lets link your two posts together.. see link ... i am enjoying your thirst for knowledge ... that is why most of us are here in GW ... to share such you said: Like: Don't the vast majority of trees have but one stem? yes... it might be part of the definition of such ... stepping way back ... your are confusing trees with shrubs.. that is one reason there are two different forums.. because the words mean different things ... it only took me about 20 years to understand such ... that trees and shrubs are different.. not that words mean things... lol .. BTW.. you can do a lot better than wikipedia as a link ... its a good place to start to find new terms to search out and learn ... so just some thoughts to lead you on your quest for knowledge: not all WOODY plants are trees ... [there are even woody perennials] ... i like to put FLOWERING in front of the word shrub .... because in my mind ... for what that is worth.. most of the shrubs we notice, flower or berry [which requires a flower to make such] ... so when i think of shrubs i think of the common lilac ... forsythia .. olive... current .. etc ... they are grow in the same form ... and almost all sucker... to me ... its part of the definition of such ... and all will EVENTUALLY .. develop canes or trunks big enough for your project ... though it might take 5 to 10 years for such.. partly because they are wasting a lot of time and energy.. suckering their brains out .... soooo.. if you reduce suckering.. [good luck with that ... lol] ... the energy they produce can be forced into growing the product you wish ... hence all the suggestions about such ... now.. trees on the other hand.. do not sucker.. or multiply from their roots [leaving aside a discussion on some weed trees that might do such] ... you can repeatedly mow down a small tree... and make it LOOK like a shrub .... but it is budding above ground .. so it is not technically suckering ... again.. PROBABLY part of the definition of a tree... rather than a shrub ... and then.. on top of it all... conifers are trees... but not all trees are conifers .... which is then complicated by people calling such or both.. evergreen ... again we are back to common usage of non-technical words .... there are evergreen trees... evergreen shrubs.. evergreen perennials .. etc ... so when you call something an evergreen.... you cant get very far with a discussion ... see.. when it all boils down.. its all wrapped up in the words used ... COMMON descriptions... rather than technical or scientific ..... so when you really want to learn.. in depth.. you have to start.. by finding precise definitions .. in this case botany ... rather than wiki ... it is not uncommon for botanists to roll thru and start arguing about my way of trying to teach a newb ... so be it ... it helps us all learn ... but there comes some limit to how much botany.. my brain can hold... lol ... good luck with your cane project ... ken ps: when planting time comes.. ask for help first ... not after you plant it ... its pretty simple ... and dont waste money on soil amendments or fertilizers .... Here is a link that might be useful: link

Well, now I'm questioning my supposition, Reefisher. Usually, powdery mildew is a late season problem in my garden. Many plants get it but squash & melons seem to be the most susceptible. The peas from an April planting are long gone by late Summer/early Autumn but the vines have some mildew by the time they are pulled in July. Planting Oregon SugarPod in August doesn't really allow for pod development here - therefore, we are just growing them for the tendrils. They don't get tall enuf before frosts begin (usually after mid-September) to even require a trellis. Older bean plants also get mildew but the ground for early peas usually provides a home for a July planting of green beans. Seems to work without much trouble altho' if I run very late into the month - frost may kill the beans before I get a crop. If your March crop got mildew in May, I think you've just found that this variety prefers Autumn growing conditions. Maybe, we can "tear a page from your garden notebook" and plant Ho Lan Dow late. I don't see a "VPs003" behind the name but Stokes sells Ho Lan Dow - which means I don't really have an excuse for not giving 'em a try over all these years of pea-pickin'. I've got to say that your temps in December look to be warmer than ours were in late September but . . . you never can tell. Steve

linda - did you ever overwinter zonal geraniums (pelagorium (sp?))? I do those in the garage and if I think it will be really, really cold (remember, we are New Yorkers in N.C. - so our winters are milder but I did overwinter them in NY). It has been 15 degrees here and when that happens, I use a light frost blanket over them overnight - just as a precaution. I would definitely try overwintering your ivys - cut them back and actually, I don't even water much during the whole winter - but I do remember to get them inside before the first frost and outside when I am sure it won't go below frost. Let us know - I am excited for you!! Carrie

I'd suggest that it might grow better if you repotted it into a glazed ceramic or plastic pot so that it stayed moist longer, try giving it warmer growing conditions and water more frequently, and perhaps fertilize it more often by using a time release fertilizer mixed into the soil. It sounds like you may be growing it too hard with too cool conditions and not enough watering. Where these are native they prefer it moist and warm, and will respond best with these conditions. Even in the winter dry season in coastal southeastern Brazil where most Rhipsalis come from, it still rains in the winter and they don't have a long dry season between rains. You might consider adding orchid bark to the mix, and I have found that sinking a small plastic yogurt or margarine container filled with fine gravel in the bottom of a larger hanging basket is just the trick to give a water reservoir for the roots without needing to over water the container, and when I go to repot, the roots of my plants have packed themselves into the gravel. I'd also suggest that bright light in winter and keeping the night time temperatures above 55F at night will keep it growing year round, probably even better if it doesn't drop below 60F. On the other hand, I also find that other Rhipsalis species that I grow outdoors year round, such as R. ceresculea and R. baccifera and R. clavata, do just fine with winter lows at night down to just above freezing, but we warm back up to mid 50'sF in the day in winter here. They don't really seem to grow much, however, until it warms back up again in the spring.