keepitlow, Are you lucky! I paid that much for my trees, more if you count shipping. But they are on Gisela5 rootstock, one reason they were more than double the cost at other on-line stores. Plus, they were 5-6 feet tall plants (roots and all) instead of 2-3' ones. But I don't see me getting any ripe cherries this year. (Alas!) Mike

I always feel bad when my threads keep going here and I don't check them. I guess I always forget to check the box for notification when I start a thread. The winter picture is quite nice. Unfortunately I have quite a few years before this twig will be capable of anything like that. Another disease to learn about. First page I searched didn't say anything about the rust being deadly unless you mean that this small of a tree will just be weakened too much, possibly by defoliation. In the Master Gardener's course we learned about Apple-Cedar rust but they said it had no effect on the cedar tree and that the resultant rust on the apples was cosmetic (I think). Don't quote me, I knew I would grow the cedars but didn't have any apples at the time. I am hoping that the Cedar-Hawthorn is the same but it sounds like it could be quite damaging. In my years of plant awareness I have only seen the Apple-Cedar rust one year. Maybe we have been lucky or I missed it. I do grow the Eastern Red Cedars as early bonsai practice. You might say that is dangerous on my behalf but you can't throw a rock without hitting one in my area. If I didn't dig them up and bring them home, there would still be a huge one in the front and back yard. Maybe one day I will regret bringing more home but for now there is no way I can get away from them. They are EVERYWHERE. I won't worry too much for now, there is a Hawthorn on our family farm that looks similar to "Crimson Cloud" that has been there since I can remember and probably before I was born so it hasn't subsided to anything in 33 years.

Hi Rob, Not much to add ... and hope that you're back at least part way out of your blue funk. Brother, retired farmer who lives 1600 miles way, has one son, only child, in a city 100 miles from here, a couple of small grand-daughters from son's second marriage, and comes to visit them a couple of times a year. He'd called to say he was to be in the neighbourhood, and we got together on Friday, I called son and he and his partner were there for lunch, as was brother and wife ... and a couple of favourite cousins were, as well. Brother spent a few years when he was very young with the family of our Mom's brother and their two children when she was ill, so he considers one as almost a sister: the son, a local farmer, died several years ago. The other cousin lives locally and I see her at church fairly often - she, who had voice training, has sung in the choir for 75 years. The brother and I went to deal with some complications over inheritance of cemetery plots that Dad owned ... and it looks as though resolution is to be easier than we figured. Then we sat and had a chat ... and he's rather worried about future viability of his son's marriage. We don't see one another often, but we've been close, over the years. Our brother died over forty years ago, when his kids were in their teens, and our ready-made sister that came with our stepmom lives near brother in Saskatchewan. It's a red letter day when we get together. ole joyful

rick yea i was amazed how much they have grown, im not sure if thats my organic ways, they loving it, and im pretty sure you dino trees will do the same also tracy just wait till you get your dino trees, and check there growth and you will be amazed also yep phil i love my suppliers trees, some of his hybrids still stabilizing, but most are f3 and f4 generations now sinha, i just feed my soil with organic stuffs and my soil feeds the plant, im pretty sure your socos and arabs will grow awesome also,