Thanks Krista, Karl, HoovB, Petaloid, John and Jim for all your thoughts and input...Karl yes, I am hoping that Gemini will deepen in its colors at least with the leaves, but ugh, Gemini has about as much wisdom and common sense as I have. Instead of storing up chlorophyll in its leaves and tender stems, being patient, strengthening and taking its time to develop and mature, Gemini is trying to send up another flush immediately. 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve: A baby blossom bud emerged 3/4" above its sheath of leaves (fully extended "neck"). I predicted 4 other buds as well, because I started seeing the tell-tale signs of the 2 5-leaflet tender enclosed "prongs". As soon as I see a split 2 5-leaflet stem fork outwards, usually a baby bud is nested within the "sheath". New Year's Day Another 4 flower buds emerged. I give Gemini its 2nd Gardenville feeding (got delayed by a few days). January 2nd I have another one flower bud nested and emerging, and 6 very suspicious pronged stems to deal with. Total count will be 12 flower buds so far (6 definite). Sadly my house is way too large and drafty for me to do any humidity control via Karl's suggestion so all I can do is cross my fingers and shake my head at this craziness. I am expecting blackspot to strike any moment because it is a pattern of Gemini to get sick whenever it goes through a spurt of blooms. I dare not decrease the h. oil/Greencure at this point like I originally intended. Predicted survival of buds into mature blooms is only 20% at this time. Leaves and stems are way too soft and pale to support blooms!!! Why Gemini is trying to send up another flush is beyond me! Gemini is as kooky and insane as me (sigh-I think it is a "mind-reader" LOL). Jim, still no problems with spider mites... John, I have a fragrance-sport Gemini that consistently had a wonderful scent while growing outside and that is the one HUGE thing that I miss terribly. But my sport Gemini is also a BS magnet-Sport as well. Gemini is supposed to be known for its health and beauty, but mine flunks the BS test whenever it goes through a flush...It gets extremely sick and ugly, but it is also a fighter rose as well and a few weeks after the flush it will make another comeback. Tomorrow I will post a sample photo of the baby flower buds. P.S. Eluane gives everyone a puppy kiss. She is glad HoovB and Petaloid are mentioning her instead of stupid Mama fussing over some messy rose, LOL!

Mike, I had two 50 ft. lengths of drip hoses wound in, out and around the plants with mulch covering them - all throughout the garden in the veggie garden. The mulch was piled on 8 inches thick or thicker under and around them. I put covers over the tomatoes in late July through August. I have good well water, so no chlorine that can damage plants. Notwithstanding all that I did, when temps reached 110-120, everything just turned brown, and then blister beetles ate what was left. I had tall, dark green, beautiful corn plants with 2-3 huge ears on each plant, but upon checking them, they had few developed kernels. Total loss. I planted more than one hundred tomatoes (seven varieties), corn, beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, bell peppers, three types of hot peppers, Red bells, zucchini, and onions. Normally I get enough to can, freeze, eat fresh and sell at the Farmer's Market & Health Food stores and still have enough to donate to the Food Bank. Not last year. The only tomatoes I got were a handful from the plants I grew in large pots, but only a few. They were sure good though. Cherokee Purples were especially yummy and the Lemon Boys. I think I got about 20 tomatoes altogether. I got more than everyone else around here. Their plants kicked it in June and July. I did get some okra from the plants in the smaller, lower garden and a few pitifully small Early Girl tomatoes, and a pretty good harvest of Jalapenos in September when it cooled down a bit, but that was all. I put so much work into it and expense. But it was just too hot. It was like standing inside a furnace ever day. I lost several small trees, one large weeping willow and several Eponymous shrubs. And what the heat didn't kill, the voles did, chewing the roots off several of my roses. What a horrible year! Sorry to go on about it...

I believe that the link below is for a plant that will survive your conditions. Note that the plant will die down once flowering is done but will regrow from creeping rootstocks. I have some planted in a pile of soil, concrete pieces, and branches that I dumped on top of a driveway. You would not know it. Can provide photo if you wish to see. Let me know. From what I have seen of understory in pine forests or under pine trees (in California) , it tends to be rather sparse or just pine needles. You may need to provide some water when the new growths begin to emerge but it depends on your weather. You can tell if it wilts back that it needs it. Here is a link that might be useful: Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Contrary to what you might hear if your pine is cut high and it must be if you want to plant under it, hosta will grow there. Never just water the hosta. The roots of the tree will grow toward the water and choke it out.