If you know the latin names of your bulbs (these should be on the packages), you can Google them and find out their winter hardiness zones very easily. It's not a bad idea to mark your bulbs with their names somehow so that you can find them to lift, divide, and spread the wealth later on. I like to use pieces of old vinyl window blinds that I write on with a Sharpie. If you put the ink side under the ground, the sun will not fade it. Leave just enough of the slat above ground that you can find them easily.

what is your soil ... how were they planted ... is the root mass shifting.. or is the water bending the trunk???? and maybe it would be easier to use some small stakes to hold the gator ... which seems to be the base of the problem ... how about giving us a pic of the tree ... a 25 gal pot for a 1.5 caliper tree doenst seem right???? .. was it bare rooted??? .. clay soil.. etc ken

I was just wondering. What standards (no pun intended) are breeders introducing by nowadays. It seems like there are a ton of new varieties on the market that have not seemingly progressed beyond similar intros 20 or more years preceding them. I see many breeders using parents up to 30 years old in a simple F1 cross. I'm seeing more purples and lavenders that people want 30+ dollars for when any gardener could get an equivalent in Walmart or Home Depot for a few bucks. I realize flower isn't everything, but that fact is what people make most of their buying decisions from. I realize the most of us may not achieve the stature of Blyth, Keppel, Ghio, Hager and others, but I'm baffled by the load of lackluster new intros out there. I heard quite a few comments in Portland during this years convention is that the guest irises by and large ......"s*cked" (an actual quote by somebody) This is according to a well known irisarian who hosted quite a few guests. Please don't get me wrong, i'm not takings potshots at peoples achievements but I find that I have to see an intro nowadays before I buy it. Can anybody enlighten me or am I "all rhizome and no flower"

I read online on a forum that someone posted that it was hard to keep the bottom straight so I am determining the feasibility of the project keeping the bottom teeth straight before embarking on a costly venture. What if I did and it goes crooked again? I would welcome personal experience input. I don't want permanent retainer. I had them off as kid, so now, like 30 years ago. I just hope that one tooth, if I do nothing won't go more crooked then it is now. It is hard to find a good ortho in the San Francisco bay area. I was at one for a consult about new retainers, but he was not willing to make them for me. He said, I would just be too lazy to wear them and it was pointless. But, I would like a second opinion.