Ernie wrote: "NY where we still have managed to avoid frost, but tonight will be the night as they forecast upper 20s. " Tonight's the night for us, too, and we're several hundred miles south of you. We've had enough frost this week to singe the foliage of tender plants, although things close to the ground have not actually frozen. The foliage of some gesneriads is among the first to go. The greater Washington, D.C. commercial market has expanded so much over the decades that it's hard to make sense of the local weather reports: they are apt to include references to the Shennandoah Valley of Virginia, Hagerstown, Maryland, Fredericksburg Virginia and Baltimore. As a gardener the thing I'm listening for is 32 degrees F. Depending on the source, there is usually a good 10 degree range in the predicted overnight low. So for this gardener, it's a guessing game. By the time I finish bringing in things tonight, moving from room to room throughout the house will be like negotiating an obstacle course. Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7