Ahh..ok. Sid: Hope they survive. If the soil has warmed up enough, I doubt you'll have issues. But, to be sure, you may want to cover them somehow. i use gallon plastic water bottles, but I've heard of #10 cans and buckets/containers if row covers aren't available. You may also want to lay down black plastic to warm the soil in the day.. Good luck. Kevin

I now have experience with Cross Country Nurseries. :) I got enticed by their offer for plants for $1.75 (end of season sale). I ordered some Bhut Jolokias since my grown plants from seed don't look great. There were also a few other C. Chinese I wanted to try from there. I am very impressed with their plants. Great packaging, nice looking translants. I give them a thumbs up. No damage at all in transit. Chilewoman's plants were a bit larger and more lush, but both companies are very close. I'd feel confident with either place that the merchandise is top notch. I'll always grow from seed for the most part because I couldn't afford to buy the quantity of plants I grow each season. But for specialty ones or those growing lesser quantities, I think these places are wonderful outlets to buy plants! Chris

My business purchases big stuff that gets shipped, and there absolutely is liability on the carriers if things are damaged by them. These 2 clauses would give me pause: 1. For damages that result in mishandling such as bumping, dropping load shifting, etc the maximum amount the company can be held liable is $3.00 per pound per item -How much does your stove weigh, and does this cover its value? Also, make sure that they also refund your shipping fee if they break something to the point you have to buy another one (and pay for shipping it). 2. Company X expressly does not recognize loss in value to any cargo item physically damaged as the result of mishandling. -What??? If they mishandle it and damage it and it's worth less, they don't pay up? I suppose if they repair it so it's worth the original price, that would be ok. But anything that they damage would be worth less, so this seems like a wriggle-out clause.

Vaporvac, I would love it if you could come. But there aren't any other rose aficionados there. I brought Oranges N Lemons and Sally Holmes last year and there weren't really any takers. The Oranges N Lemons went in the free for all at the end where you just grab whats left but I brought the Sally Holmes home. This year I didn't bring the Gourmet Popcorn I gave away because we hadn't dug it up yet. Instead I advertised it on Nextdoor so someone could research it and really want it. If I thought there would be any interest we would have made more of an effort to get it dug up. In terms of timing they are decided upon a few weeks in advance based on the schedule of the person volunteering to host. BTW, my other Oranges N Lemons I tried to propagate died over the winter in our basement but the Sally Holmes appears to have hung on. It showed a small amount of new growth this spring but is back in the basement due to bad weather. I don't yet know where I will put it if I keep it. The Oranges N Lemons in the yard showed great new growth a month ago but then got badly shredded by the hail. Right now it is looking iffy if it makes it with barely any green on it's little stub of a self. I think if it doesn't I won't replace it with another. We just have bad juju with that rose. First it gets run over with a garden cart the same day it goes in the ground, then the rooting portion dies due to neglect when my mom forgot to water the basement plants while we were on vacation. And now it gets hammered by hail.