Thank you both for your input. I didn't mention it in the Subject line, but this is #10 (at the moment anyway) of the proposed new FAQ under Daffs. Since there are so many little variations, and really no one 'right' way, I'm thinking of posting all of the above ways, with a little editing. Of course will run it by you all before inputting them. vetivert, (I'm going to start abbreviating that to just v v, OK?) I put them into big buckets and leave them under cover to dry off naturally. A few weeks later I clean off the dirt and the remains of the leaves and roots. I have always been told that putting daffs in plastic, for any amount of time at all, is a very bad thing. Would you mind if I would edit what you posted to substitute 'container' instead of "big buckets"? Donna, I don't remember helping you before digging time, but am glad you had digging and storing success. Just as a note, I had several kinds of jonquils that had formed softball sized clumps of very small bulbs. I have since read that when bulbs are planted too shallowly, they will "blast" into small sizes, but make dozens. I planted them a bit more deeply this week. hmmm...had never heard that. I planted maybe 5 bulbs of Sun Disc in 2006 quite shallowly and dug them this year. I don't recall them being softball sized clumps, but maybe it is because they are by nature a pretty small bulb anyway, since it is a miniature. I had 'lots' of blooms from the clump in the spring so I don't think there were any adverse problems being planted shallowly. I don't remember how much they had multiplied...think I will start noting that info when I dig. Maybe it is because of different climates and different soils, or maybe it depends upon the cultivar? Here is a tip too for those who have a lot of different daffs to dig. In the spring, when the daffs are in bloom, one can mark clumps needing dug by circling the foliage at ground level with some bright surveyor's tape with info written on it...bulb name if known, div/color, if that's all that is known, # of blooms, etc. The tape is available at any hardware or big box store and you can then just write the info on one end with a black sharpie. The writing will hold up for even more than one year, in case they get missed being dug the first year they are marked for digging. TOTALLY OFF TOPIC: Sue, has anyone done any work on daylight length and night temperatures? A link would be so welcome. N canaliculatus and henriquesii are the species under consideration. v v, Now that is a totally new wrinkle with me (something I have not heard of before).

I too am having a problem putting something in a large stone pot on a north facing side of my garage. I live in the Las Vegas area so summers are hot and dry but I get very little sun in the late afternoon on that north facing wall. I need some suggestions for a plant that will grow about 3 to 4 feet tall in that pot. Thank you.

Hi Lori... Thanks for that info on Virginia Creeper. It sounds like it grows slower in the shade, but I really try hard not to choose plant material that is going to become a future problem for me or my neighbors, whether it is native or not. I think I am going to still find someone else who can use it. If I had a different property with more room and a wooded area that I could let it loose in, I would love to try it. It sounds very pretty. Thanks for the arrowwood tip. I know the NEWFS does usually have that one. maifleur....yes, you are lucky to have such a nice neighbor. I also have been given permission from two of my neighbors to trim their trees that overhang my yard. I am pretty sure I don't need their permission to trim what overhangs my yard though. It is nice to check and let them know what you are trying to do though. I hate to prune a tree in a way that distorts it's shape and I try not to do that. We do have a huge limb that was hanging over and it was so long and heavy, that it would dip to about 2-3 feet off the ground in a storm. We deicided to cut it back before it came down unplanned and took out half my shrubs with it. We tried trimming it back as little as possible but now we are unhappy with the stump that it left that has very little regrowth on it, so we are planning on cutting it back further to another joint where a good size branch is heading in another direction. Some of the other overhanging branches can also be trimmed, but the problem is, that the neighbors planted their trees, right up against the lot line. One is about 6 feet away from our fence and the other is less than a foot away, so half of the canopy of the tree is over our yard. I am sure trimming back the trees will help but some of my dry shade is going to stay dry shade no matter what I do. [g] I do have some good news though. In the beginning of the summer a neighbor two yards over cut down a tree. I thought it might open up more light for us. I just got around to checking it out. I was out in the yard all afternoon yesterday and I saw direct sun hitting the back of my border along a good 4 fence sections, from 2pm to 4:30pm! I was so encouraged by that. That is going to help my shrubs a lot!

Yes, I'll keep going with extra waterings of the tutsan to see how it gets along. It perked right up after a good deep watering and mulch a couple of evenings ago. I don't want a plant I'm going to have to keep giving supplementary waterings to long term there, though, so I suppose it depends how it behaves after it establishes. I'll tough it out for this summer unless it looks like it's in serious trouble. I might try a euphorbia mellifera if it doesn't work out, especially if it really is honey-scented. I haven't been a huge euphorbia fan in the past but they are slowly growing on me (sounds like a bad gardening pun). I can imagine things like comfrey, lemon balm and ivy would definitely cope as I have them in slightly shadier but equally dry spots elsewhere, but probably want to cram in something different this time around for a bit of contrast.