Really? I've not tried cuttings that way yet, just some raspberries I took too young last year. Maybe I'll work up my courage and knock on their door . . .I know you can do that with forsythia and pussy willow. Thank you for the suggestion. york rose, yes, I did find the common name is fringe tree. I guess they can get quite large; I wouldn't want one any bigger than the one I photographed (didn't show the whole shrub, more bushlike in form), but I suppose I could keep one in check by pruning if it starts getting too big. One can hope, I'm lucky to get things to grow at all sometimes.

Please dig beneath the surface of this issue and get past broad statements that lack detailed backing. I personally have called several soil labs and nurseries on the issue. They all say the same thing as I previously stated. Please feel free to do the same. Also read the multiple papers on the issue - there are several references in there. Universities do a great job of soil tests. I have had many on my land. They always state the nitrogen test is not accurate. Below are a couple links I found real quick. University of Clemson: http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1652.htm Nitrogen: Available nitrogen is taken up by plant roots in the form of nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+). Nitrogen testing is not recommended because the levels of available nitrogen are variable due to its mobility in the soil. The available forms of nitrogen are very water soluble and move rapidly through the soil profile with rainfall and irrigation. This causes the amount in the root zone to fluctuate over time. Recommendations are based on the requirements of the particular plants you are growing. University of New Hampshire: http://extension.unh.edu/Pubs/HGPubs/soiltest.pdf Why doesnÂt the lab test nitrogen? Nitrogen is a very unstable element. Its availability changes from week to week as a result of biological activity in the soil and weather conditions. To accurately measure nitrogen, samples must be frozen immediately and shipped quickly to the labÂa very expensive process. Therefore, nitrogen testing is generally done only on highvalue commercial crops, not home garden/lawn samples. The home gardener will get nitrogen recommendations based on crop need rather than on a soil nitrogen test. Don't believe me - please read the detailed research papers in the book I mentioned by the International Society of Arboriculture. There are dozens of papers on the issue over several decades. The conclusions are SLOW release WIN fetilizer promotes tree growth without damaging trees. John

I'm afraid its impossible (for me) to make out any detail at that distance. Do you have any direct link to where the image was taken? I mean, is it your photo and do you have an actual location for it? Otherwise, you might try the GW european forums Here is a link that might be useful: UK and europe GW

well, I don't know if these closeups will help more. The leaves are alternate. There are ovate as well as lobed, mostly closer to the inner part of the stem. The stem is thornless. It's clean, healthy foliage, both of which do not seem like hawthorn or ash traits. So a very good specimen of whatever it is. Flipping through Dirr drawings, I would say Hawthorn over Sorbus. None of the Hawthorn leaf shapes he shows are dead on, but close and he does say there tons of Hawthorn species and a lot of variability. If it is the one-seeded hawthorn, are the berries too immature now to open and look? Are sorbus berries one-seeded also?