Where at in zone 5 are you? My guess, wait till spring and Im sure every one will be getting in the new plants for the spring plantings. Another option, head south, find an online nursery that is in florida, texas or a warm climate and see what they have in stock. A local nursery for me is http://www.wigertsbonsai.com/, he has alot of starters in one gallon pots of a huge varity. I think the number is on the web site. You will have to call to find out his current stock. (I have no ownership or finical gain in wigertsbonsai, its just local for me and I have bought 1/2 my plants from them. Good plants.)

Greenthumbz, those are gorgeous pics! I've heard that there are a couple of trees that are not native to North America but are used by significant numbers of native insects. 1) Malus/Crabapples - native, hybrid, or exotic, Douglas Tallamy's book stated that the leaf chemistry is so similar that North american insects will use all species. This certainly bears true in my experience. I've got lots of crabs, a few specimens and a crazy wild thicket full of them in back,and they are bird magnets, not just for the fruits in the fall but for the nectar and insects in spring and summer. 2) Picea abies/Norway spruce - don't have any personal experience, but was told this by an ornithology student at Cornell who was doing a study on the subject

I forgot about this thread. Mersi, no, my vanilla orchid never bloomed..I wish. I had two, green and variegated..the var went to plant heaven. I could blame it on the seller, but it was my fault..except I still don't know where I went wrong..lol The green is once again a small plant..It grew huge, over 10'..Somehow, the stems tangled..it was like unraveling Christmas lights that have been tossed in a box w/o organizing. It got a haircut about a year ago. Cuttings never rooted..boohoo. Marcsi, you've never heard of Gardenwatchdog? Wow..It's too bad everyone who grows/buys plants wasn't aware of this site. It's great for two reasons..The first is if someone wants to order from 'x' nursery, they check GWD, and read feedback. The second is, it's a good way finding a nursery. BUT, there is a negative side, too. Over the years I've talked to a few nursery owners. They're very nice people, have to take lots of cr*p when it comes to the public. One woman ordered 2 plants from 'x' nusery. One was a backorder so when she opened the box, found one plant missing, she went balistic. She phoned the owner at midnight, again 4am..she admitted, on GWD, calling his home at midnight. She hesitated mentioning the 4am call though.. To top it off, she left negative feedback. If someone doesn't get exactly what they think they're going to get, instead of contacting the owner they run to GWD, rant and rave what a terrible nursery they ordered from, warn people away. I've ordered from nurseries some complained about and never had any problems. One man ships bare-root plants..it's written in plain English..still some complain the print isn't large enough, or it doesn't offer a good-enough description. The seller even displays pics/sizes of what to expect..lol How much more can anyone do? So, all it takes is one person to get the ball rolling, and others tend to follow. But I do enjoy reading GWD and have found several decent nurseries. Perhaps Logees has improved their stock. If they haven't, the only reason they could be getting positive feedback, and I dread saying this is, people who have been shopping with them for years may feel dedicated, or ppl who just starting buying plants, who never shopped elsewhere, have nothing to compare to, perhaps feel a 3" plant is sufficient, especially if they believe it rare. I feel bad talking down about Logees, but after paying high costs to receive dead or tiny plants, if someone asked where to shop, I c/wouldn't refer them. Toni

I remember thinking Idaho's nativity set was attractive but cannot remember exactly what it looked like. I bought this one at Costco last year and saw that they brought it back again this year. Not sure if this is your taste. Here is a link that might be useful: nativity scene