JaG, I've tended to take summers off because it gets too hot for me, let alone the plants! With the "garden" right on the deck, I was hoping I could take the heat for a few minutes a day. Anyway, I see your point about the fertilizer, though chances are pretty good we won't be seeing much rain for a few months. My fertilizer strip is right around the edge of the 'Tainer. How about these 2 alternatives? I could remove the plastic from the center, leaving the strip plus a couple of inches of dirt covered. Or I could remove the plastic and the fertilizer strip as well. I rather like the idea of not needing to fertilize for at least awhile, so this would be more of a last resort for me. The one box I'm working with now has had the plants in for about 5 days. They don't show any signs of stress yet, and may do OK with the heavy afternoon shade they're now getting. These 2 plants were set deep, so they could immediately start some new roots. Of course, I've no idea how long it takes for those roots to become functional.

Its hard to say whats worse... My problem is too much rain... Over 7 inches of rain since the start of the month. More in the forecast the next 2 days (possibly inches). We are very close to breaking record rainfall totals for the month (around 10 inches)... I can't remember the last time i had to hand water my tomatoes... probably never. I use a lot of mulch the way it is and up here rain is very reliable during the summer months (we seem to sit between the heat to the south and the cool to the north). Lots of fronts move through here during the summer months. I do have to water my container plants if we go more then a few days without rain. They seem to rapidly dry out sitting in the sun on the driveway. The one thing about that is the well water here is very cold, and high in pH, so i tend to fill up a 30 gallon bin and let it sit before using it on my plants (it warms quickly in the sun)...

I know this thread's a bit old but I have had some personal experience with Sequoia "Hazel Smith". I live in northern Indiana and I was able to obtain four plants from the Crowfoot Nursery in Oregon last spring (2018). Now this year (June of '19) three of them look pretty good. One died but I don't think it was from the cold. But here is what is really interesting: They were shipped to me before the grafts had completely knitted and I was told to leave the root stock on there for last year's season. Over the winter (we had BRUTAL one), the root stock shoots were completely killed - dead as a doornail. BUT! The Hazel Smith graft was still mostly a healthy looking blue green. So, based on this evidence, I have concluded that "Hazel Smith" is cold hardy and able to withstand zone 5 temps. (I had -22°F at the end of January for two days in a row! That was NOT the "wind chill" mind you but the actual outside ambient temperature. Wind child was in the neighborhood of -40--60° below. So, for you Sequoia freaks living in zone 5, my advice is "to go for it". Regards Fred M. Cain, Topeka, IN

GM, One plant that immediately came to mind that would give a contrasting color would be barberry (comes in mounding forms and strongly vertical forms like 'Helmond Pillar')and comes in both reddish-purple and golden yellow versions. Their leaves are pretty small, so you might want something with a larger leaf size that would contrast more with the boxwood leaves. My second thought was that one of the reddish-purplish or golden-yellow dwarf nandinas might be a good choice. There are tons of dwarf hybrid nandina varieties that could work for you, and their leaves would be a nice contrast with the boxwood. There's also some great dwarf semi-evergreen abelias, like "Silver Anniversary" and "Golden Anniversary". For something with larger leaves, you could go with one of the Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata) cultivars, like 'Heller' which forms a mound 3' tall by 3' wide. Or, there's the Blue Holly (Ilex meservae) family which includes "Blue Princess" and "Blue Prince" (you need both of them to get pollination if you want berries). One of the absolute best sources for terrific shrubs in Oklahoma is Sooner Plant Form. I've linked their website so you can look at some of the shrubs they carry. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Evergreen Broadleaf Shrubs/Sooner Plant Farm