Hi there. I'm so sorry to hear about your problem. Did you receive any helpful advise. I also have 4 newly planted barberry - dwarf type, in crimson and gold, and I have the same symptoms - leaves curling and drying and also stunted growth, which I believe is from frost. What, if anything, can be done to the shrubs now in their early stage of growing - just leave them alone and wait and see? I am keeping them well watered and mulched. Out of the 4, 2 have been adversely affected, and 2 appear to be just fine. Any help out there would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Vettin: This is an incredible list. It's way too big for only 10. I'll give you some items that stand out to me as either easy or special favorites of mine. Buddleia--butterfly bush--large fragrant clusters of small blooms. Can get to be large. I love mine. Campanula--if I lived where you do, I would definitly try some of these. The kind of fizzle in the heat here but I think they could work for you. Called "bellflower", they are beautiful plants. Clematis--I have several. look into these and take your garden vertically. They look great with climbing roses or beautiful by themselves. Coreopsis--called "tickseed", they look a lot like daisies. They are easy to grow and bloom very well. A great group of plants. Delphinium--I love these but can't grow them because they don't like my heat. I've heard of others in N. VA who do well with them. GET SOME OF THESE! Dianthus--carnations are in this family. They bloom well and smell great. The ones I grow are rather low growing and great in the garden. Digitalis (foxglove)--Nice tall plant with really pretty bell shaped flowers. They are tall and narrow and add a differnt look and texture to a garden. Edgeworthia--This plant blooms in winter with incredibly fragrant blooms that look a lot like Daphne. The Atlanta Bontanical Gardens have several. They are unique looking and well worth the garden space for the winter blooms. Helleborus--another winter bloomer. EASY plants that take no care and can spread so you can share with your friends. Hosta--a VERY low care EASY plant for a shady area. The clump gets larger and had to be "thinned" every few years but that means you can spread them around. Several of these varieties are nice. Hydrangea--look at the two arborescens. I like these. Beautiful huge clusters of white blooms. Iris--a great EASY plant. Don't plant them deeply at all--almost on the surface or they won't bloom or worse, will rot. I recognize two Iris germanica (bearded irs) as being rebloomers--they bloom in the spring AND fall--Lo How Sliver (white) and Sugar Blues (blue and fragrant). Get at least one of each of these and look up the others to see what they are. Lithodora--a very low growing plant with bright blue star shaped flowers. The foliage is dark green. I really like this plant. Osmanthus fragrans--I did not realize that this plant was hardy in N. VA. If it is, GET AT LEAST ONE! It's evergreen, slow growing, can get 15 feet tall but will tolerate pruning. I keep mine at about 6 feet. Mine bloom in the spring and fall with scattered bloom in the summer. The blooms are tiny and you don't really notice them until you SMELL them. The fragrance carries across the yard and it's incredible. This is one of my favorite plants (and it's not even a rose). Philidelphus--mock orange. Beautiful white blooms in the late spring for me. The frangrance is wonderful. Phlox--there are several different kinds listed. All are great plants in my garden. They give a good selections of colors and they are easy plants. Rudbeckia--black eyed susans--nice sunny cheerful plant easy and blooms for a long time. Salvia--good plants--easy and pretty Scabiosa--pincushion flower--I have butterfly blue and it is one of the best blooming plants I own. The little blue/lavender blooms--about 1 1/2 in. across come from early spring to frost. Easy, easy plant. It's kind of low growing with stems that stick up with the bloom on top. A very nice plant. Hope this helps. Remember, this is just my opinion and I am not in your zone. I also looked at the list quickly and may have missed something wonderful. Enjoy the sale. Take a lot of $ and a truck to carry everything home. Let us know what you end up getting.

Hi Rob, Here's a group shot of 9 roses I got from RU a couple of weeks ago: Here's a closeup of Ambridge Rose: I was very satisfied with the plants I've received. Eric

I would say that Sabal Palmetto is the best one out of those for you to try but I also recommend Butia Odorata, Capitata, and Yatay. I'm in zone 8b Montgomery, AL and these are very tolerant of cold. We got down to 13F a couple of years ago and almost all got through it with no damage whatsoever. However if you're willing to protect a palm extensively it's worth trying almost any of them. Right now I have a Phoenix Roebelini, Queen, Cat palm, Majesty palm, and two Mule palms planted in my backyard. Most I planted early this spring but the Phoenix Roebelinii survived the winter in a heated, portable greenhouse. Our minimum low this past winter was 24F and when I took the greenhouse down in March there was only a tiny amount of cold damage on the newest fronds. Since then it's recovered fully.