Hi, A couple of questions: -Would hardy pricklypear cactus (Opuntia humifusa/compressa) be the only hardy pricklypear to endure zone 6 winters? -Would sweetshoot bamboo (Phyllostachys dulcis) be suitable for zone 6? -Comment: Pawpaw, Asimina spp. (including Asimina triloba), contains the compounds associated with increased risk of atypical Parkinson's; you'd have to it is frequently enough, I would suppose. -Comment: I believe that ginko nuts must be eaten in moderation - I remember reading some materials describing them as toxic to some extent. I wonder if making tea out of the leaves would be a good thing, however. -I know Lucky has some varieties survive his zone 6 winters, but anyone have any varieties of Pomegranates survive zone 6, 6a or 5b? - and fruit? -What are the best Amelanchier spp./Juneberries/Serviceberries w/regards to taste? I think that the only berries I absolutely loved must have been A. alnifolia - 5' thin suckered bushes with dark, sugar-sweet berries; the A. canadensis and A. canadensis x laevis I've tasted are not as good as what ever variety that happened to have been. -Will American hazelnut/filbert & American beaked hazelnut hybridize with the European species? -If I were able to obtain a true American Chestnut selected from a stand that showed great disease resistance, would the taste hold up to the Chinese and/or English varieties? -In comparison to a straight D. virginiana or D. kaki, would there be any taste improvement in the hybridization between American x Asian persimmon? -Would you think that a fully ripe Wild Mandrake/Mayapple would be at all toxic; or would it be risky if consumed in excess? -What are cold-hardy, reliable varieties of Black Mulberry (M. nigra)? [non-hybrids] -In zone 6b, my 'Brown Turkey' Fig never dies back to the ground; I do nothing to protect it. -I purchased a grafted D. kaki 'Saijo' and a friend of mine showed me his orchard containing grafted Asian persimmons - the grafts reject after several years; he explained that if you had an American x Asian hybrid as the inter-connection between the D. virginiana rootstock and D. kaki scion, the graft would last indefinitely. I hope the tree will last, contrary to this - probably won't. -Are the berries of native/American shrub-dogwoods and tree dogwoods (other then the toxic Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood) really edible? C. sericea/stolon., C. alternifolia, etc.? -Besides Black Oak, any other good oak nuts? -I'll contribute a few I can think of here (edibles): Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, 2 varieties of Ligonberries - American/European, Bearberries, Wild Wintergreen Berries, Berberries spp., (water lily and lotus/parts, arrowhead/parts, pickerelweed/parts, Acorus - sweetflag, not iris!), various man-made blackberry x raspberry hybrids, the man-made 'jostaberry' - ribes spp., a wide array of vaccinium spp. (blueberries, deerberries, bilberries, false huckleberries), Garden Huckleberry (not a huckleberry), varieties of cranberry, Akebia, Orange trifoliate, Crabapple spp., nuts: chinquapin, species of hazelnut/walnut/varieties of hickory (including pecans), forbs: daylily species, various flowers, Monkey Puzzle Pine, Pine Nut species, syrup from Walnut & Maple species, Prinsepia, Asparagus, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, various greens, various man-made stone fruit hybrids, foxgrape (including 'Concord' & 'Neptune'), purple passionflower, Mountain Ash species, Aronia spp., Western Sandcherry, Buffaloberries, native Silverberries, Sala, Yuka spp., Magnolia virginiana for tea - leaves and culinary, chokecherry, wild black cherry, pin/fire cherry, American wild plum, Chickasaw plum, Beach plum, cloudberry/bakeapple berry, smooth & staghorn sumac, teas from birches, American larch, and others - be cautious, tall & stinging nettle tea, the species of Jujube, Streptopus amplexifolius - I forgot the name - I call it watermelon berry, but it's not the above mentioned Che/Melonberry which is a good one to have. ____ When you think about it, there really are only a few fruits out there: Apple (4 types), brown or green Pear, Cherry otherwise know as Bing or Yellow Cherry, Melon, Apricot, Nectarine, Orange, Grapefruit, Grape, Kiwi, Plum, and Pineapple - if you don't believe me, just go to the supermarket or your local cooperate sponsored fruit consumption advocacy materials. Well, they do have around 5 other rare ones: Starfruit, Date, Fig, and Fruit-roll-up Fruit.

