Thanks for the input all. Michael I'll look up those 2 you recommended. I'm not too worried about disease pressure because she hasn't had any problems so far that weren't easily dispatched. She has Sterling Silver, Mr. Lincoln and Oklahoma and not had any issue with mildew... i most want a beautiful VERY fragrant bloom on a smaller old rose.

Hi, Can you email me at aroidgardenet121@earthlink.net? Interested in trading and want to send a list via email. I don't live in St Pete, but can come out. Thanks

Hey, everybody, sorry I've been late responding. Thought Marianne might post something. I was off work Monday and Tuesday and don't have internet access at home anymore. Then our power went out at work yesterday with the storms. Anyway, everything went really well Saturday. We were dreading the cold temps, but the caretaker at Rock Castle, Tom, generously offered us the run of the vistors' center. I'm a naturalist in many ways, but God bless central heating. We had a much better turnout than we expected, given the weather. We were all heartbroken, as I'm sure thousands of people have been, about losing some treasures to the cold temps. But Mother Nature is a great teacher. About the swap: Five people showed up after having heard about our swap on Garden Web, three of the master gardeners who maintain Rock Castle, a few other people that I lost track of and can't honestly tell you where they came from, (I'll have to consult our sign up sheets later) and the five of us who put the swap together, plus several of our respective family members and friends. I was afraid we'd wear out our welcome at Rock Castle, but Tom said he's looking forward to hosting our spring and fall swaps every year! We had a really good plant selection. I got some great stuff, we donated several plants to Rock Castle. Mostly, though, we had a blast. Everybody said they'd come back in the spring and fall and we hope to keep building the group. We are definitely planning on expanding to include a pot luck this fall and may add a speaker at some point. Those of you who missed the event, we definitely understand and look forward to seeing you this fall. We have a tentative date for the fall swap of Oct 20th. The 13th is already spoken for at Rock Castle, but if they have a cancellation, Tom promised he'd let us know. I'm planning on coming to the river for the MTPS in May, and am really looking forward to it. We have the perennial sale this Sat. at the fairgrounds in Nashville, and the herb sale on the 21st! Always something to look forward to. Thanks again for all the help an interest we've gotten from everyone!! Here is a link that might be useful: Perrennial Plant Sale info

Sorry I have not responed sooner. I have been away from this forum for a bit. The plants pictured are Giant Zanzibar Castor Bean, Musa Sikkimensis 'darling giant', Mexican Sunflower and some Yellow groove Bamboo hiding in the back. For those I talked to about basjoo bananas, I lost all my potted bananas this winter during a -15f event. The plants just never recovered. The good news is the mother plant and 2 pups over wintered and are starting to send up shoots!!