Good morning! I'm looking to trade for these 2 varieties before I actually have to go out and purchase some. I'd be happy with any variety name of "Apple" pepper as well! Does anyone have any to spare? If so, pls let me know and I'll see what I have that I can trade for them. Thanks! ~Wendy

Let me qualify my comments re: storage. First, we start relatively late, with Northern Spys bought around Nov. 1. The garage is already cold though not really freezing. I can keep them uncovered near the colder outer wall initially, then move them closer to the house and cover once the weather freezes most nights. Also, I add 5 gallon buckets of water under the tarp, 20 gallons total, and they will keep the "cellar" right at freezing for days (apples freeze at 27F or so) in really cold weather, about 10F above the real temperature elsewhere in the garage. I can also empty them if they start freezing and refill with more water if the weather stays too cold. One bucket gives off 7,000 BTU while keeping the temperature at 32F (it is really an ideal refrigerator under the circumstances). This year we had a cold March, it was 14F on March 31, and that kept the cellar cold for longer than usual. Deterioration is quick once the weather warms. I use HM's method for things other than apples, though I should perhaps make me one for apples alone. I have a hardware cloth lined box, about 50 inches by 16 by 75 (two people are needed to move it around). I place it in a pit that doubles as composting pit in the summer. It gets filled to the brim because I preserve about some 25 cardoons, whole plant, for the winter, and they occupy a lot of room. There are also whole plant cabbages, turnip and rutabaga roots, and if I grew more, potatoes. This box, in the pit and covered with 1.5 feet of leaves, preserves vegetables incredibly well (and, my guess, apples too). It never freezes. Moving the leaves and the snow is a major pain. Last winter the snow and leaves crushed the door, and I have now made two much stronger doors, so I only have to clear half the leaves on any given entry.

I was heavily into Jackson & Perkins roses 25 years ago but don't recall any rose offered by them named Allendorpher. At the time I had ordered every rose J&P offered and each year added the new varieties they had in their yearly catalog. They did have many varieties in body bags and boxes that were not in their catalogs. This was not long after they had bought out Armstrong Roses, not the garden centers but a rose grower of the same name. Some of Armstrong's roses appeared under the J&P brand but mostly as packaged roses in stores. Allendorpher could have been one of Armstrong's varieties although the name does not appear in Modern Roses XI (I don't have MR XII but would presume it isn't in it either)

I just want to make sure were on the same page... wood chips VS shredded brush lol... I've been getting my mulch in chips... not shredded. If you think it'll work on these, I'll give it a shot. It's an inexpensive solution that could have a positive impact. The downside to these large chips is that anything over the shovels edge will fall off. Shredded mulch is tangled and holds together better, keeping it from falling. Sort of off topic question Ken, but next year I'm going to try my hardest to get some free shredded brush. The problem is when you call most places like I did last year they tell you they will deliver you a load of shredded brush (about 5-6 yards) for $100. Obviously they are trying to make a little money instead of sending it to a green recycling center or land field. What's a better option... paying $100 for 5-6 yards of shredded brush or paying for the same amount $160 for chips? I order my chips by the 20 yards... so the price would be much higher. The $160 is just so we can compare apples to apples. It looks like the wood chips will take a good 5 years to fully brake down... shredded brush I don't know what do you think... 2-3 years? The problem is that we do have green recycling centers around here that take brush at no charge... it's easier for them to just dump off there anytime than to go to different homes dropping the stuff off. Next year I'm going to post ads in the paper or on craigslist offering $10 a yard or something to see if I get any bites. But even if I do, it may be more worth my while to get the chips since they should last twice as long unless I can get the brush for free.