Vettin; Just noodling around the internet I found this website that looks pretty good for your area (http://users.sitestar.net/~jmfarron/bfgardening/NoVa_gardening.html). Many of the butterflies you will encounter are the same for much of the east. There are many many species of milkweed in North America of which Monarchs feed on a variety. The species of milkweed you are growing will determine whether you can grow it well in a pot. Do you intend to keep it there and not disturb it? Asclepias curassavica is a tropical milkweed, sometimes called bloodflower or mexican milkweed, and is an annual. It can be grown in a pot. It is a good one for a beginner. It is not too late to start it. However, you will not have a crop ready for early season Monarchs. Also, you will need more than you think. If you grow the annual though, it won't spread in the ground. You will have to ask the others about the dog thing though. I don't have one. Maybe plants some bushes for some of the other butterflies? Some spicebush for spicebush swallowtails? Dogs shouldn't get into that. Good Luck, Elisabeth

Yeah, I thought the leaves would be going to but last year I had some fire blight on a 20th century and it took the whole tree down so I wanted to try to be more proactive this time. Last time I cut off the infected parts (but maybe by only an inch), and it seemed to have no effect. It slowly just spread all the way down to the root stock and eventually the whole tree was dead. I like your suggestion. I will keep a close eye on it and if it gets any worse or the leaves start to turn I will take it off. When I planted it I cut it pretty short to encourage low scaffolding. Cutting off this section would take probably half of the new growth off (which ideally I'd prefer not to do), but if it gets worse I'll take it off as you suggest.

Hello, Eric. For the best answer to your question, I will defer to the Virginia Camellia Society Members on this link: http://www.genserva.com/vcs/ But be advised, you are not the only one with similar issues. I too get unpredictable weather (cold temps, warmer temps, cold temps again, etc). We just went thru a couple of drops to 13F and 15F that resulted in delayed blooming and also in a few browned out blooms. I currently have no blooming camellias as a result. Does this story sound familiar to you? Ha! I know, I l know. What a pain. My solution has been three fold. (1) do what you planned to do, (2) make sure that the camellias are well mulched aaaaand watered deeply the night before the temps plummet and (3) get ideas from nearby gardens (city gardens or other growers). Most of my camellias are Japonicas which bloom this time of the year. Unless temps plummet and then they either (a) pause and continue blooming later or (b) the flower buds brown out and fall (does not happen often but it does happen). As long as the flower buds have not browned out, you will get bloomage. The longest episode of delayed blooms for me was one that stopped in January and restarted in mid-March. Obviously, sasanquas and the Autumn Series will bloom early and not be often affected by this problem. On the opposite side of the calendar, the April Series, the Winter Series and camellias advertised as blooming "late" or "very late" would be possible choices as well. Note: these shrubs tend to bloom "around" the coldest time of the year, not bloom "right on through" it. After a cold spell that makes your camellias stop blooming, I would head over to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens to see if you find any camellias that are still blooming. Maybe wait 1 week, 2 weeks after the cold spell and then go? Do note that most camellias will have issues blooming in the coldest part of the year. Your location and mine are not locations where they naturally grow. Enjoy Nuccio's Gem. I wanted one but the local nursery ran out and I bought Nuccio's Pearl. Then the dogs helped to kill it so I replaced it with one similar to NG called White by the Gate. Now if I can only convince it that the weather will be warm for the next two weeks.... ;o) Note that there are some people that winter protect camellias (especially potted ones) in the hope of preventing this blooming problem and actual damage to branches. However, your white 6 footer is now getting to be a tad "large"/"big" for that. I sometimes prepare smaller shrubs like hydrangeas for winter but a 6' or taller camellia starts to push the envelope. I am talking about things like layers of horticultural fleece draped over bushes and secured to prevent being blown away... Does this help? Luis

A load calculation is time they aren't selling a system, and once you have a good one, you don't need another. Some installers assume someone else will do it, some dislike wasting their time because it's not even close to even money they'll get your business unless they have a long history with you. These kind of calculations are often considered "unnecessary" once you say the old system worked OK. The problem is, you aren't qualified to know what OK really is. Also, a load calculation is malleable, which means that by adjusting assumptions, you can make it say whatever you want it to say. Mike and Tiger can certainly point you in the right direct for what assumptions should be made on your load calculations, but you'll need to read and understand it yourself. People will freak out and say, "Oh my God, my air conditioner is running all day" on the hottest day of the year...when that's exactly what it should do. I'm disappointed that no suggestion was made to you and/or that not even a cursory investigation was made regarding the too warm third floor. In addition to a load calculation, you need a plan for addressing the third floor issue from any installer. To make that plan, the bidder needs to know what is currentl;y installed, so anyone that bid without looking around a bid should be a red flag. The good news is you are already looking at matched systems and asking good questions. If you've been reading this forum long, you know the concerns about Lennox systems.