Rick - remember me? I sent you the White Sprite sinningias. Do you remember the type of soil that was used packing the tubers sent to you? That is what I grow my micro mini sins in, it is a fine grade germination mix from Fafard and sinningia do very well in it. Keep it simple, no need for exotic soil mixes to grow these guys. Use a fine textured soil mix - really don't think you need to go to the extent of chopped long fibered sphagnum, etc. You know that mini sins grow, bloom and then want to go dormant, right? Your plants may just need a rest, let them dry out and sit dry for a month or so, then spray them down with water to see if they will sprout and grow again. The dry foliage needs to be cleaned off during dormancy, sometimes they will signal you with green that they want to get back to growing after being dry and dormant for a period without first giving them H20 - it sounds from your description that your plants are going through their normal cycle and it isn't anything to be overly concerned about. Here is a picture of my S. pusilla growing in Fafard germination mix right out of the bag. I DIDN'T need to stand on my head and pee into my pocket to get these to grow well and neither should you. Good luck with your sinningias!

Sunlight - In the South, the leaves will sun scorch if exposed to too much sun so give them sun in the mornings and shade in the afternoons. In the northern states, they can be exposed to more sunlight. Near the border with Canada, you can probably get away with full sun. Always observe how others near your home have planted their hydrangeas. The chosen location should allow the plant to grow as wide and tall as shown in the plant label. Allow for good air flow between plants by not crowding the hydrangea near other plants. Moisture - they need a constant supply of moisture or as constant as one can practically do. To begin with, check them daily by inserting a finger into the soil to a depth of 4". If it feels almost dry or dry then water it. If it feels wet, try to determine why and take appropriate action if any is needed. Wet soil can cause fungal issues. Every time that you water, mark it in a wall calendar. After 1-2 weeks of doing this every day, review how often you had to water. Then set your sprinkler or drip irrigation to water 1g of water on the same frequency (every 2/3/4/5/etc days). Do this again when the temps change 10-15 and stay there. Apply 3-4" of mulch thru the drip line or a little beyond. Water the soil (not the leaves) early in the morning. Fertilizer - fertilize with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottonseed meal, compost, manure or a general purpose slow-release fertilizer in May and late June only. It is ok to add weak fertilizers like coffee grounds, liquid seaweed or liquid fish to the soil but stop all fertilizer by July/August. This prepares the plant for dormancy and helps minimize the chance of flower buds getting zapped by early frosts in the Fall. The plant in the pot will require monthly feedings during the growing season. Soil - acidic, well draining (but will tolerate some small amount of alkalinity). Neighbors or a nearby local nursery can tell you about this if you do not already know. Nurseries also sell kits for measuring alkalinity/acidity (called pH Kits, etc). If your soil is alkaline, amend the soil at least once in Spring using products that will acidify the soil (such as, garden sulphur, iron chelated liquids, green sand, etc) Pruning - if you have allowed for the size shown in the plant label, you may have to prune very little. The plant label may give exact instructions depending on whether the hydrangea blooms on new wood like the ES or not. Generally, you will do fine if you prune after the plants blooms but before the month of July/August. Wilting - will be common during the first year, especially during the summer or during windy days. If the wilting episode looks extreme, water it immediately (1/2 to 1g). Otherwise, check the soil for moisture first. If the soil is dry then water 1/2 to 1g of water. If it feels moist then wait until the next morning. If still wilted then water it. You will notice that these wilting episodes self correct after the sun goes down and will be reduced as the plant gets established in 1-2 years. Winterizing - You basically take care of this issue when you select plants that are hardy in your zone. Kentucky has USDA Zones 5 and 6. Determine in which zone you live (ask neighbors or local close-by plant nurseries, ck in the Internet) and try to purchase plants hardy on that zone or one zone less. This way, you do not have to winter protect the shrub that is planted in the ground at all (snow and the mulch takes care of protecting during the worst of winter). For hydrangeas that are planted out of zone outdoors, you will have to winter protect them. Once technique used encloses them in chicken wire that extends several inches away from the plant (width and height wise). Make sure that the ends of the stems are always protected since this is where tender flower buds reside. When the plant starts going dormant, fill the chicken wire enclosure with dried out leaves or mulch. Lots of leaves. A lot. Keep extra leaves handy in a plastic bag so you can add more when settling occurs in the middle of winter. Another winter protection technique involves slowly pressing downwards the stems with a cardboard until they are flat down. Then add leaves/mulch on top to act as insulation. A few well placed rocks can help keep the cardboard in place. See the link below for a post dealing with this topic. The potted hydrangea can be kept outside until you see that it is going dormant. Then move it into a garage like setting and water it once a week or once every two weeks. The hydrangea will be dormant but it is not dead so continue this (no fertilizers) until 1-2 weeks after the last average date of last frost for your area. Wait until late May or early June before deciding to prune any dead looking dried-out stems. Before winterizing, add more mulch to maintain 3-4". Remove plant debris under the shrubs. The spent blooms can be left over winter or they can be deadheaded. The leaves will "disintegrate" slowly as well. More Info? Go to http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/ Does this help you, Jenwr? Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering Hydrangea macrophylla

The easiest way I've found is to put a soaker hose (or two) on top of the soil in each bed, snaking it in and around each plant (or section of plants in the case of the squash) so that each plant/section is pretty much sandwiched between two lengths of hose. Then stake the hose so that it stays where you want it, or put paving bricks in strategic places so that it stays where you want it. Hook the hose up to the soaker hose (the big box home supply stores have quick release male and female attachments that you attach to each end of the connection, to make this easier) and turn the water on about a quarter turn. You want the water to be seeping out steadily but not spraying. Make a mental note of how far you had to turn the knob to get to that point, it's where you'll turn the knob in the future. Cover the entire bed in a good layer of mulch. Water the beds long enough to get the water as deep as you need, see Dani's post above. It'll take trial and error for a little bit. I typically let it run for 30 minutes to an hour. I've also been known to forget to turn the water off until I can see it seeping out from beneath the walls of the bed. Setting a timer might help! I tried a timer for the water faucet but couldn't get it to work. The idea is to water enough to encourage good root development and give the plants sufficient water, while not over-watering and wasting the water. It really is a trial and error process to figure out the length of time.

Yup, lori. I had asked her what adhesive she wanted us to buy for our terra cotta bird bath, as it was on her list of supplies, but no specification as to what "adhesive" (since there are so many options out there.) She responded back saying, that we going to be using Elmers glue on the saucers. She stated she uses Elmers on wood and metal. She explained that the reason we could do this with the saucer is because we would be covering the glass with waterproof grout and then we're going to be sealing the surface. She also stated that in making most outdoor mosaics, you should use mortar or you could use E6000, but she said it was more expensive and it's really stinky. She is a very good mosaic artist, so, hoping she has some great tricks up her sleeve! I feel really fortunate that we even had classes in our area, so guess I will be an attentive student, and learn everything I can. She may have some tricks up her sleeve I am not aware of. :-) Patty S.