I haven’t visited these forums in some time and actually rediscovered this thread doing a google search on some rare plants (go figure). Since we have a lot of trees and not a lot of resources and time to protect them, most of my losses are due to deer/rodent herbivory. Instead of dwelling on all of the plants I haven’t been able to keep alive, I’ll mention the highlights and surprises here. I went go in depth on too many so ask if you want more details and I’ll try to keep an eye on this thread and respond back when I can. I have been in Arizona since May and I’m basing the updates from this past growing season on my mother’s observations. -Strongest growing maple is Acer lobelii by far; arrived as a stick broken in half during shipping en route from Colvos Creek Nursery in Washington state and has grown at least 3 feet a year. It towers over all of the other sticks in my maple collection at about 15 feet. -Acer davidii grosseri hersii (what a taxonomic mess!) is the strongest growing snakebark and a new addition since the original post I believe. I don’t give it any “help” nutrition-wise and it has grown 2 feet each year; excellent striped bark turns crimson with the onset of cold weather and the leaves are a mix of red, orange, and purple in the autumn. From Forestfarm and while they are awesome, I have not yet keyed this plant to confirm its identity; either way, doing awesome for a snakebark in a clay-dominated alkaline soil in an exposed area. -Acer rufinerve gets no fertilization either and has some years where it sits back and grows little, and other where it takes off. Apparently this year it grew over 2’, so it now stands about 8’. Bark is excellent, although it doesn’t change to crimson like some of the other snakebarks. Can occasionally develop minor signs of nutrient deficiency but not a big deal. Leaves are amazing both texturally (coarse) and by color in the autumn, a mix of red, orange and violet. -Acer henryi looks like a Boxelder and grows like one in upstate NY. After a rough time establishing and a nasty bout of sunscald, it now grows about 2’ a year and has excellent red and violet autumn colors, with violet usually dominating. -Acer longipes is notable because I was able to get one through a winter (low -13F) with the only damage due to herbivory. Supposedly sprouted up big time this past summer. Not many experts seem to place much faith in its hardiness and it may have been below the snowline at the time of the low temp. Time will tell. -Acer mandshuricum, Acer triflorum, and Acer maximowiczianum all suffer through chlorosis. A. triflorum does the worst, A. maximowiczianum the best. A hybrid from Forestfarm between A. pseudoplatanus and A. griseum has done very well, with violet-backed leaves and red fall color. Hybrid vigor and no cold or soil issues. -Acer oliverianum is starting to pick up steam and has yet to be damaged by temps as low as -16F. Might be benefiting from the protection of a nearby hedge. Fall color is usually reddish-orange; it is deeply shaded. -Calycanthus raulstonii ‘Hartlage Wine’ is a huge success. Massive flowering in the second year and completely hardy. Grows very fast and gets leggy unless trimmed. Flowers are gorgeous and large, with virtually no scent. Numerous visitors that have seen the plants have subsequently scoured google for a dealer. The intense color has even drawn some hummingbirds. Seedless. Highly recommend. -Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ gets defoliated by about January when the truly consistent cold temperatures begin. This about the time that the soil freezes for good as well, limiting the plant’s ability to care for the leaves no doubt. At times, it looks like a fancy houseplant with shiny green leaves growing amongst the snow. No cold-dieback although it is not yet established and grows only about 6 inches a year max so far (haven’t got an update for this past season yet). It is late to leaf out in the spring. -Have a Stewartia malacodendron that apparently did very well in a shaded and very rich sand lens in a protected area that gets partial shade. It is big enough to be above the (likely) snow line and I will be very, VERY interested in seeing if it overwinters. Perhaps more updates later (and as I receive them!)

Recently picked up a second Abies koreana 'Kohout's Ice Breaker' from my friend's nursery. This particular plant he had grafted on a 2' standard, one of his older one's with a width of perhaps 10 inches. On a spring shopping trip to an out of town nursery, I found a nice sized Pinus x schwerinii 'Wiethorst' they had picked up at a show in Oregon. It wasn't familiar to me, so regrettably took a pass on it. In the spirit of this thread, I've challenged myself to name as many past collector's conifers of the year as I can without cheating. An interesting challenge, that has me feeling a little dumb at the moment...

Sinningia! Whuddathot. I've sworn off gesneriads so that's kind of a relief. I'll just ogle yours from here on, Kara. Here are some of mine (fall and spring growers) finally out of the basement. Aloinopsis schooneesii; I'm showing you guys the ugly side because this is the spot I've had to remove pieces from to stop a spreading rot. That gave me two smaller clumps and it did stop the rot. No guts no glory, I guess. Here is one clump, now two years old and still buried. I think I may have given the other one away, or it fell into a corner somewhere, never to be found. And from left, Othonna euphorbiodes, Othonna clavifolia and Tylecodon ventricos (this one needs a butt-load of sun in winter). And, below---really not fat yet, but it will be someday! I really like starting small. This one used to be taller but a Catzilla incident cut down the main trunk. Fortunately, it's crazy easy to root. Tylecodon buchholzianus My summer growers are still indoors.

Poohbearlvr, I'm so sorry for all you lost. Years ago we had a freak October snow storm that took down a number of trees. The damage was so bad since there were still leaves on the trees, so the weight of the snow was just too much. Any way, one of the trees we lost was a chestnut that my father had given us as a sapling just 3 months before he died. Some things you just can never replace, and I really feel for your pain. Anyway, as for the Edithcolea... I'd say they really like heat, very good drainage, and plenty of bright light, close to full sun for me here in Connecticut, but I imagine not quite as much for you in Florida. My momma plant gets watered regularly in the summer when it's growing, not so much in the winter. I'd say in the winter I water no more than once every couple of weeks, sometimes less. In the summer, a once a week, more if it's really hot. Lately I've been watering the babies every 3 days or so. That will probably slow down soon. My big plant flowered the end of summer 2016 - it was a very hot sunny summer that year, and it grew like a weed and flowered beautifully.