Mary Sue Ittner wrote regarding moisture and plant/bulb hardiness: >I had an offline discussion with someone about >this (Mark McDonough possibly?) and he said >that was absolutely not true. I don't think it was me, although I did possibly discuss with you some advice I received about guarantying a good bud set and subsequent flowering on Magnolias. The recommendation was to provide copious watering in late summer and fall, to ensure the flower buds, which develop in late summer, have a chance to fully develop and thus are more able to withstand winter cold and dessication. In the case of Magnolias, in my limited experience with a precocious flowering hybrid (Forrest's Pink), providing good soaking waterings in late summer and fall, has indeed yielded better flowering. Kenneth Hixson khixson@nu-world.com wrote at length on the nuances of plant hardiness. Thanks Kenneth for explaining this so well. If you've gardened in two or more rather different climates, it's very interesting to see the results of comparitive plant hardiness. The biggest surprise, is finding plants that were perfectly hardy in one climate, prove to be a challenge and non-hardy in milder climates, but Kenneth gives good examples of why this can be the case. As Kenneth says "Hardiness is a complex subject". Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!