It may just be my perspective but growing/cultural requirements to me mean something very different than attributes specific selections within the same species may offer. That's where you get down to cultivar level and make assessments on which cultivar/selection may work best for you. For example, 'Arp' may be one of the hardiest forms of rosemary but it still has the same basic cultural requirements as any other cultivar -- a need for full sun, well-draining, lean soil and minimal water (once established) and fertilizing. But maybe rosemary is not the best example as it is pretty much a single species genus (there is a another species but extremely uncommon in gardens or in distribution). Let's look at euphorbias, a genus with literally hundreds of species. Each species of euphorbia can (and most do) have very different growing requirements from other euphorb species, but within the same species the growing/cultural requirements will be virtually identical. Some cultivars may grow larger than others, some may produce larger/smaller flower heads or of slightly different coloring, some might even offer increased cold tolerance but the growing conditions - soils, water, light, nutrient demand, etc. will be the same. And that's where I disagree with the statement mindy (or her source) posed initially: "LIKE ALL PLANTS WITHIN THE SAME FAMILY OR SPECIES, Xanthosomas are all individuals and some can be used as bog plants, where others will simply decline and rot." To be more accurate, I'd change that statement to read: "like many plants within the same family or even genus, each species of Xanthosomas is unique: some can be used as bog plants while others will simply decline and rot under similar conditions." To be perfectly honest, if I were to read that statement without any preamble or mindy's intro to it, I would tend to interpret it exactly the same way as I wrote it -- unless you are a professional horticulturist or botanist, I doubt you make the distinctions between the various levels of plant morphology and understand what the writer was trying to say. Us geeky types tend to get hung up on the semantics but I understand the point the writer was attempting to get across regardless of the exact terminology :-) Actually, I think flora summed up the entire discussion very nicely: After all we are all the same species, just different cultivars. If you think about it, each individual offers something unique but we all share the same basic needs.

Thank you both for the info. I looked at Telos, and yes, they can ship to Canada. The catch is that you need an order for at least $100, a phyto for $50, a preparation fee between $15-50, plus cost of shipping. That comes to more fees than the plants' worth. I figure that it would cost around $225 out of which $100 would be for the bulbs and $125 for the fees. In a few words, it is prohibitive. And the choice of available plant is limited and not quite what I'm looking for. I also found: http://amaryllis-plus.com/. They can ship outside of the USA, but their site doesn't say much about it, but I would say it seems less costly than Telos. The choice of available bulbs is also limited to just a few species, the most easily available ones. Another one I found is http://www.shieldsgardens.com/. They ship outside of the USA at a reasonable cost, but their choice is even more limited than the 2 others. They have one that I would want: mandonii, worth $45. I also checked Mauro's site, but not many species available right now. I seems to be a very reliable place though. So far, the best place I found completely by chance is http://www.thegardeningwebsite.co.uk/hippeastrum-national-collection-applied-for-junius-des-brisay-c8505.html. It doesn't say enough, but if what they say is true, it ought to be the largest collection of hippeastrum species in the world, and it may become the largest supplier of such bulbs in the future. I wrote them to get more info about what they can do or not. As for import/export, I used to import orchid plants in quantity several years ago. It was a doable thing at that time. Now I see some very nice peonies, irises, daylilies, etc. south of the border and not available up here. When you write to these suppliers, many will answer they wont ship outside the continental USA, and most (not to say all) certainly not to other countries because exporting has become too much of an ordeal: lot of paperwork, often changing rules, certificates of all kind, prohibitive costs for customers, long transit time, losses because of long transit time, etc. Many that used to export not so long ago wont do it anymore today because of that. And here in Canada, they sure don't make things easy to anyone who wants to import plants nowadays, no matter where from. It is a challenge to find out what the rules are, there are high costs for the permits, and anything coming into or going out from Canada by mail will take at least 30 days. I very recently sent a small envelope of hippeastrum (Fairytale x self) seeds to a lady in Louisiana and it took almost 5 weeks to get there. The only safe and fast way is courrier services, but we all know what these cost. I have no doubts that in some places it can be quite easy to import/export plants, but from my own experience, Canada is most certainly not one of these places. So, there we are. I'm waiting for some answers from the ones I wrote to, and I'll see what happens next. If it never sees a happy ending, I hope these posts will at least inform other readers about the pitfalls involved in trying to get hard things to get. Don't worry, I'm not discouraged... yet ((: Laurier My web site

I'm at the start of the cul de sac so the snow plow slows down right as he is going into the turn and slowing rides the curve meanwhile a 100 lbs of rock salt is being spun all over the place. Its not a big deal when we have small amounts of snowfall but when its 3" or more its game over. I have nowhere to go with the 10" of snow if left in front of my driveway except for this area around the to be pine. I would actually go with Bosnian or Japanese Black pines but their hardiness is questionable around here. I might just end up with the P. reflexa. I thought I recall Resin stating that this pine was the most drought tolerant of the white pines. Dax, good point. I forget that sometimes. What is 'Vanderwolf's Pyramid' likely grafted to?

Thanks for the replies guys. I was surprised that the blooms came so quickly this year; I didn't expect any activity until at least June. I've convinced myself that the rains and wet weather had a lot to do with the failure, and I don't know that any additional soil amendment could have kept their feet from a little wetness. The stand still looks very healthy, and I will probably move a few shoots to my mother's lawn as an apt gift for Mother's Day (what good mother has not done a little hot prodding in her time?). She has better full sun sites anyway. All of the literature on this plant seems to advise against disturbing the rhizomes, but the offshoots on the edge are fair game for me. I bought the original plant from Marcum's Nursery, along with some great phlox. I've been very happy with all the plants, and I am a little leery of the big chain stores' offerings. Some of my chain store glad hybrids and bleeding hearts failed to materialize. I did, however, just add a Walmart six pack of salvia to my herb/butterfly garden. I'll try not to lurk any longer. Happy Gardening!