations from their teachers, parents etc. We did have to do a little bio about our family but I will say that the one from Germany told me that if she would not have accepted us as her American family, then she would not have received another chance, in all likelihood. I wouldn't tell you not to do this because there are great experiences out there. I will say though that if something doesn't seem right, do not hesitate to get the kids out of your home. Also, when it didn't work out with the Brazilian girl, I demanded that they move her out of our school district. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Thanks for the update. We hosted an exchange student from Italy when I was in high school, I was a sophomore and she was a senior. Initially there was a bit of jealousy on my part- but when I got over that we became more like sisters. We did not do much together socially, but got along well at home. I also was an exchange student to Germany the year after I finished high school. Homesickness is a big part of it, but having a caring and involved family helped me to overcome it. Letters from home were an important link, there was only snail mail, no e-mail or texts for instant communication. I think in some ways that helped me to assimilate to their way of life. Congratulations for taking in the 2 girls, I would bet that the cultural understanding and friendships that you gain will be well worth any expenses of having them with you. Best of luck-and please keep updated!