Lynn - Yea. Only if it croaks. Tagawa's is the only nursery in town that offers a 1 year on most plants (not on annuals of course, or house plants, or roses. Roses are only until October of the year bought, and I don't think they have a warranty on houseplants). The other nurseries are SOL.

Toni, Thanks for the heads up. Most of their plants survive for me most years, however this is not a usual year as we all know. I am going to try the surgery they suggested and if that fails, I will take it back. Course I am not sure I have tags either, but will begin looking.

They did warn me it would not overwinter in a pot. Anyway I could increase it's chances of living through winter. I have no sunny ground to put it in.

Sis, it would do well in the strip in front of the parking. It would get enough sun there. And look beautiful.

I have Red Yuccas. They're true sun plants. If shaded much, they can stop blooming...I've had to move some because of that.

Thanks Linda, I saw that they are native to Texas. They are so lovely. Even as a single plant they are a work of art.

I have just been buying a new one every year as my HOA might not take kindly to my planting it in their rock strips. My limited available ground is in deep shad so I just put it in a pot in the sunny rock strip. The pot can be removed if the HOA takes it into their minds to require it. It has just been so intensely sunny this year. 100+ heat at 5280 feet burns a lot of things that are sun loving.

I will try removing the stem I believe to be sunburned and see how it fares.

Something you might try is putting it in the patio area, up against the house wall for winter. Wrap with with something that would help protect the pot/roots during the cold times.

Good idea. Thanks, I will try that.

Marilyn - That's why I worked very hard to find a home that's NOT HOA controlled. I cannot stand the concept of someone telling me how to live my life. I did that as a child, I'm not having someone do that as an adult. I know that my yard would NOT pass muster for an HOA, but my yard is one of the prettiest on the block when in full bloom. Not to mention I hate grass...

As I hate general yard work, my townhouse is what is best for me. Most of the townhouse communities have a HOA. And I usually don't mind the restrictions. I am one of those draw between the lines people.

We have a neighborhood association out here in the boonies. They usually leave us alone, but in the past there was pressure to mow the part of our 2 acres next to the street. Well, actually, the part of that area that was cleared by the previous owner (the rest of the part by the street is fairly wooded still). I have wildflowers and mostly native grasses out there and don't want to mow it...don't even own a mower or weedwacker, actually. Anyway, DH told them that if they wanted to bring the matter to court, we'd have to fight it. They didn't continue with that for long. The association is not well-funded like many of the city HOAs are, so the legal costs would strain their budget too much, especially since the rules from when this property was purchased probably didn't cover that matter. The fenced yard part of the place is pretty much out of sight from the street, which is a blessing!

Sandi, it's a shame you don't like more modern houses because that house for sale in our neighborhood is on two acres, backs onto a lake and there's NO HOA!

We've had some people move here from the suburbs that want to put an HOA in place, but there's quite a few folks here like me who will fight it tooth and nail.

A creature of some sort (squirrel, rabbit, crow) uprooted one of my favorite semps so it's currently shaded with one of my little half pot contraptions. It looks goofy but works well for shading very small areas.

Hi Lynn

>> And I just realized you live in WA. Must be the East side since you are in zone 5. I can see why you would need to have some protection from cold for some of your plants.

That's Sunet Zone 5, USDA Hardiness Zone 8. I made the plastic tunnel becuase I had to clear overwintered plantgs out of my bedroom, and it was still slightly chilly. (Then it snowed 2-3 times in spring after a relatively warm winter.)

My last winter might not have gone below 25 (I had an Italian leaf broccoli overwinter and then bloom in spring!). Usually, 15-20 winter low, but we have the occasional "zero" Farenheit.

If you click on "Sunset Climate Zones" in my sig block, select "Western Washington", then page down to Zone 5, you'll see me. I'm within 2 miles of Puget Sound (actually "Possesion Sound").

"ZONE 5: Marine influence along the Northwest coast, Puget Sound, and South Vancouver Island"

We used to live in Puget Sound, just outside the town of Poulsbo, in Big Valley.

Now I live here in the Willamette Valley about an hour from Portland, OR. We have pretty mild winters, not that much different from yours. We are only 1/2 hour from the coast.

The shade cloth is for the young beds during the hottest part of summer, the sun can get quite intense in August.

>> Poulsbo

I've been there! I got there by ferry, but on the map it does not QUITE look like an island. If I recall correctly, it seemed very rural (nice), for being so close to Seattle.

Good restaurants and used book stores?

That would be it Rick. And they used to have the most wonderful European bakery. Wonder if it is still there?
We had an old homestead farm in Big Valley.
Here you go. http://www.mapquest.com/maps?c...

When I lived in NJ near the Tappan Zee Bridge, I went to a fireworks display in some town/city on the Hudson that had a long history of waves of immigrants displacing prior waves, and then being displaced in turn. Haverstraw?

I sat next to an older guy who had lived there all his and seen them come and go: Italians, Irish, Portugese, Haitians, Puerto Ricans and several other ethnicities I forget now.

He said that every group that moved in, always brought their own bakeries, because bread is so basic, and every culture has their own way of making it.

When each group moved up and out, most of "their" bakeries closed but, he said, ONE of each nationality always stayed open, because enough people found they really liked THAT kind of bread.

Also, for 1-2 generations, people would drive for miles from the suburbs to come back for "their kind" of bread.

As a result, the town's bakeries were like a history of immigration patterns, a United Nations of bread.

Just thinking of that makes my mouth water. I love dense, chewy type bread that is made the old fashioned way. By hand.

Well, our sunny season has arrived. We will probably be into the 90's in the next couple of weeks, with no rain. That will last until the end of August, or into Sept.
Time for the shade cloth.

I'm embartassed to call this "heat", considering that everyone else has to user an oven thermometer to check the outdoor temps, but we are having a heat spell too, here in the northern PNW ...

... a high of 82 F is predicted for today!

(Ducking and running)

Colorado - The rains are here!!!! Temps in the 80s.. will stay that way for several days and rain rain rain through weekend. Returning to 90s end of next week. Am looking forward to the respite, Hope my babies enjoy the rain. Have covered the one in danger of water logging.

Hope others in the midwest terrible heat get relief from heat and other weather extremes too

Woohoo! I'm happy for you! We have a chance for rain soon here. Hoping, fingers crossed!