It is cold and sunny in Oklahoma today. My garden is in very sad shape. No BFs. But, I am beginning to winter sow seeds. My Fimbriata seeds that I obtained from a GW member are up! That was fast! My sunny spa room is full of cuttings. The Tomentosa cuttings that I obtained this fall are taking off. I have containers on the patio with A Clematitis and Serpentaria on the patio and in the spa room. I'm experimenting to see how best to coax these seeds into sprouting. I've even frozen some seeds after soaking them to see if that might expedite germination. In other words, I've been enjoying myself! I found a green house shelf at Lowe's for a very reasonable sum and I've got plants in it. And I have a laundry room full of seeds! Seeds everywhere! So much to do before next spring. And so much to do in the next six weeks before I leave for Laos to visit my DD, SIL, and GS! I'll be there a month, enjoying warm temperatures and BFs. Can you tell I'm excited? Only drawback is making sure that someone cares for my plants while I'm gone. DH will be going with me for the first 2 weeks and returning. DS will be taking care of Miss Libby Rose, my beloved LC chihuahua and BF dog--it's the ears--they look just like BF wings! She's also good at finding the caterpillars when they crawl off in the house. Hopefully, he can follow directions and keep the plants going. Otherwise, I'll just have to start over when I return home. And Christmas is coming! So much to do. . . Sandy :)

