Kyle..about your Obelisk..it depends where you bought it. I can't tell you the number of 'arbors and bird feeder/hanging basket poles' I bought, hoping they were strong enough to hold an outdoor vine, feeder, plant.. stand erect. They sent thin metal that wouldn't hold a flea. lol I finally bought a decent arbor that's held a number of years. More expensive, but if I added what I paid and would have continued paying for cheaper versions, I could have purchased three expensive types. lol Pics online/catalogs look strong. What a farce! lol Logees. I won't express my opinion, since you have plants on the way. However, I will say, in the mid-90's, Logee's was my favorite, non-local nursery. That's awful about your H. Lauterbachii. I was given one as a gift, purchased from Logees. It wasn't bad. Expensive--stood about 9" tall, several leaves and well-rooted. It's still around, but very slow-growing. Don't know if I'll be on earth when/if it blooms, lol. I hope your Monstera is nice..LMK, okay? I checked Ebay..only green. The seller I bought from with both variegated types, usually sends healthy plants. I was so disappointed when the two variegatas arrived. Think I have a pic, but would have to look for it. Thankfully, prices weren't too bad, each under 15.00. Still, that's more than I prefer to pay, unless a plant is in great health. Many of GlassHouseWorks prices increased. I once phoned, asking for a certain variegated Schefflera..he said, he might have some the following spring..cuttings..175.00..Sure, I'll take a dozen. lol. But GHW's sends healthy plants, or they did..it's been a while since I ordered from them. Kyle, are you growing Lily of the Valley in a container or garden?? Danny, I'd like to walk down your alley, Free plants..The price is right. lol. Seriously, I don't browse through alleys..When we first moved here, walked our dog down alleys, people tossed Azaleas and other flowering plants that could have been grown indoors. I was too embarrassed to grab them though, lol. Someone discarded a brand new plant shelf..They assembled it backwards..so it fell foreward. I got that shelf, re-assembled..it's fantastic..Bet it cost 50.00-75.00 nowadays. I agree, Adansonii is a super fast-grower..Mine is a few yrs old, growing up a swerved, metal stake, but it needs something stronger. The metal tilts. It's leaning on plant shelves before a window. Toni

I cannot just limit this to ten trees. So here is my second set of ten: 1) Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) - Fantastic tree. How can you not love a tree with heart-shaped leaves. The fall color on this tree is usually a bright peach color mixed with a little bit of orange or red. The tree gives off a distinct scent of cotton candy when its turning. You feel like you are in the land of Willy Wonka when it has this scent. This tree is finicky though. It does not like drought, sandy or compacted soil, or high wind and will start losing it's foliage in the summer in response to these conditions. 2) Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) - Some may be surprised to see this tree on anyone's list. It's considered a trash tree by many. I love it. If you drive down Memorial Drive in Cambridge in late September - early October, you will see all of the Green Ash trees turning their bright golden - yellow color. It's a beautiful sight. This tree produces good shade and is tolerant of just about any conditions. Several male cultivars are now on the market, which avoids the prolific seeding observed with the females. I do hate the fact that this tree is one of the last to leaf out in the spring and one of the first to lose it's leaves in the fall. 3) Norway Spruce (Picea abies) - I love these trees. Giant Christmas trees the whole year through. The have a very dark green color and I really love the way the branches curve up at the ends. It gives this tree a very graceful look. A very large tree in time. A fast-grower for a spruce. 4) Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) - Zone 5 is the limit for this species. It would be wise in that zone to get the "Village Green" cultivar which has greater cold tolerance than the species. The vase-shape of this tree makes it a good replacement for the American Elm. Between the shape and the tree's tolerance for just about any conditions, it makes a great street tree. Zelkovas are in the Elm family and consequently are not totally immune to Dutch Elm disease but they tend to be highly resistant and this disease is usually not a problem. This tree can have spectacular fall foliage (ironically they did not this year around the Boston - Cambridge area) turning a bright burnt orange color. The Village Green cultivar has the best fall coloring that I've seen. 5) Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) - Had to include a member of the red oak family again. Oaks are not thought of as fast-growing trees but this species is definitely an exception. Becomes massive in time. Fall color is variable but can be quite good. A very strong, shade tree. 6) Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) - One of the few evergreens that tolerates shade. Very graceful foliage. Probably the most graceful of any evergreen. The tree likes moist soil (found in shade). The woody adelgid is killing many of the hemlocks in New England. Hope they find a way to eradicate it before it kills all of them. 7) Black Birch (Betula Lenta) - Absolutely beautiful tree. The bark is a shiny, dark grey and peels to a certain extent. The bark looks very similar to the bark of many cherry trees only with a dark color. Very ornamental especially in winter. This birch has very good bright yellow fall color, too. 8) Crabapple (Malus) - The perfect tree. An explosion of white or pink bloom in the spring. A ton of crabapples in the fall. Beautiful bark on most varieties similar to cherry bark. Hundreds of cultivars to choose from. Most of the modern cultivars have resistance to fungal diseases that were a problem on older varieties. These trees tolerate drought and bad soil rather well. 9) Weeping Cherry (Prunus subhirtella Pendula) - Beautiful tree. So graceful and very striking in bloom. It get quite large in time for a flowering tree. Not as prone to problems as most cherry trees. Needs to be sited in a moist area though. 10) Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) - Wanted to put cornus florida here but zone 5 is pushing it for that species. I like this one too. Flowers in early summer and can put on quite a show. The giant red fruit of this dogwood is more visually appealing than cornus florida. Fall color is spectacular. Many cultivars to choose from.

A couple of notes because the rest is going to be rather long and involved: Lynda, I have the Vitex marked for you and in your baggie! And thank you for the marigolds! They will be very interesting with my others! Dessie I would be more than happy to receive your little helper's seed packets! I think it's great! Wendy Try some Chai Spice tea, it works wonders in helping clear up colds and flu. I always add a dollop of honey to help sooth the throat. It's a staple in our house and really does help. Alright, here is my take on this.. I can understand how many were hoping that the two swaps would not coincide, but, we all knew there was a fair chance of that happening. For myself, I know that I continued to update my list, even well after Patty's swap's mailing deadline. I did my updates using the same method we did for Patty's swap- using an updated date. Even had I not, I knew there was a good chance the two swaps would overlap. I joined this one knowing full well- according to the guidelines posted for it- that I may NOT receive as many as I sent in. That I would receive as many as were sent in FOR me, up to five packets of the SAME item. I recall there being some issue with this and a member who became very rude in their comments about this fact. Yes, my package from the What's Left swap is in the second batch to go out. No, I did not keep strict record of what I sent to those who were in the What's Left swap. I did keep better records of what I'm sending for this swap. I also know that a lot of people will be sending in baggies of seeds marked as extras- not dedicated for anyone, but to add in when it's seen those items are on someone's list. No, these may not be some of the rarer or more exclusively wanted items on someone's list. But if someone has some of those rarer or more specific items to share, I'm sure they would have put them into your baggie before they mailed. So, I don't see that anyone would be missing out on anything. The only way I could see having updated one's list further as complicating Patty's swap would be if someone had removed things from their list. Updating and adding items would not have conflicted. Because if there were any extras of what you were wanting, Patty would have included them. So, I guess I'm not really understanding how there is such a need to update the lists just because one is in both swaps. If I receive duplicates, wonderful! Because the things on my list are things I want! If I don't receive something on my list, then no one had it to share. If I receive so many of something that I can't plant it all, then I can bless someone else by offering it up for a trade. So, perhaps I'm being dense here, but how would one not receive something sent in specifically for them (up to FIVE packets of the same item!) that was on their wants list in this swap? Everyone has the chance to see your wants as posted and you have had the option to add to that list, as many including myself have this whole time. The only thing I could really see the two swaps happening almost simultaneously possibly affecting would be one's have's list. I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset or offend anyone. I'm just honestly trying to understand why this is such an issue. So please don't take this as meaning to offend or as pointed to anyone in particular. This is just me trying to understand why so many are upset about this. If you prefer to email me privately and help me understand it, I would be pleased with that and please do! Perhaps there are aspects and issues with this that I'm not readily seeing and should consider. I don't want to keep the thread off track by my question becoming a debate here. Perhaps there can be some adjustments of dates if this swap happens in the late summer or again next winter, but for this year it is as it is and personally, I'm really enjoying it! Nancy, I hope you don't decide to drop out, because I know that I should have at least a couple of things from your list, perhaps more. But I'll respect your choice and be your Garden Buddy either way :) Fran, you have a real job ahead of you and I don't know how those like you and Patty do it! Leave me hosting my "pair em up and let em go" or true RR type swaps! I think those of you that host this kind of swap are awesome! Angela, you have been a wonderful help to Fran and all of us in this swap! I know the time it can take to code pages like that, though updates are easier once the initial work is done, and I want to say THANK YOU for the time and work you are putting in on this swap for everyone's benefit! Kathy~ heading off to stuff more little baggies and envelopes.

