I read through this thread and am actually amazed by the amount of misinformation it contains. I'm not sure if that is related to how far we've come in the art and science of bonsai since 2006 and the posts reflected beliefs that were popular 12 years ago, but I'll hope that's why much of the info is so 'off'. *********************************************************************************** Shielah - Apple embryos (seeds) are almost always dormant at the time of harvest. Several weeks at 32- 40*F (0-4*C) is necessary to release the seed from dormancy so it can germinate. To grow normally, apple trees NEED 500-1100 chill units that only accumulate at temps between 33-45*. If they do not go through a normal dormancy and do not get the number of chill units to properly release the tree from it's dormant state. Chill units were formerly called chill hours, but it was discovered that not all temperatures contribute equally to the chilling required to release a plant from dormancy. The second number is the number of chill units that accumulate on a per hour bases at the temp or temp range preceding Degrees Fahrenheit: <34.5* = 0.0 c.u 34.7* – 36.3* = 0.5 c.u. 36.5* – 48.4* = 0.1 c.u 48.6* – 53.8* = 0.5 c.u. 54.5* – 60.6* = 0.0 c.u. 60.8* – 64.4* = -0.5 c.u. >64.4 = -1.0 c.u. Degrees Centigrade <1.4* = 0.0 c.u. 1.5* – 2.4* = 0.5 c.u. 2.5* – 9.1* = 1.0 c.u. 9.2* – 12.1* = 0.5 c.u. 12.5* – 15.9* = 0.0 c.u. 16.0* – 18.0* = -0.5 c.u. >18.0* = -1.0 c.u. A classic symptom of insufficient chilling is delayed bud-break and a lazy spring flush of growth. Also, a tree might have a small tuft of leaves near the tips of the stems and be devoid of leaves for many inches proximal to branch apices (below the growing branch tips). Lower buds will break eventually but full foliation is significantly delayed, production of reproductive parts (blooms fruits/ nuts/ seeds, …..) is reduced, and the tree is weakened. Additionally, not meeting chill requirements contributes to heavy suckering or water shoots emerging from lower parts of the tree, which can be a problem, obviously. Also normal development of next year's buds can be impaired. The age of a tree is measured ontologically as well as chronologically. Cuttings from a tree that is capable of blooming are, at the moment they are taken, already ontologically much older than your tree from seed - even with no roots yet having grown. Trees from seed can take many years (up to 25 for hawthorn) to reach sexual maturity/ bloom / bear fruit, while cuttings from a tree capable of blooming have already attained the sexually mature stage. Your tree, so do as you wish, but the tree would, w/o question, demonstrate its appreciation for a cold winter rest and a nutritional supplementation program that relied heavily on an appropriate fertilizer in lieu of the apple cider thing. That you can manage to keep the tree alive w/o it's cold rest shouldn't be viewed by others as a clarion call to follow the same path. Al

