Well shoot, I had a reply typed up and it didn't save! mazerolm, great pics!! I love your collection of conifers and I definitely need more in my gardens. That new growth on Taylor's Sunburst is so eye-catching. I didn't know cotinus is hardy in your zone - which one do you have? I have been eyeing the 'Winecraft black' which is supposed to stay a manageable size. I looked up Isaac amelanchier and sounds like a good find! I've been trying to plant more no-spray fruit bearing plants, even if it just goes to the critters. So far I've planted pawpaws, a persimmon and have an Asian pear coming this fall. I plan to get an amelanchier and kousa dogwood down the line (more focused on the ornamental aspect but with edible fruit as a bonus).

As this list gets longer and longer every year, it appears, at least to me, that there should be a seperate Queen for this classification (e.g. Mini-Flora Queen). When I first started exhibiting, this didn't seem to be a really big issue. But this mini-flora classification has opened the door to more possibilities and it might make it fair to the miniature growers to have the opportunity to win either a Mini Queen or a Mini-Flora Queen. It would have the added benefit of putting a few more winners on the show table (e.g. Mini-Flora Queen and her Court). The judges might like this also as the size of the Mini-Floras tends to be bigger than the true minis and would give them the chance to evaluate and judge both classifications. It might also give the public the chance to see this difference and thus appreciate it as well.

Thank you so much for starting this post ! :) I'm always keyword searching the rose forums for roses that grow best in hot and dry socal, Arizona, Nevada... :) I'm in the west San Fernando Valley, zone 19, my front garden is all day sun with patches of shade but my back yard is something beyond "full sun". It laughs at full sun. It's slightly elevated, open around a pool, full southern sun all day beating down morning til night with red brick patio/walkways that heat up like an oven, and white stucco walls, it's blindingly bright and hot as hades most of the year. It's 94 out back right now. We've slowly covered the walls in creeping fig and jasmine which has helped cut down the heat a bit. For me, my most blooming roses are Belinda's Dream, Iceberg, Vavoom, Julio Iglesias, Pope John Paul II and Julia Child. In terms of sheer beauty, Belinda's Dream, Pope John Paul, Mutabilis and Grand Dame. The best in both categories: Belinda's Dream, Pope John Paul II and Mutabilis. They seem to love baking in the heat. Belinda's Dream is an amazing rose. It grows and blooms like crazy with little care and handles heat, sun and reduced water, like Iceberg. But it's blooms are more special. The blooms start like a hybrid tea, and end looking like an antique rose (resembling Souvenir de Malmaison). It's a light pink that blends well with both modern and antique roses. It's lovely in every phase. I have 3 bushes, and one tree rose of her. Alas, little to no fragrance. My Pope John Paul II blooms in quick flushes, perfect white blooms, very fragrant. And Mutabilis, blooms like a champ without any supplemental water beyond getting over spray from a sprinkler sometimes and her single petals are everchanging, silky, colorful and beautiful. I even love the stems, thin flexible and reddish burgundy, they really set the blooms off. Regarding your Austins, do you have them in full sun or part sun? I have an big open spot in one of my front garden bed, full sun, that I would love to put a fragrant full bush type in but I'm not sure if an Austin's color would hold up well or fade. Any thoughts? Also if it might need more shade and possibly more water to grow well. Cardin Mill is really lovely and I like the varying color. Have you tried Boscobel or Bishop's Castle? Curious about those too. I've been wanting Jude the Obscure for a long time, but I'm assuming it would look better with a little shade. I really do need an Austin soon. :D

Nature is complex. Apparently mechanical transmission is not always successful. I wonder if the mites contribute a cofactor that helps the virus overcome the immune system. The following may apply to this point: "but no consistent method of mechanical inoculation has been developed for both wheat and maize that can satisfactorily bypass the use of the wheat curl mite as a vector (Mirabile, 2001; Seifers et al., 1997; Skare et al., 2003)." http://amarillo-tamu-edu.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2010/12/A-new-eriophyid-mite-borne-membrane-enveloped-virus-like-complex-isolated-from-plants.pdf ---------------------------------------------- "We are beginning to determine what proteins are present in the mite saliva, in order to determine how the mites are suppressing the immune reactions. In collaboration with Doug Cavener and Kaori Iida, we have isolated the genes for several genes involved in honeybee immunity. Not all invaders are met with a well-defined immune response, as during disease transmission by insect vectors. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie co-evolution between the vector and disease organism is critical to understanding how the disease transmission cycle might be disrupted. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with Drs. F. Gildow (PSU) and S. Gray (Cornell), we are examining the mechanisms underlying virus/vector specificity in aphids at the accessory salivary gland, the primary site determining transmission of different species of luteoviruses. In my lab, we have identified several proteins that bind to luteovirus in a vector-specific manner and that are also recognized by antibodies that mimic the virus. We are isolating the genes encoding these proteins for studies of the evolution of these virus/vector interactions, among different aphid and viral species. This research may further understanding of mechanisms underlying the vector-specificity of mosquitoes for transmission of alphaviruses." http://ento.psu.edu/directory/dxc12