I don't think there's any validity with the juvenile foliage theory. My one and only reference is that Chamaecyparis pisifera goes through juvenile stages and that propagators should not jump the gun to propagate these until they know for certain that they are not introducing a repeat of an already existing cultivar. (Welch and Haddow)..'Description of Chamaecyparis pisifera'. For further reading, they say: "All seedlings in this species, on their way to maturity, pass through several stages that are outwardly distinguished by differences in the foliage: - from the initial juvenile (technically "squarrose") leaf-form through a semi-juvenile (technically "plumose") stage to the final adult leaf. Rarely, a particular seedling will suspend its 'growing up' at some point and develop into an interesting and unusual little plant, and several cases where shuch a 'hang-up' has turned out to be a 'fixation' have been brought into cultivation, and in the past (no longer permitted) the explanatory words 'Squarrosa ' and 'Plumosa' have been used in the cultivar names. This raises problems for the nomenclaturist. The stages are not abrupt and may co-exist within a plant or regress following damage. Care must therefore be taken to ensure that only plants true-to-type in the recommended 'named forms' are propagated and that new selections are never introduced to the trade until they have been under test for many years." Furthermore, Obrizok 'A Garden of Conifers - Introduction and Selection Guide' states: Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' as being cold hardy to zone 4; Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Heatherbun' being cold hardy again to zone 4. The "larger" C.thyoides cultivars are all mostly cold hardy to zone 5. So this theory seems invalid and not holding water. In addtion, smaller "dwarfed-out" cultivars can in many garden situations have protection as from being surrounded by larger trees, etc- which is a form of protection, thus allowing them to not get blasted by the elements. Truth in theory or not, common sense leads me to over think or under think this matter with this approach. Regards, Dax Humphrey Welch and Gordon Haddow  ÂThe World Checklist of Conifers (First Edition August 1993); Landsman Bookshop Ltd. ISBN: 0900513098 Obrizok ÂA Garden of Conifers  Introduction and Selection Guide (1999); Firefly Books Ltd. ISBN: 0913643084

i seem to recall.. that the whole point of the name.. up here in the great white north .. is that there is some winter color change... in your zone that may vary.. year to year ... but this would be exterior needles ... and that brain cell could be damaged.. since my plant died a few years back ... this is NOT an easy plant to deal with ... however... INTERIOR browning on ANY conifer is normal ... no conifer holds its leaves.. aka needles forever... once the interior needles lose sight of the sun.. their work is done.. and they die off .... we 'clean' those out every year or two.. using water to rid a plant of potential bugs.. is not really a RINSE thing .... its more of a BLAST thing .... not to hurt the plant ... but to shoot those suckers [literally... lol] off the plant .... rinsing doesnt hurt ... but it may not be accomplishing what you think it is... perhaps just your choice of words ... i never heard to blasting or rinsing causing interior browning ... i NEVER fertilize my conifers.. but i grow them in the ground ....regardless... it does NOT sound like fert issues ... too much fert would burn and kill the roots.. and the whole plant would yellow then brown.. as it its roots would be dead ... and the greenery will follow .... if you ever get a chance.. talk a nice walk through a conifer forest ... all green is on the exterior... under the canopy.. they are all bare .... now shrink yourself down.. in your mind.. so you can walk under yours.. and tell me why yours should NOT be nudie [as my 6 year old would say] inside of the plant ... a picture would sure help .... otherwise.. on the facts given.. it sounds normal ... good luck ken

Oh boy, when I lived in coastal SC, I applied for and recieved special permission to grow some Sea Island cotton in an historical garden....maybe 100 plants, is all! The site had to be approved, boll weevil traps set up and monitored. Little backyard cotton plantings would be ripped out if discovered, etc. A quick call to your local extension office will provide you with the information about growing cotton in AR. Good luck...it might not be regulated in your state.

The NC Forest Service sells them but they are currently out of stock so you would be out of luck for this spring. The smallest quantity they seem to sell is 50. I would also look into native plant sales done by county or state organizations. You may also find either nonprofit or for-profit native plant nurseries in your area. There are also seed sources if you want to try growing from seed.