Al, the topic of plant hormones is quite complex, and to understand how they work one should be diligent in understanding botany, particularly plant biochemistry. But for the consumer, I think it is the responsibility of the company manufacturing the product to have research available and discussed in simple terms; research papers for peer review should also be available for those educated on the subject. After all, some people buy in huge quantities only to find everything in their greenhouse is now suffering, relying on beliefs rather than facts. What is on the label is generally deceptive and labels are part of clever sales tactics. Information NOT included is part of their smoke and mirrors. But the "labeling" is all the other information that should be available about the product, which is true with at least pesticides in the U.S. by law. If this "labeling" is not available, be skeptical. You should not have to pay any bucks for a product to do your own experiements. (Can you imagine this with medications and the pharmaceutical industry? Why do it with plants?). There are biochemical compounds that have cytokinin effects, such as Hypoxanthine, Adenine, Kinetin, Benzyladenice, Zeatin, Dipheylaurea, and N6-Isopentenyladenine(2iP). You are right - so what really is in the product that Candle Tree considered? Would supplements of IAA at specific times and in specific proportions be necessary to make it effective? And there are other considerations. That would be to complex for most non-professionals, but applications might be necessary. As for Superthrive, two Ph.Ds I studied under both referred to it as "snake oil" coincidentally. One mentioned that independent lab analysis was done on the product at different times by different labs and the ingredients were not even consistent. Also mentioned was that iron and other micronutrients were sometimes added and sometimes not - depending on the batch. There were other problems with mixing ingredients together that would disintegrate each other's compounds on contact. I cannot say any of this is true or not true, since I didn't pursue the matter. The problem with adding mineral nutrients is that any excess of one element will create deficiencies in others; they bind together into insoluble complexes that the roots cannot absorb. So if you fertilise, and this product says it is no substitute for fertilisers, you could create problems. If the pH of the soil or potting medium drops too low, foliage will show nasty toxicity symptoms. As I said, I had no interest in this product at the time of these lectures to get the specifics on this research. But Superthrive does not seem to have any credibility in the scientific community from what I can find, only believers. But why should it? "Mystery potion", as I call it, does not list the ingredients that would bind the company to state inspection and product validation.

My nut trees that I ordered from different growers have started to arrive. The two Chinese Chestnut Trees were delivered Friday, the two Texas Paper Shell Pecan Trees came in Saturday and six Tropical Almond Trees came in today. I had only ordered three but she said they had so many left over due to slow sales, she packed in extras, in fact doubling my order. I have been busy potting them all up in temporary pots waiting for them to go dormant so I can plant them later in my orchard. This way I can watch over them in my screen-greenhouse fussing at them like a mother hen :>) I also received an email today saying my apple trees were just shipped today, the Ein Shemer (350 chill hours) Grafted Apple Tree and the Dorsett (250 chill hours) Grafted Apple Tree. A little trick that may be helpful in growing fruit trees in Florida and having them set fruit in very low chill areas; It's important as soon as the trees drop most their leaves, to go through the trees and take off the remaining leaves so the tree doesn't have any photosynthesis going. This helps a lot with getting them to go fully dormant sooner and have a longer time to collect the required chill hours. Lou

I'm trying to figure out the best fruit trees to plant in my backyard in Minneapolis. Besides a dwarf honeycrisp, I'm considering plum, cherry, apricot, peach, & crabapple. Here are the features I'm looking for: * showy flowers in the spring * doesn't get too big (small backyard) * self-pollinating preferably so I don't need 2 of each * good tasting fruit, maybe even right off the tree? * maybe a crabapple with fruit I could collect to make wine What are you favorites? Which ones have been most reliable and good to eat? Thanks!

Blueberries for sure - they are easy here in NC, I have 12 different varieties, the best producing is Tifblue, but some were from unnamed plastic wrapped box packaged no name variety from Home Depot that grow and produce just fine. Fig trees may get wiped out with ice/snow/freeze every 4 or 5 years but will come back from the roots. They do get quite large and I hate to prune them so they are out in the way back (all 12) and are now 15'x15'. Easiest is common Brown Turkey that is prolific but the best tasting are Chicago Hardy, Black Mission. and Celeste. My biggest success was with dual variety grafted Asian Pear, but just before they fattened up the squirrels carried them all off in a matter of hours. I've learned that I have to put bird netting over all for them to tangle in, and hot pepper spray consistently when the fruit begins to be fruit and to be patient. Other than that they are pest free and don't require much care, are very pretty trees that doesn't get too tall or wide -- well worth it when the little fruits sell at Market for $1.50 each!!!!! and they make wonderful jam. Consider strawberries for a ground cover and that vegetables don't have to be in a vegetable garden especially with your garden's orientation to the sun, carrots have lovely leaves, leeks put on quite a show, sweet potatoes are gorgeous. The dwarf tomato plants seem to keep a lot of critters at bay, and basil is a really pretty plant over all, no matter the color of the leaves. I planted cucumbers in my front yard once when I lived in a subdivision and all the neighbors went nuts watching them twirl and wind un-trellised, growing a foot a day for sure, completely covering the "decorative gravel" the HOA made us use instead of lawn. Lots of pickles were given out that year much to everyone's delight. Rosemary grows wonderfully well here without pests and replaces those ugly green meatballs the contractors plant from one end of the US to the other, still growing ugly for 50 years and totally worthless. Grapes like to take over and the Japanese Beetles love them (use BT every 5 years for easy elimination of that pest). I grow some just for stuffing into Dolmas but have not had much luck getting a crop of edible fruit all at once because the birds do too. They really have to be trained, like weekly it seems, to keep them in moderation. I had one grow up a 40' ham radio tower in one season. One thing to think about is your lawn. Grass and all its needs for yucky chemicals is not so good for things you want to eat, and pine needles are a fire hazard. Think xeroscaping or ground covers instead. My friend asked, "When do you have enough plants?", and I replied, "When you can't see the ground." And, think of the birds too. In the dead of winter they love the native American Beautyberry, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, Mahonia (people edible for jam too), and lots of Viburnum in various shapes and sizes that also provide beautiful flowers pest free. Some fruits you do not want are: Apples - cedar rust disease carrier/host because of our native red cedar trees, Peaches - heavily sprayed with chemicals is the only way to get a crop (of chemical laden fruit), Pear trees - fire blight magnet, Paw Paw - very slow to fruit and not very interesting visually, only eaten fresh and rather insipid, Blackberries - take over the world with underground roots that pop up everywhere even years later and compete with our native seedy blackberries without flavor, Crabapples - deer magnets who will come back for years and paw the ground where they were forever and ever, Raspberries - never produce fruit after the first year and die consistently without reason, Rhubarb - will never produce because our climate is too humid and we don't get a deep enough ground freeze. To answer your question about getting rid of everything that is there now - here's my motto: "This space is mine!" Nancy