Drasaid, If I recall correctly, you wrote to me last summer and asked about the potential for topworking your cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) with capulin cherry (Prunus salicifolia/Prunus serotina var salicifolia) grafts. I replied to you, but never heard back; I imagine that signals got crossed somehow. Anyway, as I said then, I think that it would be worth trying to graft capulin cherry selections onto your existing tree. I'm not well-familiar with cherry laurels, but a quick internet search revealed that they seem to be quite similar to capulins in form, flower, and foliage. Since I am incapable of performing phylogenetic analysis, all I can say is that, based on this layperson's evaluation of gross cosmetic/physical characteristics, the two species would appear to be closely-allied raceme cherries. Now, it could turn out that there is no possible graft-compatibility between the two. However, I think that you would stand a much better chance with capulins than with scionwood of peaches, cherries, plums, etc. The latter are all classified within the genus Prunus, but my (strong) sense is that they are so distantly related to P. laurocerasus that topworking would not work. (Certainly I have never tried using capulin seedlings -- and I get plenty of volunteers -- as rootstocks for peaches or apricots or whatever.) I would be glad to supply you with capulin scions at some point, BUT my trees are flushing growth strongly at the moment, so I doubt whether I would be able to find any twigs with dormant buds. However, there should be plenty of material available when the current flush hardens, a little later in the season.

I checked out Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) and I'd say go for it. If it were me I'd try to graft other prunus onto that tree. What do you have to lose? Good Luck, Little John

I've taken an interest in learning about Florida gardening because I plan to move down there eventually. What I've read again and again about discouraging nematodes is to maintain a heavy layer of organic mulch. This will eventually break down and improve your soil. Some people mix in cheap clay kitty litter to make their soil heavier. Another possibility is to heavily underplant roses with Marigolds. There is one seed strain of French Marigolds in particular which tested as being very effective at deterring root-knot nematodes -- Tagetes patula 'Ground Control' (aka 'Single Gold'). The one caveat is that the effects won't be seen until the following year, and to maintain the effect, you'll want to replant them every year. As far as planting too deep -- I think many here would say I am guilty of this, but there hasn't been any negative effect which I can see. When I was putting this garden together, I planted my roses (own-root bands that were grown-on in pots for a few months) directly into the native soil in late Summer 2013. Prior to planting them, I had laid down sheets of cardboard to smother weeds and grass, and covered that with trimmings from a tree I was cutting back. This accumulated to about three inches, but it was a very "airy" three inches. Over all that, I put down an additional 6-8" of "proper" mulch (partially composted shredded wood chips). At first, I made concave "dishes" around each rose to allow water to be directed towards their roots and keep mulch away from the canes as I kept reading I was supposed to do, but after the first Winter, the beds were pretty much leveled out. In Spring, I worked an additional 2" of composted manure into that layer of mulch. This meant that what was once the border between canes and roots was now about 8-10" below the surface. Why did I do this? I wanted to give the roses an "early start" on having deep roots for getting water, and anticipated that canes buried beneath the mulch line would eventually root further up, allowing for easier access to fertilizer applied at the surface. Companion perennials were planted directly into this "mulch/compost" layer in Spring 2014, and they grew like gangbusters in their first year. Last Autumn, I wanted to continue adding organic matter to the beds, so I "harvested" fallen tree leaves and spread them to a "fluffy" three inches thick. I also started collecting used coffee grounds from Starbucks -- one 13gal kitchen garbage can-full per day -- and spread this about 2-3" over the leaves. It took about three months to complete. Winter snow has packed this down a bit, and the previous year's additions have started breaking down, so where I'm at now is about where I was after the first layer of mulch -- about 6-8" above the original soil line. This week, I started some early pruning. While there is some snow still remaining in half of the garden, where it is gone there was already life in the top layer of coffee grounds and leaves -- various soil critters are waking up and finding lots of food waiting for them. I've noticed some freeze damage (naturally) on some rose canes, but nothing soft and mushy which would indicate "cane rot". True, this could emerge later in the season, but I also never saw it last Spring when the roses' canes were also buried to about the same level. Why is this not harming my roses? Perhaps because what's covering the canes is actively being broken down by the various organisms in the soil, and that process is different than simply being a blanket of "wet" around the rose canes. Worms and critters keep moving the material around, and fungi digesting the material are sopping up the extra moisture. I don't know for sure -- all I can say is that I don't see any negative effects. :-) ~Christopher

You can read about the well known history of the Corfu Esrog; The Jaffa Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook founded and headed the "Atzei Hadar" union for kosher etrog cultivators and marketers, to prevent from grafting the Jaffa etrog unto rootstock of sour orange or sweet lime, but very much promoted intraspecific grafting of the Greek citron upon Balady citron rootstock,[19] which is permitted by Halacha. The act led to the establishment of a beautiful variety in Israel, yet kosher, and saved the economy of Israel for decades. As of today it is the leading variety in Israel, and is a very important article in international trade.[20] Although the graft of Greek citron upon Balady rootstock was a great idea from practical and Halachic views, it induced suspicion from customers who wondered why the Israeli citron was suddenly so beautiful with an erect Pitam. Suspicion arose in Israel and in Diaspora, and many rumors spread. We find the late Grand Rabbi of Munkatch, namely Chaim Elazar Spira being aware about the change. He speculated that it was the same problem continuously claimed against the Greek in their homeland Greece, namely to be grafted or bred with lemon, which renders it non-kosher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_citron#Introduction_to_Israel