Hello George :-) Nice to see you! It's been a quiet winter here on the forums this year. Thanks very much for the encouragement. My oldest son is planning on helping all week to dig dig dig. :-) We are going to start this morning. He is not a gardener and has this unreasonable expectation that once you plant a plant in the garden you are done. He had such a look on his face when I told him how many plants I need to move this spring. LOL I had to confess to him, that I am not as good a designer as he evidently thought I was. I have only recently come to that conclusion myself, which was a surprise to me, too. :-) I have finally understood that I do not have the ability to visualize, which is a necessity to be a designer, I believe. I can imagine and have creative ideas, but I cannot see in my mind what something will look like. The only thing that allows me to keep trying, is that I know good design when I see it. So much more work for me, to play musical chairs until I find something that looks good to me. I would just love to choose the plant material and have someone else figure out where it is all going to go, then enjoy it and take care of it. I even hired someone to consult with last year to help with that, but found I didn't agree with one suggestion she made. So, I guess I am stuck with me. [g] I do have high hopes that a few of these moves will stick. :-)

Hello again, mindy ~ Yes,I do agree that losing the stamens' rusty colour made me feel very ambivalant at first (still does, truthfully) because what IS a lily without those telltale stamens! But my lilies aren't viewed closeup. They're all viewed from the road, therefore no one truly notices they've been plucked--plus, the white blooms remain pure white, and it does extend the blooming time. I just hope I'm not causing the plant some sort of distress, or trauma. Now about the delphiniums . . . I'm perplexed. Here, they are almost regarded as common. I've seen what can only be described as hedges of them along fences, 6 to 7' tall, and seemingly neglected because they aren't staked (which they really do need to be . . . we are at 2,000ft elevation and the winds are something else). My guess is that we have this stony excuse for soil. It's a gravel, really. And I do know that the great enemy of delphinium is root-rot due to poor drainage. When I lived in Quebec, our soil was quite clay, and delphinium weren't as prevelent there. But why ANY plant, let alone such a tall, classy one as delphinium would want such poor soil as we have makes me scratch my head (if indeed the ones I see aren't being augmented by compost, like I do mine). I mean, I just had one finish blooming. Before it could even begin to form seeds, I cut it back severely, and now--only about 12 days later--it is gushing out leaves profusely as though determined to send up another spike and bloom again. Here's a suggestion. . . dig a large hole, and at the bottom put about 5" (or more) of stones and plant a delphinium into not too dense a soil above this, so that drainage is absolutely guaranteed, and see if such an obvious effort at good drainage is rewarded. The great challenge is that they love being in moist soil, yet can't stand having 'wet feet'. I water mine every day, but never worry about drainage. What I DO have to worry about is ensuring they get fertilized frequently, because this stony 'soil' lacks nutrients. BTW, have you ever grown a plant called 'Meadow Rue' (thalictrum delavayi)? I'm looking for a baby's breath-type perennial that makes clouds of wee blooms to go between very tall trumpet lilies and floribunda roses. Thanks again for everything, Your friend, Lance

I don't know if I right, I sure would like to know I grow Epi. a few but have not specialized in this species. That is the only way to learn about them, that plant is telling you something. Have you watered it when it is dry or any differently then the others, is this the resting season? My Epi most always set flowers in March or May, flowers for mothers day. Some day I'll tell you the story why I remember this. I would not move the plant once it sets flower buds. WE have this plant at the Huntington Gardens in the growing area. Did read that the flowers dry up and turn black before they open, and are these recently started cuttings, have they established roots? Some one here will come up with the answer, and if I can find my article on the subject it just may give us a clue. Norma PS just found it. It is 8 pages long. I looked no clues I'll lookd else where. Norma

>>Lots of growers pulls off the side buds to allow that main middle one room and energy to grow bigger. It also allows for a longer cutting stem. Some growers of the smaller dahlias prefer to not disbud, and cut the stem with two immature buds with the middle fully open for bouquets. Typically, those immature buds will not open once the stem is cut, but they add a fun design element in the vase. Some of us (me) leave them on the plant, deadhead the center blossom off when it's done, and have the fun of watching the side buds open. Sure, the flowers are smaller, but they're dahlia flowers. What's not to love? :-) For the ones I cut for vases, I do leave the buds on the stem. They look great, but like you said, don't open.