Hello folks, I'm something of a connnoisseur of the Mock Oranges, n don't get on the site that often....anyhow, here's some things I've learned over the years from experience..... 1st off, many of the species available thru 'reputable' nurseries are not of pure strain (i.e. their integrity is 'shaded' or 'uncertain'). I have several forms, of which three I know are 'true blue' to their labeling. P. coronarius (and be careful with this one as well, see it in FULL flower to be sure, the flowers are white inside n out, n very fragrant if authentic, n old wood is chestnut brown outside) P. lemoinei X 'innocence' usually has some variagated leaves, is slower growing but flowers well n is perhaps one of the most fragrant mock orange scrubs I have....rivaling one of it's parents, P. coronarius for fragrance! Finally, there is P.lemoinei 'belle etoile' (Fr. Beautiful star) and this is a dependable bloomer has vigorous growth n has a purple splotch at the base of ea. flower, and is quite fragrant as well. I also have a form of P. lewisii from the N.W. U.S. that's in flower now, n is enchantingly fragrant. Hold it's flowers in panicles of a dozen or more at the end of ea. stem producing the flowers. This scrub was sold to me as cv. 'Goose Creek' but the description given now is of double flowers which the one I was sold was not! There are so many issues involved when dealing with retail growers that really have little or no knowledge of what their really obtaining and/or selling when it comes to this particular breed of scrubs!! Finally, I'd be dubibous, based on my own personal experience alone, from buying Mock orange scrubs from any retailer/wholesaler you don't have experience or knowledge of, 1st hand. Btw, I'd had the same problem with P.lemoinei 'virginal' from Wayside, and I wouldn't recommend buying ANY Mock orange 'Minnesota snowflake' scrubs, unless you see them in FULL flower.....I canned at least 6 scrubs I had bought yrs. ago, that failed to flower over many many years.... Brief, shop with much prudence!!

Beautiful Cori Ann! Does it smell as wonderful as the descriptions? I meant to post back that out of my original 6 plants that "Failed," 5 miraculously started to show green leaves. Apparently bunny munching didn't destroy the root system. I was glad I hadn't gotten around to removing them yet. So we put chicken fence around to protect from grazing and they are slowly growing. Nothing like yours for sure, but I was amazed that they tried to come back. No blooms.

Totoro the green rock I found is in front of the bamboo area where I dug it out. So it is just outside of the root barrier along a pathway near a shed we have. We were blessed with 3 outbuildings in our backyard so I can do house entrance like plantings near each. I'll look for a photo or take one today and update this. The rock works into this in front of a Phyllostachys aureosulcata v. 'Spectabilis'. This is a big yellow timber bamboo with green stripe, and it gets reddish highlights on new growth if it has enough sunlight (mine does). There's a Golden Hops prepared to go on the cedar fence behind to the right and other clematis for the left side. I have about 10 clematis to go along that fence on a series of 4' x 8' trellis running the whole length of a long fence wall in our triangular shaped backyard. It has NNW exposure but full sun pn top at 6'. So I have to pick them carefully. I hsve a Montana 'Elixabeth' and some Alpina and Macrophylla to go there too. It's hard to resist good clematis. A Huldine and Bourbon just came in from Bluestone. Extremely vigorous and well grown and packed. Amazing deal for the price. Fred Meyers has tbe small Clearview starts like mentioned above at Walmart for almost free. Picked up Polish Spirit, Gillian Blades, Elsa Spath and Henryi. They are growing quickly in the 3 weeks I've had them. I've tended to option for combos to get more continuous flowering and to create interest. Mixed same height or compact at the feet of a tall vine which otherwise only flowers from midway up are themes I'm trying. Above are the Bamboo installed in the yard except China won't give me a Panda yet. And the Giant Tropical Bamboo won't grow here. Not wanting a Jack and the Beanstalk like experience my Wife is happy about that. A red example of the var Spectabilis is photo upper right. Besides the beauty and white noise they create they are strategically placed to give neighbors with raised decks or 2nd storey windows something interesting to look at (besides us). A few of these reach 40+'. I'm working through the next 200' of Lewis Bamboo barrier to help tame them as I finish installing them. I love the effect of focused stands in front of the fence with Clematis on the trellis system between. With Golden Vivax as example this is the focused tall stand effect I'm after. And soon after I accomplish this I'll need to be dividing it and moving out clumps to give it growing space. Beauty AND an exersize program. Botanical Zen!

Indeed, the hemlock wooly adelgid is a terrible evil. Those tags look nice! I've considered getting some, but they'd be more for the infrequent guests than myself. @Paul, how many references would you like that flat out state eradication efforts directed at black currants were part of federal and state efforts? I can understand that it's something that wouldn't be as prominent knowledge in the west, but so much information is available to us, I most definitely don't appreciate your claim you "can't find anything to support" that and I seem to be detecting some attitude which is so unfortunate! eradication- the complete destruction of something From a nursery: http://www.twisted-tree.net/white-pine-blister-rust-and-ribes From Missouri Department of Conservation: https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-black-currant UofMA: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/white-pine-blister-rust-ribes-species http://landsteward.org/page.cfm/8886 There are plenty of references that cite the fact that state and federal government were involved in the planned eradication of ALL Ribes species in the east. CANADA did not participate in the madness from what I've gathered. Also, just in case these other facts are needed for an educated opinion: Ribes are NATIVE to my area and if I wish to grow natives in the interests of the natural ecosystem because I want to, I will. White Pine are native, but NOT naturally occurring in my area but exist only as ornamental plantings (too far south). These efforts were more to protect an industry that brought this disaster than to protect the magnificent Pinus strobus itself. This isn't about being "that guy" erroneously "railing" against anything in a self-idealized notion of what I've imagined. What you've done in my mind's eye currently is equal to telling someone they're directly responsible for a RRD infection happening because they planted a Knock Out despite feral R. multiflora all around (and it's not even responsible itself!) and that's tragic to me. I'm sorry. Steven