Another year or two later....I acquired the pollinator Chiquita for my two Onandagas, and I have to strongly recommend Chiquita. It is ever so much more attractive through to winter whereas the Onandagas look "fried" by mid-summer - I just can't keep them watered enough. Chiquita sets more fruit also, though disappointingly, not a lot of fruit set. I think it's because the two barely overlap in bloom.

Hi Gene, I thought I had lost it in a harddrive crash last year, but I found a copy I had made of it on a CD. I haven't invested too much time into it since then. I did some updating this weekend. It is going to require a lot more work (as well as buying a server version) to make it usable for multiple users online. Fortunately, I have been told we are hiring a dedicated database developer at work since the the time I have to devote to them has shrunk greatly. I can probably touch on whoever I hire for advice. Currently, I have the following tables: Cultivar: with the ability to contain information about origins, synonyms, breba and main crops (color, neck, stem, eye, etc.), and leaf style and shape. It also has a place for a brief description (although I haven't decided on a set format) and a notes area (similar to the information provided on Jon's site. It will be populated by users notes on a specific variety. It also has information about nurseries which carry the variety, as well as users who have the variety in their collection. UC Davis inventory: It contains the GRIN#, a link to the specific variety on the UCD site, and the availability. User wish list: This is also visible on the cultivar page as well as the UCD page. Personal inventory: This is also linked to a print format to tree labels. I am working on adding more information to the persona inventories so that timing (dormancy, leafing, fruiting, etc) information can be stored from year to year and from zone to zone and can be compared to the varieties description. I have a few other ideas to toy with and am open to other suggestions as well. Plus, I have to make it pretty as well ;) If anyone is using Filemaker (either PC or Mac) I can send a blank copy of the database for review. In the mean time I'll work on the outputs so I can send previews in PDF format. Also, Gene, you had a post which led to a PDF file of fig identifiers. I lost the PDF file in the crash and was unsuccessful in finding it again when I looked. Do you still have the link? ~james

whup whup natanya, you should see VE when it has multiple blooms...stunning!! Rita, I love most all flowers. I have a hard time w/ tall bearded Irises because we have so many freeze/thaws here and they tent to freeze in the buds. However, i have many, many different types of flowers and flowering trees/bushes. Also, I have a lot of moles so I have a hard time keeping early bulbs such as tulips. I also have lots of Hostas.. Kay, VL is gorgeous. I know it's a Hansen but is so much like a Munson. Beautiful and I'm happy you posted it!! Val, I love VL. it really is a beauty and so dependable.. Thank you all for your well wishes for my friend. I will be really busy in the next few weeks helping her work out the SS and so much running for death certificates too. Thanks also fo your comments!! Ellie

Everettsky - I worked for Philexport - an umbrella organization of Phil. Gov't to assist philippine exporter products in the globe. Another organization is CITEM, which assist exporters in the promotion and marketing of there products. Since Carabao Mango is an export fruit crop of the Philippines, they branded carabao mango Philippine Super Mangoes (PSM) or sometimes Manila Super Mangoes. Philippine Super Mangoes is just a brand created by CITEM for mango exporters much like of Calypso Mango or B74 mango of Australia. Under this brand, there are carabao mango strains that are grown and sold to exporters such as Lamao, probably the oldest carabao mango strain that was named after Lamao Experimental Station in Bataan which was under the American Agricultural Department when Philippines was under American regime. As far as Iam concern the Philippine Super mangoes you have eaten in Luzon are probably the Lamao strain. As far as the sweetest mango in the world, Sweet Elena Mango, a carabao strain was the one mentioned in the Guiness Book and not the Lamao. This carabao mango strain does not seldom get to local market because almost all grown Sweet elena mango in Zambales in the Philippines get exported to Hong Kong and Japan. You see, Hong Kong fruit traders who import carabao mango strain only get mangoes from zambales because it is known for the best grown mangoes in the Philippines. For the taste of Sweet Elena Mango, I've tried it and bought fruits on the site of the mother tree which is about 100 years old. Its sickening sweet with a hint of tartness and a super strong aroma. This variety was released in 2005 and was not released by the Phil. Govt due plant protection issues of the owner of the strain. I bought 5 grafted trees of this variety and a better variety that they discovered near there trees in the mango farm. The new variety is codenamed LL07. It is a pity that these varieties will not be sold to new mango farmers for upgrade of the mango farm. There is a growing interest in growing Edwards mango in the Philippines. Edwards mango is a cross between haden x carabao mango, and like edwards is shy bearer because carabao mango is a biennial fruiting mango variety. It fruits every 2 years only. Thats why edwards mango is a less yielding cultivar or less productive fruiting mango. To make it productive, you need to spray with flower inducer like carabao mango like in the Philippines. I think Edwards mango will have an advantage with Carabao mango because it has a hint of Haden mango sweetness that makes it Unique. And is more disease resistance. Here is a link about Sweet elena Mango: http://blog.agriculture.ph/sweetest-mango-in-the-world-sweet-elena-mango.html