northerner_on, thanks so much for the helpful comments. I'll let it go and see what it does (what we think is ech) but I don't want any of them in back. Yes, I'm certain #2 is some type of aster. I was just excited to see the new color, then got my BS catalog and they have actually 3 similar there, was a color breakthrough. So it's a spinoff from one of those getting a seed mixed into the Purple Dome no doubt. From the brightness of the pink, it could be Alma Potschke but also September Ruby or Pink Dome. Pink D would be most likely since I bought the P Dome but I'll never know for sure. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I learn what to look for when they emerge and try to work them into nicer shapes. They're supposed to be vaselike which is more pleasing to me plus you can pinch them back for more blooms. These two have ugly shapes which I think is due to damage I don't think I did, chemical damage possible from prior years but not last or this year. My neighbor offered to do something with the stump for me; his idea was to make a sitting bench out of it. I generally don't like stumps but couldn't afford the price to have it chipped out. If I let him do his thing then get a chance to get it ground out cheap, you know that wouldn't play well. Those flowers with the rose are hosta, not to worry. I've let those 3 hosta plants get way too big but it's a nice payoff in the fall with all those blooms. What you don't see in there are lamium I'm going to start pulling because it takes over. I had volunteer I thought it was campanula or Ladybells come up in several places. That bent and when horizontal it shoots up lots more bloom stalks. Someone here remarked about it and it happened with me. I thought they were "good" plants, had unsuccessfully tried to grow some variety of them from seeds. So maybe I do have the wild one and should get rid of it but I can assure you I have wild stuff that's much worse :-( Yes, my neighbor's Sweet Autumn is wonderful and the scent now competes with the Honeybell blooms on my hosta. It's been there for years but I can tell you really need a strong support for it. Rozanne flowers until our first hard frost (close to the ground they can go a little longer sometimes). Yes, I know you divide hosta in the spring, was just wondered if my physical strength was up to it other than slice off pieces. The ones with the purple blooms need to be dug up and cut apart; I doubt I can do that; they're packed. My poor raspberries; I've done the best I can do with them for now. They've given me the most satisfaction from we'ing yet. And it looks pathetic there. Maybe if they take off and the pile can be kept neater and under control, it will look better. That whole area needs mulched for raspberries. The leaf mold under all that recent junk from former years should make them happy I would think. I had a terrible time getting the chicken wire cage pried out; when they took down the tree, it mashed the wire all around. That pink rose is vicious; maybe I've let it go too long badly sited for a vigorous climber that the jury is out whether canes survive in our zone. The only ones that survive for me are ones that hug the ground. It's a pretty one and blooms all summer; actually there are a pair of them in there, grew them from bands I ordered on the web which was all I could get of that one. One lady in Kentucky and DH built the most gorgeous deck with pergola, and then have this rose climbing two stories. They were so beautiful at the top of that pergola. Somewhere else in the south, they let one climb a tree, it went up 30' high or more. Weird.

Meghan From my experience it's a toss up. I've had more bad luck with them than good. I do have a couple of bushes that I bought years ago that are still flourishing. For the most part I have given up on grafted roses because for me they grow beautifuly for 3 or 4 years and then they just go down hill after that and start throwing up Doctor Huey sprouts. I have some beautiful Dr Huey specimens that I gave up on trying to dig out and decided to go with the flow with it. Trained properly they are quite beautiful!! LOL!! There are only so many Dr Huey that a person can live with. I now only buy own root roses. Maybe it's just me!! LOL!!