Okay, so you got the "grape growing bug" huh? Many people live in their homes for over 20 years and from day one often thought about growing some sort of fruit tree or another yet put it off for some reason. Many of their neighbours could be known to have such trees and could have planted them 10, 20 or even 30 years ago and its odd that most people don't pickup on that and get going themselves. Now for the real speech when it comes to growing grapes. Your best bet is to hit the garden centers in the spring and you'll probably pay about 10 bucks or so for a gallon pail with a vine in it. Buy at least 3 so they have company :) That's the easiest way and most newbies can do it this way. Once your vine(s) starts producing fruit, no matter what you initially paid to get it all going, the amount your vines yield will far exceed the low startup costs. Those thinking ahead to next spring should be doing many many other things right now-during the fall and yep, sometimes some of it can be done during the winter too. There's a fair amount of prep to get ready for your vines that will be available at the garden centers or nurseries next spring. First of all you should check with some of them and find out exactly when they get them each year and they'll give you a close enough date. Before that though, you have to worry about where you'll position these ever-advancing vines, you can't really change them to another location later on unless you are pretty lucky or you get advice from someone with more experience. Soil bed preperation is very very important and you'll need to prepare some kind of trellis-these things get realllll heavy too so be prepared to build strong supports. Choices for supports are the older cast iron plumbing pipes that are often ripped out of renovated homes and you use angle joiners etc. to make an overhead trellis. You can also use thick posts such as 4X4's-the kind used for fence building and build something that resembles a child's jungle gym. If you plan on placing the vines near your home, you can use thick wire or thick nylon mesh, or wooden lattice affixed to the home's walls to support the vines but remember this, the vines and fruit can weigh well into the hundreds of pounds during the years they produce decent amounts. Trust me on this too, you need to read read and then read about proper yearly maintenance-fertilizer, soil testing, cutting/pruning back once in awhile. Yeah I know, its sad to cut back something you desire to keep growing really fast but it IS important to do this, the pruning part is important to get rid of slow or poorly growing shoots and once pruned, the vines seem to take off once again. The dead stuff you ignore, stresses the vine s even more so get rid of the ugly stuff and treat the vines with the respect they deserve. Yep, some people I know have grown pretty good Concords and work at it alot all summer long and then again, some I know just abuse the heck out of them-the usual "I inherited these with the home I bought and I hate the things so I hope they die thing." The latter seem to grow more aggressively and maybe just maybe they're telling the guy something ya think (spite?)? To summarize the yearly yield thing here in as short an answer as possible, they do NOT always grow ALOT each year and some years they seem to just need a break as do crabapple trees and plum trees too. I live in the western part of Canada, we get pretty nice weather starting in May and it usually goes right until Halloween and almost always the grapes have been picked by then. I still have some Concords ripening right now, has alot to do with the fact we haven't had any frost this time of year but its coming. For making wine from these grapes, the first frost seems to help and they've always ripened at that point but frost seems to increase their sugar content without rotting them by then. Lastly, "if" you can find a friend or neighbour or someone in your city who's willing to provide you with some cuttings, try them too, you might be surprised in how well they grow. For this thread, too much to explain at why you could get some right now and keep them in the refrigerator (in peat moss) and they'd be okay to start next spring if so desired. Google it or search around and you'll find out how easy that really is. Yes I know, some things seem quite bizarre but strange things can and do work and I use this example: Where I live almost all seeds for the garden advise against planting anything until after the last frost. Well, on a package of dill seeds it also advises this. This year's dill will drop alot of stray seeds in my garden and come next spring when the garden is near frozen, I've got seedlings going-everywhere! Also, root crops can be planted late in the fall and by next spring they do start growing on their own. Carrots are easy and carrot seeds started now will lay dormant during the 6 months I'll see snow on the ground and then they'll grow with a vengeance next spring. Beets, turnips, some onions etc.-same thing, plant now. I've used these examples because for the grapes, they're even hardier than the dill and carrots so if they can grow here under many different conditions, harsh winters and serious owner neglect, if you are more serious and dedicated to growing your own for jelly, juice and wine etc., then you shouldn't have much to worry about. Personally, I'm quite serious about it and I protect my vines very well each winter-going on 12 years now-they need to be placed where there's little traffic around them and do NOT trample on their beds when the earth is rock-solid frozen if you can help it. Same goes for the spring when they put alot of energy into pushing away their former "winter blues." And for heaven's sakes, put aside the budget-starter-from-seed-thing and pay the nurseries or garden centers for the things they import each year and you'll be glad you did. When you need a helping hand, I'm sure they'll help as much as they possibly can. Grape vines can also teach you alot about patience to be sure. Good luck and I hope this addition reaches those who've asked before me....

Your baobab seeds should be placed into hot water (I wouldn't using boiling water although maybe? you could) and allowed to soak overnight or up to 48 hours. Do not let them dry out between soaking and planting. Various methods can be used to scarify the olive seeds. A knife or a file might be easier. The ginkgo seeds will also benefit from scarification and two months of cold stratification.

I am zone 7a and although Lantana can be invasive in Florida, Texas and other gulf coast states and can be perennial as far North as zone 8, it is not here-wish it were more persistent. I usually have a volunteer or two, but nothing like an invasion unless you count the butterflies that dance in attendance all summer. I have never had difficulty starting the seeds on a heat mat in February for summer bloom, but if you had only one variety with yellow blooms and no others to pollinate you will probably not get the rainbow of colors you seek. My experience has been that saved seeds yield plants that bloom in colors very similar to the plants you collected them from, even the hybrids. Yellow hybrid's seeds tend to produce plants that bloom in shades of yellow, often with white. The chief difference in the seed grown plants from the parents seems to be in habit. They are often more rangy and taller than the hybrid plant they are derived from. Germination can be erratic and just when you think all of the seeds that are going to germinate have, another one or two will surprise you. If you have one of the species other than camara then you will almost certainly have plants that are the same color flowers you started with. Lantana. horrida will be yellow and orange, Lantana montevidensis will be lavender, etc.