What the nurseries don't tell you is that most (not all) Viburnums need cross polinators to give the most berries. Some V.'s seem to berry themselves without help, but I personally can't get enough V.'s in my yard so I can't use that as excuse too often. I will tell you that mine did not produce berries the first two years I had them. The link below (GardenWeb Shrubs Forum) has a comprehensive discussion about Viburnums. It enlightened me! One of the first things is to get the whole scientific name, since V.'s are quite varied and it can get confusing if you just use the common name or the variety name. You have two V. dilatatums (the Linden V.) and one V. dentatum (the Arrowwood V.), your Blue Muffin. Many V.'s bloom at different times and therefore won't have the pollen available when needed, so the trick is to buy the shrubs that have the same blooming time. I found some V. acerifolium (the Maple-leaf V.) growing wild in my woods and transplanted a couple near my V. dilatatum's, and a V. carlesii. All are showing the promise of lovely berries this year for the first time and it may be that the wild V. had a long bloom period at the same time the other V.'s needed the pollen. Or, it could just be that the V.'s I have are finally established enough to make berries. If you have two V. dilatatum Michael Dodge's grown from seedlings they will have a different genetic makeup and can cross pollinate whereas two grown vegatatively (from cuttings) from the same mother plant will be clones and therefore identical. You'd have better luck buying one each from two different nurseries who would share the name of the wholesalers to ensure they are not from the same mother plant. Your V. dentatum Blue Muffin does not need to be paired to make berries. I would recommend that you buy another V. dilatatum and plant it somewhere between the Michaeil Dodge and Cardinal Candy. Erie or Oneida would have different colored berries than yours - just to make things interesting. or, you could get another one of either of the V. dilatatum's you already have. Check out the Exchanges page or do a search to find someone to trade with. The V.'s are quite easy to propagate and grow amazingly fast. Nancy the nancedar Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb Shrubs Forum on Viburnum

awww, thanks mammie! He is a sweetie. He is 34 inches tall at the withers (shoulder) and is a 7 year old gelding. We are told he knows how to pull a cart, but we have not tried that yet! He is just a pet...we will also get a big horse soon to ride, but in the meantime he is satifying my "horse urge" without costing tons of $$$ in the feed department! My next door neighbor boards horses that stay out in their pasture all the time (they are retired) so he has companionship with them (it is kind of cruel to keep only one horse...they are herd animals and crave other horses company.) Oh, I wanted to add to this thread...that I am thinking of getting a 6' tall rolled bamboo fence to put up while whatever plants I decide are growing. Anyone have any experience with these fences? Also, will clematic grow in the shade? Someone on another forum suggested clematis for this shaded area. Thanks.

Glad you're back, Johanna! You're right - it IS a friendly forum. I think all of us here just like to hang out and share what we know, and there's ALWAYS something to learn. So please tell us - what Hoyas do you grow? And which one is your absolute favorite? Denise in Omaha

Unfortunately, I've seen (and heard about) quite a bit of it over the years. I can even remember when people were publicly "disinvited" to swaps and hot back-and-forth arguments that went on for days. I always hear that gardeners are friendly people, and I think that's generally true. But, it's not a guarantee. I've met some of the friendliest people I know of on this forum (and through the East Tennessee Plant Swap), but sometimes you just get a bad apple. The trick is to not let one bad apple spoil the bunch. (-: