I'm resurrecting this thread. I suspect that the above-mentioned Canadian article (link no longer works) about arsenic concentration likely refers to actual seaweed ("hijiki" in Japanese) as that is sometimes a concern with certain types of seaweed. (A google search will yield much dramatic debate on this topic as studies show arsenic accumulation but Japanese, Irish, and other seaweed-using cultures don't seem to contain too many arsenic-laden individuals.) "Oka hijiki" means "land seaweed" (or so I'm told) in Japanese and refers to the fact that the plant is seaweed-like in texture and appearance. Oka hijiki isn't closely related to seaweed though; I believe it's a member of the tumbleweed family.

"I reviewed and commented on the magnolia section of North American Landscape Trees prior to publication. " OK, fine, but given that other intersectional Magnolia hybrids are known, I would not rule out M. delavayi crossing with something else until it's been tried by someone reasonably expected to be able to undertake it. Often, these sort of crosses don't happen simply because no one wants to go through the hassle. I spent over an hour last night picking pollen off a very rare plant, so that I can try to cross with it next summer. Very few people in the grand scheme of things are willing to go through this. People said crossing southern African Heaths with European ones would be impossible, until Kurt Kramer made two such crosses. (alas, not considered commercially viable. The choice of species wasn't optimal IMHO.) AND, nowadays with embryo rescue becoming feasible for horticulture, it's even more likely someone could cross M. delavayi with M. virginiana, if they were really motivated. The article where I found that chart suggested that most Magnolias have a base chromosome count n=19. Maybe M. delavayi is an oddball with a non-standard number...the article that might specifically address that is of course, behind a paywall. Agree completely with you about hardiness - remember I said at the start of this thread I was sure the species itself would not be worth my time here. (Though the fact one lasted even for 10 years at the NCSU Arboretum suggests it could be a little hardier with hot summers, but not by much...and it may not still be around, cf: though they still list it as living) Southern China is teaming with zn 10 and zn 9 species...the ones we are familiar with in the West are more often than not anomalous outliers or ones that range into colder areas. For example according to the recent massive tome on Chinese flora whose name escapes me, the area where Cycas panzihauensis occurs is not too cold at all, having a very paltry "cold index" - certainly nothing to explain the fact it has consistently weathered single digits in the DC area in collector's gardens. Whilst the other Chinese Cycas species are from only slightly different areas (in terms of winter averages) and have no hope of being anything other than zn 9 hardy. The all time record low of Kunming is 17F at 25ðN and 6200 ft of elevation...in Orlando Florida at ALMOST sea level, it is 18F! Their latitude is very close: 28ðN. This post was edited by davidrt28 on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 16:01

No, I really think it is one of the Potentillas but I wasn't sure which. We have 85 species native/naturalized in North America:http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=POTEN&display=31 FataMorgana

Dinie, you're amazing, I do believe you're right. I've now looked at many pictures of 'Sour Grapes' on Google, and seen many different color variations of this type, which fits my specimen perfectly. I've never before seen the color that it is right now, with it being sometimes more bluish-purple and sometimes a warmer cerise-blue. I've also read that penstemons can be fairly short-lived and yet this old faithful has persisted for 13+ years. erasmus, you have some truly exquisite plants. It's eye-opening to see how many of you not only love roses but also appreciate so many other plants, and grow them so beautifully. Were it not for my bunny and squirrel problem I'd be tempted to grow so many of the beautiful plants I'm seeing here.