Hi, Finding this thread very interesting. I am in the Northeast and I had heard of flooding in the midwest, but didn't realize the southeast was having heat and drought conditions. So sorry to hear that. It seems to me, you normally have high heat, so it must be very hot if you are noticing it more than usual. Having spent some time in Florida, I just can't imagine what it is like in that heat, with no rain. As a matter of fact, I love the rain you get in Florida. Coming down in torrents and then stopping in a few hours and the sun is back out, with everything steaming. Just love that. We have also had drought this summer, but not even as much heat as we normally get in a growing season. My tomatoes are half the size they usually are and nothing happening with any of the warm season crops. So glad I decided to forgo the peppers this year. I have tried to add natives to the yard, and drought tolerant, low maintenance plants to the yard over the years and thankfully some of those plants did fairly well this year. That is not easy to do in the Northeast though. At least with the drought tolerant plants, like lavender. Usually drought tolerant plants prefer sandy soil and most of the northeast is clay. I try to offset that by raising many of my beds some and add compost to the beds. Then we have unpredictability to deal with. Last year, I swear I might have set the sprinklers twice the whole growing season. Lots of rain and frequently enough that I barely had to water anything. The drought tolerant plants in the yard didn't look as good as they do this year? The grass looked the best it had ever looked. Huge amounts of mildew etc though. This year, I have never seen zinnias so clean of mildew. Even the tomatoes are much better in that respect than usual. We are really pressed to water everything this year. We had a total water ban for the month of June and nothing was looking good at all. We could use a watering can but that was all, so I tried to give everything a little drink, but I just couldn't do everything. Most things survived until we were back on rationed water, every other day. My yard does not look very good right now either. The grass is brown, and I have lost some plants but most things will survive for next year. The full sun area seems to be doing the best actually. The shade area..is near tree roots and even running the sprinkler for an hour and a half, the next day the hydrangeas and hosta can start drooping by late afternoon again. What is doing well... Butterfly Bush...had some yellowing leaves but bloomed fine Pennisetum Hamelin grasses look excellent Zinnia don't seem to mind at all Coneflowers did ok but between the dryness and the critters, they have not had a blooming or increasing year at all. Dianthus did fine with some supplemental water Iris like the dryness and seem fine Cosmos still looking okay..with some supplemental water Lavender did pretty well too Penstemon did well and produced a bumper crop of seeds Ninebark shrubs don't seem to have been bothered at all...Dart's Gold and Seward's Summer Wine. Knock Out Rose...didn't do as well as last year, but looking respectable. Foliage looks good and did get bloom Meidland white rose...surprised at how well this one is doing. It was planted in late June in a heat wave when we were still having drought and a water ban. So I had to shade it for 10 days straight and water daily with a watering can. It managed without noticing really. Slowed down it's bloom for about 3 weeks, but now is pushing out new stems and plenty of buds and the foliage looks really really great. Shasta Daisy seedlings added in June, barely noticed the drought. No yellowing leaves, blooming intermittently in their first year. The short varieties of Becky and Snowcap, just love them. In that same bed with the Meidland, plus lantana, penta, dianthus, silver mound artemesia, portulaca, a grass, some million bells. Not one plant there has shown any sign of stress and has gotten less water than the rest of the garden. Little bits of watering can water when it was really hot and the sprinkler was set twice all season. I am hoping to plant the same next year. It is a full sun bed from sun up to sun down. Tropical Hibiscus, Dahlias, Four OClocks, Nierembergia Purple Robe in pots...all seem to be doing fine with an occassional miss on the watering schedule. Hosta Guacamole...wow, what a surprise this was! It took the drought better than some of the native drought tolerant plants and it is in quite a bit of sun. No wilting, one little brown edge on one leaf and with very little supplemental water, it sailed through and bloomed and grew three times larger than last year. California Poppies...my first time growing them. Did great! Epimediums are practically indestructible in the shade. Nepeta Walker's Low..wow, what a trooper that plant is. LOVE it! What hasn't done as well... Hydrangea wilting every other day, needing most of the supplemental watering. Love them and will keep watering them by hand if I had to. Oakleaf Hydrangea, especially, has brown edges on all the leaves and looks horrible. Need to mulch it heavier next year and hopefully put a soaker hose around the base or something. Surprisingly, Asclepias and Joe Pye Weed in their second year, showed wilting and yellowing leaves with the lack of water. They showed more of a problem then the Knock Out Rose and the Butterfly Bush near them. Hosta Frances William, hates the heat and drought. Looks awful Hosta Patriot was a small plant that barely came back this year and what did come back just disappeared at some point. Dicentra King of Hearts..it was a very pretty healthy looking plant that I added in June to a very shady border, and I watered and watered and watered it because it was so dry looking all the time and it kept losing leaves. I can barely see a little remnant of it. It is supposed to be one of those dicentras that bloom all summer. Sambucus shrubs...the dark and the light one, did not like this weather this year and looked great last year. Viburnum Maresii..wilts at the first sign of drought Ferns...had a tough year, although 'Ghost' seemed to do better than the others. Heucheras had a rough year and none of them look very good. Sedums, don't really look their best this year, surprisingly, I don't know if it is the drought or they just need dividing. In the containers, nicotiana didn't fare well at all. Sorry to be so long...hoped something I might have to report might help someone trying to decide what to try next year. :-) pm2

I received a surprise today from Chris (grolikecrazy)! Thank you. :) The plain letter envelope had holes in it- looks like it was damaged in transit. There was no bubble wrap or other padding inside of it to cushion the seeds. Seeds sent to me with no bubbles almost always do get destroyed like this, because the PO runs mail through some hard metal rollers unless it's in a bubble mailer marked FRAGILE in big red letters. :( The Dianthus barbatus seeds were about 75% destroyed and the Red Noodle Yard Long Bean seeds were completely dust. Thank you grolikecrazy, for kindly sending to me. I can still sow the few Dianthus seeds that made it, and hopefully get some plants! Excited about that. :) I'm sorry this happened, Chris. You were so kind to send seeds to me. I'm very glad you were thinking of me, and some of the Dianthus seeds do appear to be usable. It made my day to receive this, even if it is just a few seeds. : ) Thanks, Grovespirit Wondering why the surprises I mailed out haven't shown up here yet. I do hope they didn't get lost in the mail.