Question
Hi Tom,
I've been gardening in my WNY climate for about 3-years now. My front yard is completely shaded and I've got a great low-maintenance garden of hostas, astilbe, and coral bells there that absolutely love where they're planted. I recently (last year) made a garden in the backyard, which is full sun. In February, I bought several species of summber blooming bulbs and rootballs, including: liatris, dahlia, stella d'oro daylily, black eyed susan, balloon flower, and hardy (asiatic) lilies. I planted them all between May 5-10, and as of today (June 2) I have seen nothing come up out of the ground, except for the asiatic lilies in one spot, and even then only 2 of the 10 planted. We haven't experienced any frost since I planted the bulbs, and the temperatures had been quite high for the season until last week when they started to dip down into the low 40's at night. Is it possible that they're waiting for the ground to be consistently warm? Or is it safe to say I wasted money on bulbs? Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Artie,
Thanx for your question.  Your zone 5 soil is still pretty cool and these perennials you just planted have been in a state of dormancy so be patient and keep them watered but well drained.  If the Asiatics are emerging now everything else will follow as the ground warms up.  One thing to remember is that the dahlia is not hardy to Western New York.  You will need to lift the tuber and store it in a cool, dark, dry basement after it wilts from the first frost otherwise the winter will kill the tuber.  I hope this helps.
Tom