I am also looking for: Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) Sweet Prayer (Thaumatococcus daniellii) Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) Beaked Yucca (Yucca rostrata) Myoga Ginger "dancing crane" (Zingiber mioga) or other Zone 5 gingers Turkish Rocket (Bunias orientalis) Lumbah (Curculigo latifolia) Delosperma basuticum or other zone 5 hardy delosperma spp. Decaisnea fargesii

Hi Dax, Abies alba (Good I assume) - yep, should be reasonably OK Abies balsamea (Not Bad, Good) ? - yep, suffers from heat/dry soil Abies beshanzuensis (never heard of it) - probably zone 7 Abies borisii-regis (of the better) - yep, should be good Abies bracteata (don't know anything) - zone 8 Abies cephalonica (seen some good ones around here) - yep, should be good Abies chengii (know nothing) - dubious, but maybe worth a try. Probably a natural hybrid between Abies forrestii and A. chensiensis Abies chensiensis ssp. chensiensis (Asian species - but good I imagine) - worth a try, with hardiest northern origins Abies chensiensis other subsps - not hardy in zone 5 Abies cilicica (good - zone 6 though I think) - agree likely zone 6, but might be worth trying Abies concolor (real good - they're everywhere) - yep Abies concolor subsp. lowiana (decent I presume?) - dubious, probably zone 6/7 Abies delavayi (and its' subspecies - zone 5 - ???) - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, extremely wet monsoon summers Abies densa (don't know anything) - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, extremely wet monsoon summers Abies durangensis (?) - zone 7 Abies durangensis var. coahuilensis (?) - zone 7 Abies durangensis var. durangensis (?) - zone 7 Abies fabri (?) - no, zone 7, and also demanding cool, extremely wet monsoon summers Abies fabri ssp. fabri ? Abies fabri ssp. minensis ? Abies fanjingshanensis ? - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, extremely wet monsoon summers Abies fargesii - zone 5, but needs cool, wet summers Abies fargesii var. fargesii Abies fargesii var. faxoniana Abies fargesii var. sutchuenensis Abies firma (I think this would be good but zone 6 which really doesn't mean anything to me anymore - whatcha think) - might be worth a try, but don't be surprised if it gets winter killed Abies forrestii - no, zone 7, and also demanding cool, extremely wet monsoon summers Abies forrestii var. ferreana Abies forrestii var. georgei Abies forrestii var. smithii Abies fraseri (should do decenty well I presume) - short-lived, needs cool summers Abies georgei (Zone 6 - ??? croak or not) = A. forrestii Abies grandis ("I don't think so") - interior (Idaho, eastern WA) origins should do well; avoid coastal origins Abies guatemalensis - zone 8/9 Abies guatemalensis var. guatemalensis - zone 8/9 Abies guatemalensis var. jaliscana - zone 8/9 Abies hickelii - zone 8/9 Abies hickelii var. hickelii - zone 8/9 Abies hickelii var. oaxacana - zone 8/9 Abies hidalgensis - zone 7/8 Abies holophylla - yep, should be good Abies homolepis (Good one) - probably good, though likes fairly cool summers Abies homolepis var. homolepis - probably good, though likes fairly cool summers Abies homolepis var.umbellata - probably good, though likes fairly cool summers Abies kawakamii - zone 7/8 Abies koraiensis (Good ?) - typo for A. koreana, delete from database!! Abies koreana (Does well) - but probably fairly short-lived Abies lasiocarpa (ok?) - but probably fairly short-lived Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica (does very well) - yep, though may be short-lived Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa - short-lived, needs cool summers Abies magnifica - very dubious, needs cool summers Abies mariesii - very dubious, needs cool summers Abies nebrodensis (recent topic) I forget though.. - maybe zone 6, but worth a try Abies nephrolepis (Good) - but probably fairly short-lived Abies nordmanniana (The Best) - agreed Abies numidica (Zone 6 - whatcha think) - agree likely zone 6, but might be worth trying Abies pindrow seen em in protected Illinois zone 5 gardens) - doubt it, those will be wrongly labelled! Zone 7/8. Abies polita (Good one - Growing in an arboretum in Iowa) - duh?? Abies polita = Picea polita. Did you mean Abies pinsapo? - if yes, likely zone 6, but might be worth trying Abies procera (?) - very dubious, needs cool summers Abies recurvata - perhaps zone 6, but well worth trying, particularly northern origins Abies recurvata var. ernestii - perhaps zone 6, but well worth trying, particularly northern origins Abies recurvata var. recurvata - perhaps zone 6, but well worth trying, particularly northern origins Abies religiosa - zone 8/9 Abies sachalinensis - may be good but probably fairly short-lived (close relative of A. nephrolepis) Abies sachalinensis var. gracilis - ditto Abies sachalinensis var. mayriana - ditto Abies sachalinensis var. nemorensis - ditto Abies sachalinensis var. sachalinensis - ditto Abies sibirica - southern origins may do well, but perhaps short-lived. Northern origins will succumb to summer heat Abies sibirica ssp. semenovii - well worth trying (if you can find it!!) Abies sibirica ssp. sibirica - as species Abies spectabilis - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, wet monsoon summers Abies squamata - needs very cool summers (grows at up to 4700m altitude in Tibet!!) Abies veitchii - worth a try, but probably fairly short-lived Abies vejarii - zone 7 Abies vejarii ssp. vejarii var. macrocarpa - zone 7 Abies vejarii ssp. vejarii var. vejarii - zone 7 Abies yuanbaoshanensis - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, wet monsoon summers Abies ziyuanensis - no, zone 8, and also demanding cool, wet monsoon summers Hybrids . . . should be more or less intermediate between parents Abies x arnoldiana = A. koreana x A. veitchii Abies x insignis = A. pinsapo x A. nordmanniana Abies x phanerolepis (Good One) = A. balsamea var. phanerolepis - the most heat-tolerant form of A. balsamea Abies x shastensis = A. magnifica var. shastensis Abies x sibiriconephrolepis = A. sibirica x A. nephrolepis Abies x umbellata = A. homolepis var. umbellata Abies x vasconcellosiana = A. pindrow x A. pinsapo (though parentage unconfirmed) Abies x vilmorinii = A. pinsapo x A. cephalonica Resin

When Adagio and some others first started gaining popularity a few years back, I think they were being conservative on the hardiness, to see how they did in zones 4 and 5. I have had it here in Z5 for years, no problems. Also, if you have reliable snow cover, don't be afraid to experiment with some of the Miscanthus not considered so hardy.

I went through my old file and found some of my original notes on the Toona plants. I had actually collected the seed in the late fall of 2013 (not 2012), and put some in the fridge (plastic bag with small amount of potting soil) but also sowed a few in a pot on the window sill which germinated about a month later. So I would say cold stratification may help but is probably not necessary.