whaas...you have any idea how many plants are dug b&b in oregon or tennessee and shipped into chicago, wisconsin, and minnesota, and the northeast? the fact that these are freshly is not really the issue. sure it plays a part...but exactly how much of a part? we can argue that one till we run out of beer and never have an answer. personally, methinks you are overthinking. without good weather to help the plant reflush (which will happen eventually) (knock on wood)... by the way...i'm not certain i'd classify these species as sensitive to frost damage...tender new growth is sensitive, regardless of species. these are just slow to break bud. now they have to do it again. which gets us back to how easily they do so. all you can do (besides waiting) is provide a shot in the arm (half rate water soluble fert) to help the plants releaf. and pray for no more frost. or do a dance in the yard. which after all that beer for the metaphysical discussion is going to something you want to make sure is not caught on film.

Jim - thanks for the compliment and the info. None of the plants in the raised bed is more than 3 years old ... I can't wait to see where it goes! I actually have a landscaping plan to turn 1/2 of the yard into Xeriscape but to leave that particular area of grass intact. Sharon - I don't know remember what kind it is ... I just know that two of the plants have white flowers and two have fuchsia flowers. My goal with the bougainvillea is to train it up the trellis' and then let it go wild above to form a sound and security barrior (something similar to thishref>). There is bougainvillea where I work on the north side of a 3 story building that seems to do just fine. Maybe the 3 stories protect it. I think if I can get up over the wall more fully, it will do better ... but getting it established is brutal. Training them to grow up the trellis doesn't help since there is no big bush to be protected (i.e., all the branches are exposed to the frost). In fact, I know that's part of the problem because a bougainvillea on the same wall that I barely covered but also had not trained up yet stayed green all winter and is doing fine. I think if the white comes back, I'll let it grow as a bush for this year to keep it going and wait to train it up the wall next year (I may that with the fuchsia, too). If it doesn't come back, I may give up on white bougainvillea (although I do so love it. I'll have to find somewhere else in the garden to grow it). Or maybe I'll plant two more and keep them as bushes for a few years (sigh).

Ria, they ARE huge. haha. they range anywhere from 5 to 7 inches in diameter. The blooms are really heavy and they sometimes break off or bend and touch the floor and get all dirty and muddy, so staking is required when the stems are too thin. Notice there is an old tennis ball near the bottom right hand corner of the third picture, you can use that for size comparison. Also notice on that same picture that there is a bloom that has broken at the stem and is just dangling to the side. The white ones are even bigger. The smallest ones are about 8 inches across and i have gotten some up to 10 inches across. I guess that's why they call them dinnerplate dahlias huh? haha.

organicmamma, I am getting rid of them because I haven't had a crop in several years. Back when we didn't have a freeze every year I used to get good crops. I am keeping a few in case the weather ever gets back to normal. Right now, I need the space. I think you can e-mail me to get an address. I am very close to Dale Mabry and Kennedy. I also have lots of lobster claw heliconias and a variety of heliconia that I lost the name of. It is a 6 to 8 foot tall plant that is supposed to have big red flowers. Same story, these heliconias are in the way. If you have any nice cannas, I would accept a trade. But not necessary. I am going to get rid of these one way or another.