Hi, A couple of questions: -Would hardy pricklypear cactus (Opuntia humifusa/compressa) be the only hardy pricklypear to endure zone 6 winters? -Would sweetshoot bamboo (Phyllostachys dulcis) be suitable for zone 6? -Comment: Pawpaw, Asimina spp. (including Asimina triloba), contains the compounds associated with increased risk of atypical Parkinson's; you'd have to it is frequently enough, I would suppose. -Comment: I believe that ginko nuts must be eaten in moderation - I remember reading some materials describing them as toxic to some extent. I wonder if making tea out of the leaves would be a good thing, however. -I know Lucky has some varieties survive his zone 6 winters, but anyone have any varieties of Pomegranates survive zone 6, 6a or 5b? - and fruit? -What are the best Amelanchier spp./Juneberries/Serviceberries w/regards to taste? I think that the only berries I absolutely loved must have been A. alnifolia - 5' thin suckered bushes with dark, sugar-sweet berries; the A. canadensis and A. canadensis x laevis I've tasted are not as good as what ever variety that happened to have been. -Will American hazelnut/filbert & American beaked hazelnut hybridize with the European species? -If I were able to obtain a true American Chestnut selected from a stand that showed great disease resistance, would the taste hold up to the Chinese and/or English varieties? -In comparison to a straight D. virginiana or D. kaki, would there be any taste improvement in the hybridization between American x Asian persimmon? -Would you think that a fully ripe Wild Mandrake/Mayapple would be at all toxic; or would it be risky if consumed in excess? -What are cold-hardy, reliable varieties of Black Mulberry (M. nigra)? [non-hybrids] -In zone 6b, my 'Brown Turkey' Fig never dies back to the ground; I do nothing to protect it. -I purchased a grafted D. kaki 'Saijo' and a friend of mine showed me his orchard containing grafted Asian persimmons - the grafts reject after several years; he explained that if you had an American x Asian hybrid as the inter-connection between the D. virginiana rootstock and D. kaki scion, the graft would last indefinitely. I hope the tree will last, contrary to this - probably won't. -Are the berries of native/American shrub-dogwoods and tree dogwoods (other then the toxic Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood) really edible? C. sericea/stolon., C. alternifolia, etc.? -Besides Black Oak, any other good oak nuts? -I'll contribute a few I can think of here (edibles): Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, 2 varieties of Ligonberries - American/European, Bearberries, Wild Wintergreen Berries, Berberries spp., (water lily and lotus/parts, arrowhead/parts, pickerelweed/parts, Acorus - sweetflag, not iris!), various man-made blackberry x raspberry hybrids, the man-made 'jostaberry' - ribes spp., a wide array of vaccinium spp. (blueberries, deerberries, bilberries, false huckleberries), Garden Huckleberry (not a huckleberry), varieties of cranberry, Akebia, Orange trifoliate, Crabapple spp., nuts: chinquapin, species of hazelnut/walnut/varieties of hickory (including pecans), forbs: daylily species, various flowers, Monkey Puzzle Pine, Pine Nut species, syrup from Walnut & Maple species, Prinsepia, Asparagus, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, various greens, various man-made stone fruit hybrids, foxgrape (including 'Concord' & 'Neptune'), purple passionflower, Mountain Ash species, Aronia spp., Western Sandcherry, Buffaloberries, native Silverberries, Sala, Yuka spp., Magnolia virginiana for tea - leaves and culinary, chokecherry, wild black cherry, pin/fire cherry, American wild plum, Chickasaw plum, Beach plum, cloudberry/bakeapple berry, smooth & staghorn sumac, teas from birches, American larch, and others - be cautious, tall & stinging nettle tea, the species of Jujube, Streptopus amplexifolius - I forgot the name - I call it watermelon berry, but it's not the above mentioned Che/Melonberry which is a good one to have. ____ When you think about it, there really are only a few fruits out there: Apple (4 types), brown or green Pear, Cherry otherwise know as Bing or Yellow Cherry, Melon, Apricot, Nectarine, Orange, Grapefruit, Grape, Kiwi, Plum, and Pineapple - if you don't believe me, just go to the supermarket or your local cooperate sponsored fruit consumption advocacy materials. Well, they do have around 5 other rare ones: Starfruit, Date, Fig, and Fruit-roll-up Fruit.

I'd had Alma years ago and never got much fruit. It was in a large pot and I didn't even bother giving it away when I gave away my other figs. I figured it was a dud, and it has been neglected for years. Last spring when I started rooting cuttings I took a bunch a cuttings off the Alma. Surprisingly (they were very weak) they all took, and I suddenly had a lot of Alma plants. I didn't want to take up much room with them, so even though they grew like weeds, I left them in pots that were a little smaller than a gallon. To my surprise they started producing figs. It would seem that Alma likes to have it's toes pinched - that a congested root mass somehow encourages fruit production. This is just an observation (no proof) - but it would explain one of Alma's contradictions - why it bears resonably for some, but not for others. I can't guess why some find it hardier than others.

Nice pics ottawa basjoo...How long have your Sabal Minors been in the ground?? do you just mulch with leaves and nothing else? I see the snow has nearly covered the whole Sabal..do you plan on brushing the snow off when it starts to melt or do they seem to not be affected by the onslaught of a pile of melting and re-freezing snow? I will be putting in some Minors,needles and a couple windmills whenever spring returns.

I'm not currently growing palms or bamboo, but I have been looking into bamboo recently. I'm looking for a cold hardy clumping bamboo to protect my home from a new golf course. The designers of the course built a beautiful course, but unfortunately they put a dogleg right around our house. And just to be sure that people try to swing their balls over our house, they put a sandtrap on the straightaway. And now I have more golfers than I care for crawling thru the "generous" 25 feet of buffer they've left between our property line and the course in search of their balls. You should see the look on their faces when they see their stupid ball in our yard. (we may sell all the balls we collect to pay for the bamboo!!). Those nutty guys were even out there in the pouring rain yesterday!! So I thought some nice tall bamboo would offer us some screen. I saw a patch on route 35 at the entrance to some neighborhood and I was suprised to see that they were still green and full in the winter. This would be ideal for us, because I don't think we're going to have as big a problem in the summer when more of the oaks fill in. Although, we will have A LOT more golfers, so it may just even out. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I'll get to my question. Do you have any suggestions as to growers, variety etc.? Much appreciated!!