So many good suggestions still coming in--appreciate that. I won't be ordering until after Thanksgiving (or maybe after Xmas), so I'm open to any more beautiful ideas. I'm looking them all up. Some I kinda know. But I don't know much of anything about Mrs. Dudley Cross, cherrykist. Is it hardy in Zone 6? HMF say Zone 7--but I know it is sometimes rather conservative on hardiness. And I'm not sure about its height since HMF says 3-5 ft (or something like that). What is your experience--does it stay around 3 ft? It is a lovely rose, but not a type I have ever seen, so I'm not sure what to think about it. It's really cool looking at all the gorgeous pics--thanks everyone. Kate

Hello, Silvia. I would routinely monitor to see if the symptoms persist or not. A smaller and more limited root system could be making it difficult for the plant to absorb the same amount of minerals needed to support the growth above ground. Here are a few of the basics that I would check: * make the soil as evenly moist as possible. maintain 3-4 inches of mulch up to the drip line and test the soil to make sure it is not wet. Water if the soil is almost dry or dry to the touch to a depth of 4" * the soil should be kept acidic (they will tolerate lightly alkaline soil too); test it with a soil pH kit available at many plant nurseries. * the soil should not be heavily fertilized as this can burn some roots; test the soil for high/low nitrogen/phosphorus/pottasium levels using a kit available at many plant nurseries. * check for salt built up in the soil too; it can cause a brownish-yellow leaf discoloration * make sure the plant leaves are not getting too much sun. If moved from an area where the leaves got little sun to one with more sun exposure, the leaves may temporarily react to the sunlight. If the exposure is not high, the leaves should adjust after a while. * make sure the plant has not sunk below the surrounding soil. * make sure there are few air pockets * the plant is stressed so try not to over-fertilize. * keep an eye for signs of camellia cankers and die back, a fungal disease (see the link below) Luis

Wow, this is from 18 years ago! I have lived my whole life in Florida and moved to New England just over a year ago. I bought some white impatiens this summer and brought them inside for the winter. Today I was looking at them carefully and see that one of the plant's flowers are turning pink. I've never heard of this before. I have another pot of them in another room and they continue to bloom white. The only differences are that the pink ones are sharing a pot with begonias in a cooler temp room while the others are in their own pot. The temp difference is probably 5 degrees F. I can't find anything mentioning this other than this post. I've attached pictures, two of the pink-hued in the terracotta planter, then the white ones in the green planter with one of our kitties. Remember, there are some begonias with pink leaves and the yellow central flower in the terracotta planter too).

I tablespoon of aluminum sulphate in one Gallon of water...make sure all the crystals are dissolved... before the alum. sulphate application, make sure you water the hydrangea plant well..it is ok if it is dripping wet.. pour the al. sulphate solution right at the base of the plant, do not let any of the solution to touch the foliage or the leaves will get burn spots.. one gallon solution is enough for a mature hydrangea plant (3' X 3').. let the solution sit in the soil for an hr and water the plant lightly and briefly to wash off any extra solution sitting in the soil that could burn the roots... you should not apply the solution more than once every two weeks...you can apply two applications in a month and not risking to kill the plant...much more often than that, i dont know, but i won't reco it.. btw - the pink blooms already blooming now WILL NOT chg to blue even after the al. suphate solution.. the sulphates will make the soil more acidic and future bloom colors will chg accordingly.. so if you have a rebloomer like endless summer now and it is beginning to show the pink blooms, the sulphate application will not chg the pink blooms now..but the new blooms later in the season will chg to blue if the pH is low enough// if you dont have a rebloomer and all the buds are set already, an al. sulphate application would not chg the color for the blooms this season.. for me - I don't do al. sulphate applications much because it does poison the soil to a certain degree - if you have a Rhodi or Azalea nearby, they may not appreciate the extra aluminum in the soil...whenever I do the sulphate application, i do one in spring - when the flowerbuds are forming - april in that case...and another one in July for the later blooms...twice is enough for me to keep my endless summer to bloom in a brilliant blue color... have fun..