Hi Skooby, From what I understand most passionflowers need pollen from a different clone (genetically distinct plant) to produce fruit. Naturally this usually comes from a different plant of the same species. If everything had to be pollinated by a different species, there would be no stable species, only hybrids. However there are quite a few different species that are self-fertile. It turns out BOTH parents of Passiflora exoniensis--Passiflora antioquiensis and Passiflora mollissima--are self fertile, however their hybrid Passiflora exoniensis is not. Another well-known self-fertile species (that I own) is Passiflora edulis f. edulis (purple passionfruit--the one you might find in a grocery store). P. caerulea pollen will not fertilize Tacsonias (P. antioquiensis, P. mollissima, P. parritae and closely related plants) as far as I'm aware. I used to show people that Tradewinds picture and tell them that was the hybrid I have. Two problems: they describe the cross as P. parritae x exoniensis. The convention is that the pollen parent is listed second. However as far as I know P. exoniensis pollen is sterile. So I had assumed they just got things reversed. However recently I was told by a guy who propagates passionflowers at Strybing Arboretum that the plant in the photo is actually P. parritae x antioquiensis, a hybrid known as P. 'Mission Dolores'. I've been told it's the most spectacular of the P. parritae hybrids so far, with 16-24 inch peduncles (flower stems) and 6-7 inch enormous flowers. I bought this plant at Strybing a couple weeks ago. As far as new plants, thanks for the offer, but I'm pretty full as it is. A couple weeks ago I decided to pass on a P. parritae plant. This weekend I took part in a large trade with someone who has an incredible plant collection--I took a lot of plants for friends instead of for myself. However I can send you a rooted cutting for postage. It won't be immediate, because I have several people waiting for cuttings at the moment. But please be aware that the plant is probably ill suited to your climate. It grows year-round, unlikely many species that are fully dormant or at least slow way down in the winter. It probably prefers a temperature range of 35 to 85 F. Hotter than that for significant periods of time, especially with nights above 60, may kill the plant. However I'm not sure anyone knows how temperature tolerant this plant is (on the lower end, it almost certainly will die at less than 25-30 F). I know a guy in North Carolina who told me his plant was already suffering from the heat in the Spring, so he sold it. If you do have it outside in the summer, you'll want to give it full shade in the afternoon.

can you send me some seeds my sister ? email me: dlanclos@gmail.com thanks. I would like some seeds of the heliconia thanks and God Bless brother David

Actually, they are useful for so much more than protecting against scratches (which I don't care about anyway): Water doesn't backup into the colander when draining pasta When I rinse down the sink, items in the sink no longer block the drain or block the "path" to the drain so I don't have to "chase" specks of food, etc. around the sink! There is less scratching of the bottom of the sink (this is minor to me since I don't mind the scratches) When I dump something in the sink, whatever I've dumped doesn't wash all over everything sitting in the sink....whatever is dumped goes straight down the drain I can rinse and drain dishes on the grid and still run water in the sink w/o running it all over the items again Things lay flat on the grid (no slope like in the bottom of a sink bowl and items in my sink no longer slip down the slope and cover/block the drain) If I'm handwashing dishes, I can use the grid tines to hold things up, especially plates & bowls (similar to a dish drainer) and dishes air dry faster b/c air circulates all around them If your sink is too deep for you on a daily basis, the grid will raise the bottom of the sink an inch or so Less need to clean/wipe the bowl b/c things aren't as likely to "stick" The stainless steel ones in my cleanup sink also act as a trivet for hot things (when the sink is clear, of course!) -- I needed a large "trivet" once and used one of the grids from the sink, it worked great!

I posted elsewhere that I've killed a variety of Austin roses; they blackspot badly here (7b ATL area) and they try and bloom as much as they can but it's a struggle (I don't spray) and they always look kinda sickly. They never look healthy and leafy like the photos I see posted here (looking at you enviously, West Coast!), they just hang in there and make/drop leaves. They blooms are perfect, how, I don't know, but they kinda stay small. I don't spray. It becomes this issue of having a sickly-looking plant year-long to get 5 or 7 flowers/year. I'm stubborn and have kept trying but am starting to learn to let go... because I now know there are so many roses out there! If you won't be spraying, before you pull the trigger on the Austins, do look at some of the Kordes being recommended here and search for posts from others in the hot/humid southeast. As an aside: it would be fun to do a thread on Austins vs. similar roses (full-petal Austin-esque color/look) that actually can thrive in the southeast. Here are some of my "Forget you, David Austin!" roses... I ordered Earth Angel (Kordes) last year; the blooms are gorgeous, and smell good too. Here she is today, probably about 2.5" as is, will be closer to 3" when fully open. She's pale pink and with very delicate petals. Summer Romance and Quicksilver just went on my wish list, bring on the Kordes! I also ordered Star of the Republic (Pioneer series), also based photos/comments from folks who live in the same state/similar zone. This is Star of the Republic, ~4" wide, much thicker petals. This one I can't officially recommend because I got it a couple months ago and it's still in its pot; who knows how it will do the rest of the season... I mention her because she's supposed to make big flowers (she does). She's grown several leaves and they look healthy (I'm already seeing black spot in other parts). It's Reichsprasident von Hindenburg and when I put in my last order to Rogue Valley Roses, I just couldn't resist the photo; the photos on Help Me Find are also just my thing: big, a little messy! I couldn't find much discussions here about this rose, it may be a total disaster for me, we'll see. The fragrance is awesome, reminds me of Zephyrin Drouhin but softer with a citrus note at the end. It has a second bud, I'll try to follow up once that one opens and later in the season regarding how the foliage does. Those are her light green leaves to the right (pea leaves to the left!).