Here's a rundown of best way to overwinter gunnera, got this from a local nursery (the best, Hughes Water Gardens in Tualatin, Oregon - outside Portland). Make a chicken wire circle screen around the plant, allow about a foot out from the plant crowns and if possible a foot above the plant (once the leaves have been cut off). Cut off the leaves, many folks use the leaves to cover the crowns from water but I use my leaves (leaf-casting). Once the leaves and stems are cut down and the wire fence is in place, dump your tree leaves into the circle and over the tops of the plants. I use maple leaves as I don't have to worry about creating a nursery for black walnuts, horse chestnuts, etc. (I have tons of garbage trees around). I load up the leaves and tuck them lightly in around the plant crowns. I continue tossing leaves on top until I have at least 6-12" on top of the crowns. I usually put some sort of wire mesh across the top just to make sure the leaves don't blow out. When I put the leaves on I don't use wet, mushy ones that are already heating up as a compost but allows some air in the batch. In the Spring, I can pull off a some of the top layer and the leaves of the plant will simply start pushing through all the maple leaves. When I know that frost is past, I pull back the maple leaves to allow the gunnera leaves to come through. I usually leave most of the maple leaves in the "pit" as they will continue to compost down. I've never had any problems with any kinds of bugs on this plant, at worst I get horse chestnuts falling and tearing the leaves (limited places to grow him) and too much hot afternoon sun. to handle both of those problem, I erect a tent around the plant with a type of shade tarp that shelters the plant through summer. As for ideal growing conditions, I sunk a huge plastic tub ito the ground (with a single small hole) and used half potting soil and half manuere on it. This way I can water the gunnera and he can sit in water and my trees don't suck it all up. they do love the water and while they have some resistance to cold (Ireland has a problem with these being invasive), it's just not an evergreen. I hope that info helps some folks. If well cared for, each year the plant will come back with slightly larger leaves so consider him an investment in your garden. great plants and thanks to Hughes for the writeup, mine have been doing great now going on 4 years! BTW, some plants I have bought before were really lame and didn't survive no matter what I did so the stock you purchase does make a difference. Don't get frustrated if you lose one and you did everything right.

I think grieving is a process that one has to go through, no matter what the loss. I also think it's wonderful that people have a group that supports that loss. When I lost my Dear Husband, 5 years ago, I depended on my support group to 'support' me by listening and letting me vent. When I lose one of my pets, I certainly hope I can find such a group to support me. Luckily, I have friends nearby that can relate and will listen to my grieving/venting.

Pardon me while I crash this thread to vent. Today's main vent is tangentially related to kitchens: we designed an eat-in kitchen in our remodel, so our formal dining room is now a guest room, and the workman I'm venting about is doing finish carpentry in that area. He's taking two days to do what should be about a four-hour job, he's been over two hours late each day, and he's pushing me to pay the balance of the job in cash due to some income restriction/tax dodge that's, frankly, not my business OR my problem. I was mildly sympathetic to his plea, but when he emailed at 9.50am for our 10am appointment to say he'd be here at 11am IF he could find parking; then emailed at noon to whine about not being able to find a spot.....let's just say my sympathy dried right up. Today's minor vent: we've been at substantial completion on our kitchen-plus job since December 2014, GC has done about half the punchlist and the longer he waits to do the rest (and get paid his retainer), the more problems crop up: a tile might be lifting off the bathroom floor, a kitchen cabinet door is hanging improperly, we suspect the bathroom vent is not quite doing its job because there's a musty smell that takes a while to build up but is definitely there. Will this danged job EVER end???????

High critical items need to be completed in one day or one weekend. Otherwise prep as much as possible before work begins. My basement has been mostly unusable as I finish it, it is done now but I am working on the stairs now. Keeping the laundry room down there available was a treat. That includes replacing all of my houses drain waste lines, and the main line runs through the laundry room under the floor. I had the floor cut up and fully exposed, and started with a full weekend and a chain pipe breaker (for cast iron). Finished demo and installing most of the drain lines in one day (used a 5 gallon bucket during that day, toilet was available at end of day). Also replaced all water lines in one day, that was more stressful since it is under pressure and fear of leaks... At the main valve the compression ferrule didnt tighten straight so there was a small leak. Put a bucket underneath and fixed it the next day after running to the store. It all turned out fine just stressful. Cleaned up dust a lot, learned my lesson there. Barriers work and it helps to use an air purifier where you are working to filter the air. I used the air compressor to blow out the filters when im done and reuse the filters. I did that while I was sanding drywall. Still use that for various dust making activities. Make sure you vaccum up the drywall dust after every day, it spreads easy. Dust deputy works well. Another option is an inline 5 gallon pail with water in the pail (similar to sand and kleen brand) will collect dust and keep your shop vac filter clean too. I tried sand and kleen, it made a horrid noise due to the small hose so I returned that and reverse engineered one out of one of those tight seal 5 gallon buckets for pet food, a larger hose, and some various fittings. Probably would have got the dust deputy had I known about it though. As far breathing the dust, I cant because my lungs are not great. I wear a respirator during dusty projects. Its easier to breath in it rather than using masks.