It's pretty much the color as shot. I'll put up some more, took a few today. I need some time though to get them ready to post. Thanks for looking. And these were 'live' from lowes. They have kinda gotten away from the plants in the water (at least by me), and don't have the selection. I think I got lucky.

How fantastic! That surely is a sign of things to come. Strange how they behave in different ways isn't it? Your plant looks in the best of health. Do you have a favourite brand of fertiliser for them and do you have a pest spraying regime? I must apologise for questioning you again!! I have over the years used several well known UK brands, ranging from Baby Bio, Osmacote, Tomorite and laterly Chempak for flowering plants. As these appear not to have had the desired effect, in as much as they have grown 'reasonably' well but have either failed to bud or in the case of the one plant that did form buds 2 yrs running, they have not held. It may well be a combination of cultivation errors on my part so I am hoping this year will be better. My latest 'potion' for them is Vitax African Violet soluble fert. It's formula is 15:30:15 with copper, manganese and iron trace elements and I plan to start using this when they leaf out. It will be interesing to see if I get any better results than with the other types I've tried. I generally re-pot come spring and lift them up slightly as it can often be a surprise to see what's been going on below soil level each year. Gill from the UK.

My General Sikorski was one vine its first year and two the second year. This is the third year, and ... you guessed it, 3 vines. They are 4 inches tall right now. It also dies back to the ground every year. However, once it starts blooming, it doesn't stop. Even though it's slow growing, it's also strong and sturdy and the earwigs leave it alone. It's one of my favorite clematis. I am curious about a couple of things. Does that spot get really wet in winter and freeze solid? Also, have you used ice melt on the stairs?

Yeah, I figured all those eye level photos had you down on the cold cold ground. Me, if I can pick up the pot, it gets placed where I don't have to crawl around. Getting too old for that. Jon, just about every batch of photos I take I have to make a quick trip outside to read a label or identify a hosta in the background. Sun glaring off the tags can be really irritating. I never take a pen and paper with me, but I attempt to include the tag in the shot. And, as soon as I come inside, I try to add tags to the photos before I forget who's who. This year, so many of my hosta are changing their appearance, it is a whole different ballgame. And then I still have some which are reluctant to break dormancy. Someone (Gesila? Babka?) asked on another thread why I still had hosta dormant. I'll try to account for it in another thread. Not here. Enjoy your emerging beauties, Jon. Impressive!