Curved canes do happen with RRD, usually early in an infection and one side of the cane grows faster. That doesn't seem to be what's happening here. I've got three roses that are supposed to be Autumn Damask and this isn't normal for them. But I have seen this symptom on other roses and I think it's fasciation. You may have noticed stems of dandylions growing together in spring. The big (brain-looking) everlasting annuals called celosias also happen because of fasciation. Some fasciations have been shown to be caused by phytoplasms, which are like viruses, but lack a structural element of viruses. In my garden, the fasciation didn't spread within the plant (Turner's Crimson) nor did it spread from one rose to its neighbors. We left it longer than we should have, probably, because I wanted to see how it evolved. The second year, only one of the three canes survived. And it didn't bloom. I'll agree with folks above. Cut it off low and watch for what happens next.

I've recently visited my grandmother in Guangzhou China and during my visit there she introduce me to a veggie I've never had before. I believe she called it fan gua. My Chinese still needs work but I think it means sweet potato squash( or melon or gourd. I don't think there is a distinction in Chinese). Anyway it's a small squash with an oblong shape a bit like a small spaghetti squash. It's green with a bit of yellow to it and it taste a bit like sweet potato. My grandma likes to just steam it and eat it. Has anybody else heard of this? If so does it have another name? I tried to do a search on fan gua to learn more about it but the searches came up empty.

This may help anyone wondering how to handle a nightmare. I have learned from my study at the School of Metaphysics in the U.S., that nightmares are a common experience for many people�this state of oppression or feeling of suffocation that happens in the dream state, which is usually accompanied by a feeling of intense anxiety, fear, or horror. My Dream Class instructor at the College of Metaphysics, Dr. Barbara Condron has been researching and interpreting dreams with the SOM since 1975. In her book Dreamer�s Dictionary she says nightmares are 'repeated messages from the subconscious mind that have gone unheeded.' The good news is that once the dreamer receives and understands the dream, the nightmares cease. Dream interpretation is what led me to the SOM�s course of study. I used to have nightmares often as a child. Now that I�ve been a student for almost 4 years, I rarely have nightmares. Nightmares, and in fact all dreams, are symbolic messages from the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind can be looked at like a good friend who is telling you information that is pertinent for you to understand. When it is a nightmare, then is it like your best friend yelling at you to bring your attention to the life lessons you are avoiding. The last nightmare I had was about a car wreck. Upon waking up, I judged the dream as being a 'bad' dream. I went to a teacher, worried, and upon interpreting it I realized the message wasn�t at all negative like I had thought. SOM teaches dream interpretation through the Universal Language of Mind, the language of the Subconscious mind. This language teaches dream interpretation symbolically, as opposed to literally, and works with the 'form and function' of the symbols. A car�s function is to move us forward. Since the car was out of control, this reflected how I was directing myself. The dream was telling me I felt out of control, and that I needed to take better care of myself by being self-directed and not relying on other people to direct me. The message came as a nightmare at that time because I had known about the need to be more self-directed but had yet listened to myself and applied self-direction. This experience helped remind me of how thankful I am of knowing the symbolic meaning of dreams. I�ve heard stories of people doing extreme things prompted by nightmares they interpreted literally, such as: a woman who didn�t drive for 16 years after having a car-wreck in her dream, or a woman kicking her husband out of their room after having a dream he cheated on her. Dreams have a deeper meaning than the face value. There is much freedom and relief that can come through aligning with this truth. If you want to learn to interpret your dreams or have a dream you need interpreted in order to get clarity and direction, visit www.dreamschool.org. Here is a link that might be useful: