dogrunfarms: The best I found was Riverside Nursery, 5215 N Golden State Blvd, (559)275-1891. They sell many varieties that have done well in Dave Wilson Nursery fruit taste tests. You can find the results on line at Dave Wilson's website. They may be able to give you the results at Riverside. You didn't ask for variety recommendations but I'll give a few since I used to live in that area. For citrus I'd try Washington navel orange which will ripen in late winter and early spring. Chandler pummelo will ripen mid winter. Nectarines are great in that climate and the Arctic series is sensational. Arctic Star, Arctic Jay, Arctic Rose, Arctic Queen, and Arctic Blaze are the best of that group. You should try a pluot or two. Geo Pride, Flavor Grenade, and Flavor Finale are near the top of my list. The Fruitnut

Ostrich....I hear ya on the HVX. I am in SK and basically just bought around here, walmart Canadian tire, peavey mart and the local owned nurseries. I never bought online or anything and I DID NOT KNOW about the HVX. I had heard whispers but nothing to alarm me at. Well, last year one of the local nurseries where I usually got my stuff from closed down and had a big sale on everything. I bought lots at 70% off, hostas, iris, daylilies you name it. Anyways, to make this shorter, I had this spring five hostas from that nursery which had HVX!! I was devastated and heartbroken. I checked online and it would always take me to the hosta forum. Finally I joined and the nice people I have met informed me that yes I do have it bad. so got rid of them.....and am watching everything else. I sanitize my tools now also which was another thing I didn't do. I purchased hostas online from Ontario from reputable places, and just put another order through yesterday for another 20. Plus I can't stay off this computer talking to people on hosta forum and looking up new places in Canada to buy from. Its heartbreaking when you don't have much money to begin with and in five years time I have collected between 250-300 hostas.......but am only now getting into fancy names. When I run out of room I will give away some of my doubles....but not until I know my yard is free of disease. Michelle

A really neat garden center in western WI that has a lot of hostas is Funkie Gardens in Prescot, WI. The place is worth stopping even if you are not going to buy anything. The garden center is set up around several very old (pre Civil War ?)houses in an old part of Prescot, about 3-4 blocks off of Hwy. 10. They have numerous landscaped beds planted around the houses to show off what they sell. Here is a link that might be useful: Funkie Gardens

i haven't selected any plants as yet. just that there's a load of nice interesting ones that i've seen in books and didn't want to just select a couple. i'd rather see the plants in person/or online so that i can decide on what i'd like. it took me 3 yrs to find the name of the the Staghorn Fern which i saw in a Martha Stewart magazine back then, and then in 2009, my brother drove me to a new garden centre near his workplace, and lo and behold, i found it - at only �5 (US$7, i think). to this very day, this and a bargain-reduced plant at �3, Kalanchoe beharensis at 3' tall also bought in the same year, are the favourites i have in the house. i'm looking for more unusual ones with textures and leaf shapes. i like trailing ones too, and in different colours as well. it's a tall order, i know. i don't mind if they're not flowering types, really. as i know a lot them would require a sunny position. here in winter, with east and west-facing top bedroom windows are where the majority of my plants are living. in spring, they'll be moved back downstairs. w/o, my own transport, i don't have the means to visit nurseries and garden centres outside my own area, so it'll be a great if anyone can help me. thanks!