My Canary dates are not overwatered. This winter they came in late (some time in December). Since this time, most have only been watered once. Once date palm leaves start to fold, they want water. Also, they get direct, winter sun in that garage as the garage doors are glass and face due south. Also, when you water palms, you should water deeply and thoroughly--otherwise you are just encouraging surface roots. Yes, the Queens are tall but their containers are very light--using those mock ceramic planters or large plastic tubs from HD. Bought a bunch of them at a good price (in a pleasant marine blue/gray color). I can post a picture of the Queens once they get for the season--some time next mouth if the weather stays on course and the groundhog is right.:) It is actually a lot harder to move the Canary palms--prickly, big, and wide. When it really comes time to moving them out for the season, it's not really that hard. I just lift the garage doors and move them out a few feet--dollies and bungees help. I can't wait to get them out! Are you going to keep the Needle containerized? (Mine are planted out on the south side of the house for their second winter.)

Hello there :o) Sorry it took me so long to get back. You are correct, YOUR new rose will be a different rose. For me, that is the fun part, not knowing what you will be getting... climber, single bloom, color... plus you can name your rose. I have had a blast giving my little ones a name of their very own :o) Okay, as for the hips:"they" say you should gather them when they have turned an orange or red in color. Some take them if they are still green and have had germination(s) from green hips. The same day I gathered the hips ( red, orange and even some green: I believe you can gather the hips until the 1st freeze, as late as the end of October, for my zone that is), I removed the seeds. I made a batch of peroxide and water in a large measuring cup: 9 parts water/one part peroxide. I then cut the hip open with a sharp knife, removed the seeds and placed them in the water/peroxide solution. This process took me a little over 2 hours, thus the first seeds were in the water/peroxide for approx. 2+ hours and the last seeds only soaked for about 15 minutes or so,(it is said you should soak them for 12-24 hours, I didn't know this until after the fact.) Next I got out plain white paper towels. I used 3 of them layering one on top of the other. I then used them as a strainer, pouring the water/peroxide and seeds onto the towels. I then folded the towels over the seeds and gave it a good squeeze to remove the excess water/peroxide. You want the towels/seeds to be damp but not soaking wet. You don't want to let the seeds dry out. I then placed the seeds in the towels in a plastic container with a air tight lid. From there I placed the container in the bottom drawer of the fridge. I made up a spray bottle of the water/peroxide solution to use when the towels got a little dry, do not allow the seeds to dry out. Check on them from time to time. In about 3 months you should start to see germination. Not all seeds will germinate. I still have seeds that have not germinated but I have kept them. A germinated seed will get a little white tail. Once you have a tail place him/her in a seedling potting soil with the little white tail pointing down... it is the root not the top of the plant. I found this out the hard way :o) Regular potting soil killed a bunch of my babies, I think it is too heavy for them. You don't want to place too much soil over the top of the seed. I used a pencil to make the hole for the seed, not making the hole too deep. I set my heating pads on med. at night and low in the day, if the day temps got down too cold I left the pads on med. I purchased large plastic planting flats (kinda looked like a plastic cake pan) to set the pots on and then sat the flat on the heating pad. Light: They had approx. 16 hrs of light. I would turn the lights off at night before going to bed and back on in the morning. I purchased all of my lighting from Walmart. I couldn't find bulbs for plants but did find aquatic bulbs. They are pretty much the same thing and worked just fine. Watering: After trial and error, I found misting them with the water/peroxide solution 1-2 times a day worked the best. You want the soil moist but not too wet, the peroxide helps prevent the seedling from dampening off. After they got a little bigger I use a tab. spoon full of water/peroxide 1-2 times a day. Transplanting: After they got around 3-4 inches tall I transplanted them into a bigger pot. With pots hard to find, I found the large plastic pic-nic like cups worked well too: The blue cup in the back: Also cottage cheese/sour cream, containers work well too. I used a cork screw to make drainage holes in the bottom of the cups/containers. They then went back to their spot on the heating pads and under the lights. From there May finally came and out to the garden they went. For your rooted cuttings you might want to post your question if you have not done so already. Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to find an answer :o) Good luck, The Lioness, Cheri

I have grown MANY varieties of Salvia, but my absolute all time favorite is Black & Blue!!! I planted five one gallon size plants in front of my bay window...WEST exposure...they grew to over three feet tall, even after regular trimming... mine preferred steer fertilizer AND Elenor's Vf-11 liquid which I sprayed on leaves with a simple spray bottle...THE BEST I have found!!! About $17 for a gallon at Home Depot. Mine like to stay put in the ground, but need two or three inches of mulch. Portland/Vancouver area...PLUS I have NEVER seen SO MANY hummingbirds in my life!!! Two hummers often fly together and they're nesting in my large arborvitae. Another plant which I LOVE is pineapple sage. I bought one tiny four inch pot size plant and it grew to be OVER three feet tall by three feet wide!!! Bright pink almost red tubular flowers...Hummers also enjoy these!

Your pond is so pretty! It looks very natural in that setting. You can divide them now. They're past the point where they would bloom if they were going to anyway. And I agree - you can't put them in the bottom of your pond, as it would be too deep for them anyway. But if there's a way you can plant them out of the pots (like between the rocks, on the pond side) it would be better for both the irises, as they would be able to spread more naturally, and better for your pond, as plants IN the water are better able to take up nutrients from the water which would help with your algae issue. I am not a fan of chemical algae fixes. To use it effectively you should be removing as much of the string algae as possible by hand before you treat. If you don't, all the dead algae in your pond will simply perpetuate the problem of feeding more algae. So if you have to remove it manually anyway, then what's the point of using the chemical? Number two - chemicals don't just kill the algae. They kill lots of the little microscopic critters that live in, and help balance, your pond ecosystem. Even without fish you have a lot of life in your pond. Chemicals, in my opinion, only keep the bad cycle going. Work to balance your pond and you will find your water clears up. You said you have no fish, however look at all the trees and organic material that surrounds your pond. Any of that that ends up in the pond contributes to the conditions that algae loves. Consider the algae just a symptom - it's not really a problem in and of itself. Other than being unsightly that is. But it's telling you something about your pond and is in fact working to help clean it up.