2nd half of original post: General- high enough brix and reasonably large: Patul (also called Batul), 16.4 brix, 100-150g- a late-ripening dessert apple from the early 1800's in Transylvania. In Romanian, it translates to "bottom of haystack", which was where they were stored until spring (good until March/April). It used to be a significant eastern European cultivar in the 50's and seems to have at least moderate resistance to fireblight, scab, and powdery mildew. Finkenwerder Herbstprinz, 14.7 brix, 250-300g-old German variety which has fallen out of favor. It is supposed to be at it's best in April/May, at which point it has shriveled, but improved in flavor. I see some references to it being used for hard cider. One link implied that it has good disease resistance. Reinette Tres Tardive, 16.7 brix, 100-150g- a very late keeping (July) greenish, partially russeted apple. Oliver or Senator, 16, 100-150g- Tender crisp, juicy flesh. Most refreshing flavor. From another desc: Nice red apple from Northwestern Arkansas. The yellowish flesh is fine-grained and juicy and often stained with red. Ripens October to November and is an excellent keeper. Healthy, vigorous, and productive per Lee Calhoun. Gales, 17.6, 100-150g- productive, mid-season, red, good quality. Came from Milo Gibson, so there must be something interesting here... Lord Hindlip, 16.1 brix, 150-200g- very late, very long keeping, balanced and aromatic. Scab resistant. Cornish Aromatic (Wakeley), 16.1, 100-150g- Firm, slightly dry. Very scab resistant and a good keeper (until spring). Shamrock, 18 brix, 150-200g- Green like Granny Smith. Sweet and soft. I didn't find anything on disease resistance, but given that it's parents are Gold Delicious and McIntosh, it can't be great. Reinette de Cuzy, 16.6, 100-150g- Still sold in France today. Seems to be a late keeper and most descriptions call it perfumed or fragrant. KAZ 96 08-17, 16.6 brix, 100-150g- No info other than the stats (semi-firm, sweet, non-oxidizing, etc) and that it is an open pollinated seedling of a collected apple which was aromatic and sweet, Free of disease. Heavy codling moth, nice apple. PRI 672-1, 17.9 brix, >400g(but it says under 2.5"?)- Lots of Golden Delicious in its background. Scab resistant, very crisp, slightly spicy, very full-flavored, juicy to very juicy; very attractive. Good fruit flesh texture and flavor. PRI 1293-3, 17 brix, >400g- Scab resistance from Russian 12740-7A. very crisp, very juicy, very attractive. Jonathan and some Red Delicious in background. Lord Lambourne, 14.5 brix, 150-200g- standard British variety. Supposed to be a pretty good, balanced flavor. Grown by Stephen Hayes. Others of interest (not necessarily from GRIN): Carter Blue My Jewel Vanilla Pippin Abbondanza King David Jefferis Discovery Blenheim Orange-Interestingly, I found 2 sources which say it is scab resistant and 2 which say it is very susceptible. All 4 appear to be different sources, not just copy-pastes of each other.