Greetings from Virginia Beach! Here are the details about the upcoming 2006 Southeast Citrus Expo. It should be a great time and all those in the surrounding areas are encouraged to attend. SOUTHEAST CITRUS EXPO 2006 The Southeast Citrus Exposition is now into its forth year. Its purpose is to encourage citrus growing outside the commercial citrus belt for both the home gardener and the serious enthusiast. This years Expo will feature expert speakers who will provide information on growing cold-hardy citrus in the Southeast United States. Topics that will be discussed will be: in ground or container culture, advice on choosing citrus, cold protection, grafting and selection of root stock, as well as other topics. The Expo will include a citrus fruit contest, plant sale, and tours of citrus trees growing in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When: Saturday November 18th 2006 from 10:00AM to 4:30PM (entries of fruit for the contest must be received between 9:00AM and 10:00AM ( NO LATER) Where: Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Virginia Beach, VA. 717 General Booth Blvd. Virginia Beach, VA. 23451 (757) 425-FISH www.virginiaaquarium.com Directions: From I-95 North 11 miles above the VA./NC. State Line take RT# 58 East to Norfolk/Virginia Beach. Stay on RT#58 until Bowers Hill Intersection. At Bowers Hill, bear right onto I-64 East. Take a right on to I-264 East, stay on I-264 until Atlantic Ave at the Virginia Beach Ocean Front. Take a right on Atlantic Ave, go over the Rudee Inlet Bridge, continue approximately ¾ miles and you will see the Virginia Aquarium on the right. 2006 Expo Agenda 7:30  9:00AM Early Bird Plant Sale at Pungo Palms Nursery Plant Sale promptly ends at 9:00AM ( Note: Vendors can setup at 7:00AM) 9:00  10:00AM Registration and Admission ( Make sure you participate in the drawing for afternoon tour groups A or B) Admission to the Citrus Expo will be FREE for those attending. Admission to the Aquarium will be at a reduced group rate. Raffle tickets for the Expo plant giveaway will be available before the lectures and during the display of the fruit in the competition. Tickets will be $1.00 and will benefit the Citrus Expo. Plants for Raffle will be donated by the Expo coordinators & vendors. These will include: cold-hardy citrus, cold-hardy palms, and other rare plants. 10:00  1045AM Presentation by Bob Koch, "Citrus Grown in Containers", Located in the March Pavilion Auditorium. 11:00  11:45AM Presentation by Stan McKenzie and Ned Rahn, " In Ground Citrus Culture", Located in the Marsh Pavilion Auditorium. 12:00  1:00PM Fruit Competition Awards, Fruit Display, and Raffle in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean PavilionÂs Promenade Room Note: all fruit entered in the competition will be on display 1:15  2:15PM (Lunch on your own) a list and location of restaurants within three miles Of the Aquarium will be provided. Expo Afternoon Tours and Plant Sale For afternoon tours, all participants will be gathered into two groups. Group A Group B 2:20  3:15PM Group A Will tour Robert MotycaÂs Citrus located in his back yard Robert will give a talk on approach grafting. 3:15  4:00PM Group B Will tour Robert MotycaÂs Citrus located in his back yard Robert will give a talk on approach grafting. 3:40  4:30PM+?? "ALL" End of the day plant sale at Pungo Palms Nursery and tour Of in ground citrus The Southeast Citrus Expo is sponsored by: *GaryÂs Nursery, New Bern, North Carolina Wholesale and retail grower of cold hardy palms, Bananas, citrus, and other plants in eastern North Carolina since 1975. Gary will have plants available for purchase at the Plant sale. Visit GaryÂs Nursery online at www.garysnursery.com *McKenzie Farms Nursery, Scranton, South Carolina Stan "The Citrusman" McKenzie sells many varieties of cold hardy citrus trees, palms, traditional fruit trees, vegetables and other plants. Stan will bring citrus for the plant sale. Visit McKenzie Farms online at www.mckenzie-farms.com or email at citrusman99@hotmail.com *RahnÂs Plant Connection, Port Royal, South Carolina Ned and Faye Rahn sell a large variety of citrus trees and other rare plants and flowers not found at garden centers. They will bring plants for the plant sale. Email Ned and Faye at plantfolks@yahoo.com *Virginia Greenhouse Association, Hampton Roads Chapter Members are greenhouse owners, who love plants and want to share their knowledge and experiences with other plant lovers. *The Southeastern Palm Society The Southeast Palm Society is a chapter of the International Palm Society, Members are devoted to growing hardy palms and other extraordinary plants, including hardy citrus. Visit the Southeastern Palm Society online at www.sepalms.org. *Southern Fruit Fellowship The Southern Fruit Fellowship is an informal organization of amateur fruit growing enthusiasts throughout the Southern United States. Membership is open to all interested parties. The fellowship has a quarterly newsletter and has meetings at different locations In the Southeast. Membership and dues: contact Retta Davis (318)686-4249 or email: DAVISD_R@Hotmail.com *Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery, Jacksonville, FL. Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery specializes in many varieties of citrus which are grafted on Flying Dragon rootstock. Any questions or requests, call: (904)880-5026 or email: www.flyingdragoncitrusnursery.com *The Artist in the Garden, Virginia Beach, VA. Scott Dilatash is the artist in the garden. He is the purveyor of unusual custom landscapes In the Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina area. Call (757) 696-7263 *The Virginia Beach Master Gardeners, Virginia Beach, VA. A fellowship of Certified Master Gardeners in the City of Virginia Beach, sponsored by the Virginia Polytechnic Extension Service. *Pungo Palms Nursery, Virginia Beach, VA. Growers of rare and unusual cold hardy palms, desert plants, citrus, bananas, and other sub tropical plants. The nursery is located in the Back Bay area of Virginia Beach , both Ralph and Kathy Denton will participate in the Expo plant sale. Contact us at: Pungo Palmsfreeserver.com\ or call: (757) 426-3677. The Forth Southeastern Citrus Exposition Fruit Competition Rules and Procedures Fruit Preparation All fruit entered must be grown by the entrant, either in a container or in the ground. Before submission, fruit should be washed and prepared for eating. Remove any pesticide residue. Judges may have to taste fruit in case of a tie. A minimum of three fruit of a specific cultivar must be donated per entry: for example, three Satsuma fruit are required to qualify as one entry. One of the fruit must be cut in half "against the grain (as you would cut a grapefruit) to show the inside of the fruit. (See the illustration above for an example.) Fruit can be returned at the request of the entrant. Fruit must contain at least ½" of stem attached. One fruit should have at least leaf attached to the stem. Check the category sheet to determine proper entry. At the Expo Entries must be submitted between 9:00AM and 10:00 AM. After 10:00AM entries will not be accepted. At registration, you will be given an entry number to ensure anonymity. Make sure that you keep this number with you until the award ceremony. An entry card must be filled out for each entry. Be sure that you put your entry number on each card. Viewing of the fruit will take place from 12:00 to 1:00PM Blue, red, and white ribbons will be awarded for each category. In addition, there will be a "Best in Show, "Honorable Mention", and "Most Unusual" award. Citrus Categories for the Contest There will be a grown-in-ground category and a container-grown category. Any cultivar not listed here will be assigned to a category by the judging coordinator. Sweet Orange Ambersweet Cara Cara Hamlin Naval Parson Brown Pineapple Sour Orange Abers Narrowleaf Bergamot Bigaradier Apepu Boquet des Fleurs Chinotto Citrus neoaurantium Gou Tou Nansho Daidai ( Citrus Tiawanica) Sauvage Seville Smooth Flat Seville Willowleaf Zhu Luan Mandarin Changsha Clementine Clem-Yuz 2-2 Clem-Yuz 3-3 Dancy Juanita Keraji Minneola Tangelo Nasnaran Orlando Tangelo Ponkan Satsuma Shekwasha Kumquat & Hybrids Chang Shou Fukushu Hong Kong Lemonquat Limequat ( Eustis, Lakeland, Tavares) Marmaladequat Meiwa Nagami Nippon Orangequat Procimequat Sunquat Marumi Lemon Lisbon Meyer Ponderosa Sanbokan Ujukitsu Lime Bearss Persian Grapefruit Bloomsweet Duncan Golden Marsh Oroblanco Pink Marsh Ruby Red Thompson Ichangensis Hybrids Ichang Papeda Ichang Lemon Sudachi Yuzu Yuzuquat Yuzvange Trifoliate Orange Standard Flying Dragon Rubidoux Trifoliate Hybrids Citrange (Morton, Troyer, Carizzo, Benton, Rusk, and etc.) Citrumello (Dunstan, Swingle, Changsha x English Large, USDA 80-5, and etc. Citradia Citrandarin (CiClem#10, Citsuma, and etc. Dragon Lime Complex Hybrids Citrangequat ( Thomasville, Sinton, etc.) Glen Citrangedin Razzlequat SancitChang US 119 2006 Citrus Exposition organizers and contacts: Ralph or Kathy Denton, Phone (757) 426-3677 e-mail at: palmlady@cox.net Gaylord Ventura: e-mail ggvm30@aol.com

Hey Plantbug, OH YEA! We have 136 likes on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LowcountryFruitGrowersSociety And we had 29 members at our last meeting. For only a few months, I am very happy with the progress. Thanks for asking. Darren Here is a link that might be useful: Lowcountry Fruit Growers on Facebook

We have had two pools built and not had one single problem...I think that is partly due to dealing with a very reputable builder and having done my homework BEFORE signing any contracts. If you want to know who builds a good pool talk to the prople that have to repair them and the equiptment. I may not be reading this right...you came home from a long weekend to find the pool dug?? Or was it dug the next day.....and then you talk about a two week time period in which the city inspected the steel. I'm confused, they dug the pool AND did the re-bar all in one day...or over this period of two weeks?? Neither of my pools had steel put in the same day they dug it.....digging it was a full day job. If two weeks had gone by surely you had seen what was happening. Gotta agree with earthworm here, about a gazillion instances of communication gap. Sounds like it has now come down to a real fight.....guess we'll be looking for this one on Peoples Court.