I'm a newbie gardener in Wilmington, NC. I don't have anything (yet) to share but I'd love to come to the swap. I can definitely bring some pot luck food to share!

Is coming (plant-)empty handed a big no-no?

Thanks,

Sarah

By all means - come and swap. It is more about meeting other gardeners than a quid-pro-quo swap. There are always more plants than what we can normally trade so don't be shy. There is also a healthy amount of food brought so don't feel like you have to cook all day for a crowd. Bring what you can, share what you have, take home lots of plants.

The main swap is pretty basic. All the plants are mixed up on the picnic tables. You have a moment to ask a few questions - hopefully someone will know what you're confused by. I ding a bell and everyone grabs one plant and scurries off to the lawn to stash it. Then I ding it again and you do it all over again. We go around a few times and then we amp it up with everyone grabbing two plants and then we get to three plants (all this changes depending on how many plants show up). We end up with a free-for-all and everyone is encouraged to take it all.

If you are looking for something special, something you just gotta have - this is the time and place to let it be known. There will be a couple of threads about special trades and you should keep an eye out for anyone posting comments about your favorite or something you might have extras of. Special trades are conducted away from the picnic shelter (often the parking lot). Over time they have become the best part of the whole swap. People will get to know what you like or have extra and they will surprise you with rooted cuttings at the swap - its like Christmas in the spring.

If you are driving up from Wilmington we can tell you places to shop or visit while you are in Raleigh.

For the trades set up for my Mickey Mouse EEs - unfortunately something got to them when I moved them back outside - and all have vanished - including my original parent plants! So I have no Mickey Mouse EEs to trade. :(

My apologies,
Tammy (aka Magick)

Come one, come all!!!!

Looks like we will have a lively crowd of gardeners at this swap.

hope to see everyone there.

JB

OK I will be bringing the following
seedlings of; Patio Peach Tree and citrangequat
Iris (mostly light purple)
Verigated Heloconia (took a beating over the winter)
+ a grab bag of other plants

Tophersmith - I'll trade ya Litchii seedlings for the Patio Peach and the Citrangequat. I also have a small Strawberry Guava if you'd want something a little more manageable in a pot. Is the peach the purple leaf form or the green leaf??

The litchii are just seedlings from fruit bought at the Grand Asia market - probably 'Mauritius'. This is their second year but they haven't grown much.

John,

I will be sure and save u 1 of each

I do not have room for anymore indoor plants

I am looking for that dwarf papaya that gets to fruit in 1 summer though

ha ha! Me, too! I realized as i was leaving the farmer's market today that i totally forgot to ask that lady if she was going to bring them again this year. I will get one if she does. Last year i just didn't have the money but i wanted one in the worst kind of way. I'm hoping to get back out on tues. I think last yr she had them a bit later- like late may-junish.

I am interested in one of your citrangequats if i have anything that would interest you?

I believe it's called 'D. Hovey' or something similar. That is the only local source I know of for it. The seeds are expensive to buy so I will just buy one from her if and when she ever gets them again. It is still kinda early for them. Even in the best of circumstances it can be hard to get ripe papayas before first frost.

I didn't realize it was a seed grown cultivar. When i spoke with her last yr it sounded like it was just one they'd had they kept propagating from that they'd noticed that trend on. It def had some decent sized fruits early on, so i can see how they'd ripen up. The internodes are so much tighter than on a regular papaya.

I swear I saw seeds for it once. It is 'T.R. Hovey' Papaya. Most vendors buy their tissue cultured plugs from Agristarts down in Florida (which anyone can do, I've done it in the past but you have to deal with an entire flat of plants). Possibly it was featured in a seed catalog and I failed to notice that it was really a plant being offered and not a packet of seeds.

There is always a couple of them displayed at the Philadelphia Flower show in March. Some of them are only 2-3 feet tall with enough fruit to bend them over - way cute.