In early October a friend of mine dug a clump of POINT OF VIEW as a gift plant and set it on the top of a post bare root. The individual never placed the order so when I was out to his place in March Robbie gave me the clump that had set bare root in full sun on top of the post and I took it home and planted it with others that were dug with some soil on the plants. By July I could not tell which were bare root for 5 months and which were not. I would dig and wash and trim everything. I would trim the tops to 4" inches and the roots the same but many are uncomfortable with trimming the roots that way so do what you are comfortable. All the roots will die anyway and the only benefit of the old roots is to act as anchors. I would get the plastic open mesh bags and store each cultivar in a mesh bag so it could breath. Then I would store them in a cool place that did not freeze but where they would get good air circulation. As long as the roots are kept dry they will be fine bare root and they won't grow during the winter months anyway. In the spring when the ground temperatures remain at 54 degrees F. or above I would plant them.

Molly, I think moving to Oklahoma will be culture shock, but in a mostly good way. THE WEATHER: Most years, you'll see the last frost in the OKC area in April, although sometimes a little earlier and sometimes a little later. April and May tend to be gorgeous and mild. The real heat arrives in June and then July and August are roasting hot most years. The cool-down arrives in September and we often have nice mild weather throughout September, October and Novemeber. A little cold arrives in December some years and other years it can be a bit colder, but still not too bad. January and February are cold (in the way we Okies define cold--it may not seem to be to you after Minnesota), and March is transitional with some warm, almost hot weather, and some cold. THE SOIL: Lots of Oklahoma does have red soil and it comes in all types. There's clay in lots of areas, red sandy soil in others, brownish or yellowish sand or sandy loam in yet others. Northeastern and eastern OK mostly has great soil and higher rainfall. Central OK has lots of clay but lots of sandy loam areas too. Southern OK has lots of wicked red clay (the Red River is our border between Texas and Oklahoma) but some very sandy or very rocky areas. Some areas have fairly acidic, or at least neutral soil but others have fairly alkaline soil (and water). No matter what kind of soil you have, the key to success here is to add compost and other organic matter that will help it both hold water in our heat and drain well in our famous spring and summer downpours. THE PLANTS: Many plants grow well in Oklahoma, but the specifics depend on your soil pH and type. You probably will notice that even though you can grow many of the same plants here as in Minnesota, they likely will bloom earlier here. Some plants that bloom in the summer in Minnesota may bloom in the spring here. Having never lived further north than my current location in southern Oklahoma, I don't know when plants bloom elsewhere. Here in my part of OK, about 100 miles south of OKC, daffodils and hyacinths start blooming in mid- to late- February and tulips start in March. Larkspurs and poppies often start blooming in February or March and burn out because of the heat in May or June. Hollyhocks start blooming in March or April and are 'done' most years by June, but this year lasted into July. Daylilies start blooming most years in late May here and last through fall if deadheaded. Cannas pop up out of the ground in March (in a mild spring) or April (in a colder one) and bloom util the first freeze in October or November. My flowers may begin blooming a week or two or three earlier than those in OKC, but sometimes Lisa and I have the same types of plants--like larkspur or poppies--blooming at the same time even though we're more than 100 miles from one another. One of the big mainstays here for summer flowering shrubs is the Crape Myrtle, and they come in a wide variety of sizes, from dwarf weeping types to small tree types, with blooms in shades of white, pink, lilac, purple and red. The summer weather is hard on plants here, so it helps to include very heat-tolerant plants in your plans. It is hard to know which ones to suggest for you before you find an actual place to live and know what kind of soil you have. Lisa's and Moni's photos will give you a good idea of what grows in their parts of central OK. Some heat lovers that tend to do well in most parts of Oklahoma include zinnias (annuals that often reseed here), four o'clocks, cannas, lantana (not all named cultivars are reliably perennial), salvias/sages, yarrow, tall verbena (verbena bonariensis), marigolds and some lilies. I've linked the Oklahoma Climatological Survey pages for Oklahoma County. Looking at them will give you an idea of first and average freeze dates, average rainfall, etc. for the Oklahoma City area. There are a couple of books about gardening in Oklahoma that contain detailed plant descriptions. Another way to get an idea of what you can plant here would be to visit the website of Sooner Plant Farm, which you can find by googling. Once you look at their website, I think you'll have a great idea of the variety of plants that are either native or adapted here. A lovely native tree here is the Oklahoma Redbud. It looks gorgeous when blooming (generally in mid-March in southern OK, and a tiny bit later further north, so maybe in later March to mid-April). I'm not crazy about it the rest of the year. It has nice foliage but is disease prone, especially in terms of fungal diseases that cause the foliage to get spotted leaves, yellowing and browning leaves, and sometimes quite a few dropped leaves. So, what else do you want to know? If you'd like, list some of your favorite plants and we'll do our best to tell you how they perform here. Oh, one more thing....welcome to Oklahoma! You're going to love it here....unless you truly adore freezing cold weather. In that case, we'll just do our best to convert you to loving the ten months of the year our weather is great.....September through June....and we'll teach you how to endure the the two hotter-than-heck months, July and August (air conditioning, iced tea, swimming pools, lakes, etc.). Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: OCS Data for Oklahoma County

Interesting. It looks like a really good candidate. Does that happen often? I thought it was dead when we moved into the house and was surprised when it grew the next year. Its probably a once bloomer. Last year it got mites or some sort of bug and it didn't do very well after that so I'm not positive its a once bloomer, but it probably is. The flowers average more around 3" diameters as opposed to 2". Petal count is more along the lines of 14 - 20+. Anything special I need to know about Dr. Huey?

Boring is fine by me, I've had my wild young days working and playing in New York and prefer simpler pleasures now. A small quiet place within ten or fifteen blocks of the new office (near Bloomingdales) will be fine. I'll commute to my "real" home in the country on the weekends. I was actually surprised at how reasonable the rentals were. And most seem to include utilities. I mean, it's still crazy to contemplate spending $1250 for an apartment that's smaller than my kitchen at home (literally) but it's a doable amount.