In my area - the Japanese Beetles are only here for about a month - mid June to mid July. I have just learned to enjoy the roses prior to that then deadhead them and even do a severe pruning if need be. By the time the new foilage and buds are formed the beetles are gone and I have the roses for the rest of they year. Same with my hollyhocks - I will enjoy most of the bloom and when they start attacking them - I cut the stalks back and sometimes get a second smaller bloom later in the season. I do alot of handpicking of them - always have a container of water and dish soap and put the container underneath the beetle/beetles and use the lid or even my hands and knock the beetles into the jar - put the lip on and then shake or swirl it - the beetles die. They are a mess - thats for sure. I have also learned the very BEST Bag-o-Bug is the one in SOMEONE elses yard - preferbably a couple of houses away. NEVER put them directly in your garden - if you feel you must have them - put it as far away from your plants as possible. As for the original question - I would love to just get cosmos to grow for me. I LOVE the flowers and want them in my garden however I am learning to accept the fact that not EVERY flower will do well in my zone/soil so will work with what does best for me. I DO know they grow down here because they are used for the roadside and median plantings by the DOT so will continue to try..... Lynne

Hello Hosta specialists, I live close to London Ontaio Canada (zone 5) I purchased three HOSTA APHRODITE (PLANTAGINEA) from a very reputable garden center three years ago. They are planted on the east side of our home in moist loamy clay soil and 6 inches of mulch. They receive the full amount of sun exposure only being shaded by our home from mid day till evening. This variety of hosta are the last hosta to emerge in spring. (I have about 30 varieties) Here's the problem... they send up beautiful shoots with flower buds, but the buds never open! The unopened buds look like they're ready to open to a full and fantastic bloom but they just end up looking like that until they turn brown and wilt. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?? Thanks, Fran

I'm right in the center of the state, between Shawnee and Norman. In spite of what the climate has been doing, I've (finally) started getting a lot of bloom on my plants. It seems to be a lot later than last year, and I'm just now getting fruit to set. The Sweet 100 cherry toms seem to be doing a lot better than the big ones. The plants look good, but the setting crop is not at all what it normally is. I never hold back the water on tomatoes. Keep in mind that they can be grown hydroponically. It's pretty hard to over-water them, so mine get a good deep soak every couple of days. Even though they have a good layer of mulch, they begin to get pretty droopy if I let it go any longer than that. Growing them in pots is even more critical. It doesn't take any time at all for the pots to heat up and dry out if they get any sunlight in this kind of heat, and the plastic pots are infinitely worse than clay ones for building a terrific amount of heat inside. I automatically put in tomato fertilizer spikes when the plants go in the ground, and have found that they always seem to do a good job. The plants seem to be much more vigorous and productive than they are without them. It wouldn't be reasonable to do that with a large number of plants, but it works for my smaller garden. Some of the reasons you may be seeing fruit setting on those pitiful plants in a nursery are more controlled climate (water, the pots are stacked in so closely that the roots are shaded so they don't get too hot, etc) and the fact that they have most probably been fed with something like Bloom for blossom and root development. It's a pretty standard practice for the big commercial vendors, and an indication is always when you turn the tiny pots over and see that they are already becoming seriously root-bound. Even when they are struggling to survive, the plants are putting all their energy into growing roots and producing blossoms instead of lots of growth and foliage. The result is easy to see. It's a bizarre year for the vegetable gardens, but if you've put the toms into good, big, deep pots and planted them deep originally so that they can build a solid root structure, and given them a drink of a diluted liquid high P fertilizer, then about all you can do is keep them watered, protect the pots so the roots don't get cooked in the heat, and cross your fingers that you'll have home-grown tomatoes for your dinner. Pat

False indigo...amorpha fruticosa. I had such high hopes for this shrub and it seemed as if it was perfect for the location and drainage and soil. Well....it didn't grow even a foot tall this season - this for a shrub that should reach 7-10' at maturity. The nice green spring leaves were constantly being eaten by some type of worm or caterpillar - had to brush them off at least 1x/day. Now, it just looks pitiful, some dried leaves, a few green ones. Never flowered any of those neat-looking flowers either, although it may be too young and too stressed. It's such a far cry from what I was expecting and needing for that location. Back to the books, I guess to find another choice.