Coolplantsguy, that article was depressing and an eye opener. Every word written about the big box stores is completely true. I'm fortunate in that where I live there are a lot of fabulous nurseries, but most people don't know, don't care. I recently (hopefully) convinced someone at work to remove all his red mulch. I asked him if he really wanted his home to look like a Mobile station.

"Is it ever recommended to use one of the "Start Right" type root stimulants when planting some of these guys with small root masses? " I don't suppose it can be harmful. But many academic horticulturalists like Linda Chalker-Scott would probably say unnecessary. A fair warning to you: I bought a beautifully grown (at least it appeared so) Stewartia from Colesville Nursery years ago. Had a huge rootball relative to the size of the plant: though I must add, knowing what I know now about the up-potting problem, I have to admit I didn't search deeply for circling roots. Planted it in what I thought was a perfect lightly shaded spot and, by my lax standards, gave it great after care. Well, the first summer 2010 was hot but it seemed to be OK. I had to water it a few times but it looked to be establishing. Then another hot summer comes along...2011. This time, the period around Hurricane Irene brings an absolutely obscene amount of rain. I can't remember if it officially died that autumn, or early the next year. They are _not_ easy to establish except in very salubrious, maritime climates. Your plant being smaller probably helps...the one I planted was huge comparatively. They can be suspectible to root rot and general flakiness. (no pun intended) So, be careful with that thing. Plant it on a slight mound. This post was edited by davidrt28 on Sun, Sep 28, 14 at 9:56

Caudex1--I missed your post at 9:13. Thanks! I've seen Long's drugs on lists before. What's the deal there? A particularly enlightened employee or owner? Given the Longs near where I live it's unbelievable. They sell Sluggo and Miracle Grow but that's about as far as I'd go. Maybe a pansy or two? I'm not even sure about that. I know this is unlikely, but you don't happen to know the name of the employee at Annie's who buys from Silverhill, do you? I bought something I was able to trace back to Silverhill (their descriptions were essentially the same). However the person who responded to my emails wasn't exactly knowledgeable about the plant. This was Coccinia quinqueloba and I had a thread about it here: Annie's didn't know, Silverhill didn't respond to my email and finally I contacted Kirstenbosch, who got back to me in hours. I suspect it would have been a lot simpler if my email had been forwarded to the correct person at Annie's. Off on another tangent: Does ordering from Silverhill entail any additional charges these days?

My order should be shipping this week, and I'm very excited to get some quite rare plants. Asiatica closing is a true loss to the gardening world as well as the horticulture industry. I don't think most people realize the huge number of plants that Barry has brought into commerce. I hope he continues to do so in some fashion. There are a number of specialty mail order nurseries not doing well or closing, and rare plants are only going to get rarer. I don't think you can state that prices are high for plants that aren't available anywhere else. Some prices for some plants are high, yes. If anyone knows where to buy Hamemellis japonica 'Falling Star' for less than $90 however, I'm all ears. Also I don't find their shipping to be any higher than other specialty nurseries. Keep in mind they're a business and have to cover their costs. They don't make money on shipping, but have to pay for the costs that a normal person doesn't incur (or doesn't pay attention to anyway) when shipping an item. Not only does it cost for the shipping, but you have to pay for boxes and other shipping materials and labor of preparing the plants for shipping and packing them. As far as "...USPS charges $5.50 for 2-3 day delivery." For what? A single bare-root hosta sent priority costs me $7.50 to ship from WI to the east coast. 2 potted hostas costs me $20 sent priority. Add $5 for packing materials, and my time for preparation, packing, and driving to and from the PO (total about 1/2 hour so say another $7 to pay for someone who I assume makes $10/hr in shipping- note that $10/hr costs the business around $14/hr) and you have a pretty high cost to the nursery. Shipping plants is expensive, no matter who is doing it. If it isn't, the nursery is losing money or making it up in the retail prices listed or elsewhere. The Plant Geek www.confessionsofaplantgeek.blogspot.com