On 2 Jun 08, at 16:31, Cathy Craig wrote: > The prospect of living in zone 7b is very exciting. On the strength of > it I have purchased and hauled to AZ several dozens of hardy plants I > cannot grow here (in zone 9b-10). And continue to dig plants I'm not > leaving behind! Prescott, AZ, where we are headed, is in the exact > center of the state. The courthouse square (center of town), is at > precisely one mile in elevation. We are 1.5 miles west of there with > mountains to the north, west, and south of us. More rocks that I ever > saw in all my life. BIG rocks. REALLY big rocks. Maybe millions of > years of lichen on them. You may be in for a surprise given the extreme dryness of Arizona. I'd suggest you look into things like Central Asian oncocyclus irises that are damnably difficult to grow in damp climates. You will thereby make the best of the (presumably) desiccated locale you are moving to, and will be able to grow a range of geophytes that wet- and damp-climate gardeners can only dream about. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island