Hi Pauline – I think that you will really like Maarn, it was my favorite last year. The color is incredible and it's a very sturdy and floriferous plant. Wishing you lots of luck and rain this summer!

Alicia, they are in pots now – I guess I should have shown that, but the shot would have been pretty icky – as I used all sorts of recycled nursery pots. They will go into the garden around June 1 I think (unless it snows more!). Good loch with yours!

So, I can't seem to get this concern out of my head – the idea that some big box stores focus on the wrong plants for the wrong zone. I don't know if the problem is simply in finding good, knowledgeable employees or it is just that they don't care? Lowes here in the US does seem to have made many improvements with their stores, but I know that it all depends on regional managers and those at the store level, as I've seen stores which are terrible in keeping plants alive, or in turning around stock. At least they have the right licenses (Proven Winners, Monrovia) at a few of the Lowes near me, which helps. Home Depot for some reason, seems to be relying on Vigoro brand. I can only imagine how fast all those southern grown carts of heather will die in our New England winter next year. Let alone all of the tomato plants in our sub-freezing temperatures this week. On a positive note, at least there is white-space for improvement once they hire smart and innovative leadership at the Atlanta headquarters level. I'm not being snarky, because I really care, and you are right – so many consumers will be discouraged once they realize that those icelandic poppies pass in a few weeks. A few, good educational guides would help, be they in video, handouts or in person – there are so many ways to change the ROI and profit models in these garden centers. That said, go local – most are a better option, especially if they raise the plants their own, or from young plugs. I have a secret source near me in Rhode Island who raised all his plants without root stimulants, who starts rare annuals and veggies out in the cold, and who sells the complete line of Proven Winners for $2.50 a pot. Yay!

Dear 02568, Well, you do much better than I do with Hippeastrum – although, I should try keeping a few over the summer – I am able to do it well with other amaryllids such as Nerine. I will try this year. I am so impressed that you actually get offsets to share, clearly you are doing something right! Keep growing!

Hi Duchess,
Thanks so much for you help in guiding the dahlia divisions. As I said, I have much to learn with dahlias (there is no Dahlia society near me anymore). I had heard that you could divide them to single tubers, which many of mine are – but tell me this, wouldn't it be better if I divided them in the autumn? I had read once that the eyes are noticeable them shortly after digging them, and then they disappear? I never looked this year, and since read this long after I dug mine, I waited until spring to see where the eyes would emerge again. I had planned on dividing them to single tubers (perhaps I still can tonight) but there were so many buds coming out, that it seemed difficult and wasteful to keep a single eye to each tuber at this point? I would end up with more than a pile of tubers without eyes or stems. So I kept a few bunches with three tubers, since they had very large and strong stems emerging. I think it is obvious that a single tuber will produce a strong stem, since this is what all dahlias do when one buys dahlias, but is there really any harm in leaving a few tubers together with 3 or 4 buds emerging? Thanks for your help Donna!