kerrican2001(z9b CA), nonaberrie(sf bay area), sandylighthouse(7), fruithack, teajm_yahoo_com Can you tell me more about fig trees? Ive never noticed them up here in the SF Bay as much as I did in Venice/Santa Monica in LA. Which varieties do well here? Do they grow tall? Can they be pruned so that they grow tall and stay narrow? I have a small front yard that is mandated to have a tree and I just cut down our existing one and am considering putting in a fig tree on both sides of the driveway. ( I started a separate thread in this subforum for it as well)

Angie, I've had spotty luck germinating seeds--either store bought or via eBay. From trial and error, I've come to the conclusion that fresh seeds will sprout readily if planted straight from the fruit. If the seeds can't be planted fresh, then it is essential they be stored in cool, moist conditions (I store mine in the refrigerator in moist sand). If allowed to dry out, they'll go dormant and it's very difficult to get them to "wake up." I've seen where it's recommended to dry them out for long-term storage, and that may well work if you're talking years. But if you only need to store them for a few months, it's counter-productive. The folks on the Passiflora forum have a pretty good groupmind list of the good sources of seed and plant online, off and eBay sellers. Drop in over there if you like.

Oaks from the white oak section of quercus does not need any stratification. Bur oak is a white oak and that is why it sprouted already. Put those acorns in the soil immediately and don't expose them to hard frost or they might die. It will grow leaves as soon it has got some roots and it's warm enough. Scarification has to be done first. Moisture has to get inside the seed to start the stratification. But most seeds don't need scarification. And you have to put some damp soil or other media in the plastic bag to get the stratification going. I use to put the seeds in soil at once and put the pot outside over the winter. Authentic weather is normally better than fridge because the temperature is changing all the time. And the risk of mold is lesser in a pot than in a plastic bag. This post was edited by Huggorm on Mon, Dec 22, 14 at 13:48

I bought some plants from porterhowse before he retired. As for grafting onto unedo, I was just surprised none of the nurseries here in texas had tried it or were trying it. So i facecitiously said its my idea. There are several smallish native plant nurseries that try to produce madrones and they all say how difficult it is to cultivate but at the same time there are a lot of people who want to buy it. To me it seemed really obvious. Also, a lot of the strategies people talk about for growing it seem so backwards to me. If you do an Internet search you read things like "start seeds in containers with soil similar to what they will be planted in when in the ground". So, rocky limestone clay in a container? Really? I have a carl whitcomb nursery manual from the 80s that cites studies saying that the "same soil" thing doesnt work. Everyone knows clay in any amount isnt a good container substrate. Arguably its the worst possible. And use biodegradable containers like milk cartons or peat pots and plant the container. I think that's a bad idea too. Those peat containers are terrible. I think successfully planting a container plant, especially one that needs very good drainage involves avoiding problems associated with water moving through the two soil types and enabling the plant to grow into the surrounding soil as quickly as possible. And planting the container might mess up both. So that's why I undertook the madrone propagation experiment of 2016. To try stuff my way. I did my seeds in net pots filled with gravelly bonsai mix then sprinkled some chopped sphagnum and juniper littler on top so the seeds wouldn't wash into the substrate (they are very small, and to keep it acidic enough to prevent fungus. When they're big enough I can just wash the gravel away without damaging the roots. That's the plan anyway. As for the grafts and cuttings you have to fail a few times to figure out the right way.