They do not answer any inquiries, have no listed phone # or address, only feature a shopping cart, do not exist as a collection anywhere, have no owner name, belong to no clubs or websites, have an insane collection of roses not in commerce in the US all featuring stolen photos. Here's the clincher "we feature hardy roses that will grow in zone 6, and some even hardy to zone 7" ... that is definitely written by someone who does not grow roses! Should have " some even hardy to zone 5" you see?

Sammy, try taking those photos on an overcast day. I love shooting when it is a little foggy. Bright sunlight really messes things up. Peggy, for the present, at least, Vintage is in better shape. But I think there is very little doubt that we will be losing more nurseries as the economy continues to slide. In bad times, "discretionary" spending suffers. I don't mind losing tanning parlors, but I sure mind losing independent, high-quality, knowledgeable nurseries. I saw Gregg briefly last Thursday evening, at a tribute to Miriam Wilkins, done by the El Cerrito City Council. No time to speak, but it was good to see him (and Miriam!). Jeri

For what it is worth: the hardiest Hedychiums I am aware of are H. spicatum and H. densiflorum. H. forrestii is probably a variant of H. spicatum (you might try asking David Constantine or checking his website). They are both naturally deciduous, unlike many Gingers. I suspect they are hardy to USDA z7, and I'm pretty sure they tolerate a few degrees below zero Fahrenheit. You might be able to push them a little by mulching them. The risk to them is that the rhizomes--which unfortunately are prone to creeping along or just under the surface of the earth--must not freeze. If your winters are dry (and they probably are) you might be able to protect them with a thick enough leafy mulch before the first freeze hits. This is a long shot but there are people who grow all sorts of surprising things by piling vast amounts of mulch on them. Gingers are hard to move in and out of doors, the reason being that they are one of those plants that transplant poorly dormant. If the rhizomes are damaged while they are dormant, they might rot. If growing in earnest, you can take small pieces of rhizome and get them started with no problem, usually. I learned about this the hard way, having wrecked my clump of Zingiber myoga trying to divide it dormant. It never fully recovered, and is only a shadow of its former glory. It has taken years to recover as much as it has. The guy in Michigan might be doing something tricky like plunging the whole pot (so as not to disturb the rhizomes too much). I don't know where Cautleyas and Roscoeas become possible. They do not deal well with high heat. My own climate has fairly cool summers so that is not a problem. Even in Seattle, tho, they flop over in particularly hot weather, and won't resuscitate until the weather cools down. Cautleyas are probably intermediate between Hedychiums and Roscoeas. Not quite as alpinish as Roscoeas. There are all of about 3 species. Very tropical-looking but not quite as showy as Hedychiums, or as vigorous or lush. Zingiber myoga is weirdly hardy for a Zingiber. Easy to grow, too. It would probably need a mulch, tho. You can harvest it and use it just like culinary ginger; its the ginger you find in sushi bars stained pink (the pink traditionally from shiso leaves) called "myoga" (fancy that). The Japanese tend to harvest it young but you could harvest it fully ripe if you want something stronger. The flowers are, alas, small, and almost hidden under the leaves; they grow on short stocks at the base of the plants. This is typical of the genus. The flowers are yellowish or off-white. The Japanese have been known to dip them in tempura batter and deep-fry them. NOT A GINGER, but looks vaguely like one, is Pollia japonica, actually a member of the Tradescantia family, which also happens to be weirdly hardy for its own family. Look it up on the internet. It is easy to grow to the point of being weedy and is almost certainly hardy in USDA z5. One of its relations is cultivated in the south and (mistakenly) called "Blue Ginger". Asarums are not Gingers and it is unfortunate that people keep calling them such. Their rhizomes reminded someone of Ginger (someone who doesn't really know what Ginger smells like) and the name stuck. Not only that, but the more beautiful of them are probably not ironclad hardy in your climate. Actually they do bloom; they are not as showy as real Gingers and the flowers are hidden under the leaves, but some of them have blossoms that are "interesting" and kinda pretty in a grotesque way. (Many of them are slug pollinated so what do you expect?). Some of the Chinese species have rather striking leaves.

Yes, it's the same rose. The year I bought my two I think it was listed as 2.5 feet or something odd. HMF says 3-6 feet, but used to say only 3, I think. But funniest is HMF says Ascot grows up to 18 inches wide--mine is about 7 feet. It's a good thing I just happened to plant the one in the photo in a place with lots of room, but I have had to remove a lavender, dianthus, and will remove another big lavender this spring to make way. It's currently duking it out with a huge snowball bush. Who will win? Diane Ascot in 2013--see how far away the snowball is? The rose is touching it now. The lavender on the right is gone and other will soon be gone; it's being crushed.