Hi, I'd like to trade your: - christmas cactus - one really tiny christmas cactus - cactus babies - orchid cacti/jungle cacti I have pink adenium seeds and many others, please visit my trade list, see what you think. Thank you. meli senjanevada@yahoo.com

I have found that a reliable west coast mail order nursery has them and I purchased two. The total cost is about what Wayside Gardens is asking for one. While I was waiting for this nursery to respond (2 days later), I bid on one on ebay & won the bid. I noticed that seller has put another one up for bid, however the picture is of a different tree in front of the same background. I think this seller is good and just want to help others find this tree. I did some research and this seller operates a local nursery in northern Florida. I now have three for just a little more than Wayside is asking for one. I just wonder how of a mark up is on these trees? I wonder how much Wayside pays for their trees - Hmmm... I know that Hines Horticulture on the west coast holds the patent and marketing rights of these trees.

I ordered seed for Calliandra eriophylla and surinamensis from J. L. Hudson. The seed and shipping are inexpensive. I planted both packages on August 15, after soaking them in hot water (from tap)for 24 hours. I only soaked with hot water from the start then I let the water cool. I use tea infusers to keep the two species separate. They began germinating on August 18, as I noticed the dirt in the pots "lifting up" and the seed leaves emerging. I had to have this plant after seeing Penny's photos and I previously had seed earlier this summer, but I had the pots on my SW facing steps so they had sun for most of the day - Chipmunks rummaged through the pots and since nothing came up, reordered the seeds.

First, seedlings of "Chocolate Silk Tree" (actually Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate') are NOT true-to-type. So, unless you are just experimenting to see what you'll get, I'm not sure why you would want to grow seeds from this plant. If you are wanting a chocolate mimosa, you'll probably need to buy one vegetatively propagated. The reason I say "buy one" is that the plant is patented and cannot be legally vegetatively propagated without permission from the patent holder. Second, in your area, Albizia julibrissin if highly invasive (environmentally destructive). It is listed as a Category 1 (a serious pest), and is well documented to be doing some serious harm. Again, I would recommend finding something better to grow! To answer your question about timing (for like if you were growing a more desirable plant), I would recommend either planting them out now where they would be protected from predation and letting nature take its course (stratifying them naturally, over winter), or, putting them in stratification now, keeping an eye on them (checking for any signs of mold and monitoring moisture levels), and keeping them in stratification until you were ready to plant them, next year.