In SE WI they are available, especially the hawthorn and dogwood. IMHO Maackia amurensis is an extremely underutilized tree. I have the straight species and I'm considering adding either 'Starburst' and 'Summertime' to a tougher spot. Crabapple and Japanese Tree Lilac are common street trees so those would work as well (as suggested above). I have JTL 'Summer Snow'...I think its superior to 'Ivory Silk' based on shape, flowers and winter seed pod persistance. If you go the Malus (crabapple) route search this forum for "Malus with Good Reliable Fall Color". Folks here came up with several fine cultivars for our area. How close are you to Waterloo? McKay nursery is good for tried and true selections but lack the unique selections that work well for area. I'm lucky to have Johnsons Nursery down the road from me.

Just a few more weeks, and you can go to town. I prune from Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day. My garden in Sonoma County is in the middle of the best fall flush I've had in years, so I couldn't think of pruning those roses that are blooming and holding all their foliage. I do have some roses (the hardier types) that are headed toward dormancy. I could get started on them. You can also get started by removing dead wood. You can also do a little thinning of weak wood, if you're removing entire canes. I have plenty of work I could do on my climbers, for example, removing unproductive wood. But in the end, it's probably a waste of energy to clean up now and prune later. It's more effecient to do is all at once.

Ezzirah, Any onions sold as bundled plants in Oklahoma should be types that grow well here....I've only seen long daylength types sold here as bulb-like sets, not as bundled plants. The original Granex was released in Texas in the early 1950s, I think, and is still sold today. There now are many named granex types sold for the south and they all grow well and produce, but not all are equally productive and disease resistant. The Grano types (like Texas 1015Y) are improved granex types and the improvement is mainly improved disease resistance, which in the case of onions generally means improved resistance to pinkrot. When selecting onions to grow in Oklahoma, any granex, grano or bermuda type ought to grow just fine. It is the long daylength types that won't bulb up here. Another easy way to choose is to watch for the word 'sweet' or 'supersweet' in a variety name or in the variety description because those are the types that grow well in the south. (We can't grown the hotter or more pungent/more spicy onions here because they don't bulb up.) The only downside to growing sweet or supersweet tyes is that they generally don't store for as long as they hotter and more pungent onion types. With proper curing, though, I've had them last easily 6 months in storage which is longer than average for sweet onions. For longer-term storage, I chop them or slice them and freeze them. Onions are one of the easiest veggies to grow here. As long as you don't plant them in soil that stays too wet and as long as late, severe cold doesn't hit them they're a cinch to grow. Dawn

I have enough Red Spider Lilies I can send Mark some extra spiderlilies for being such a wonderful host. :) I also have the offers set aside for greenthumb, rosepedal and cottageflowers. I have unlimited 'common privet' cuttings to offer. Smells wonderful, makes a good hedge, tho I keep the ones here cut to look like a small tree. Dirtdiggin ~ I would love some blackberry cuttings! Either type, both! lol, I'm not picky, kids just love the berries! :) And I have a perfect spot for them that if they get wild it'll be fine w/ me! :) Greenthumb ~ would love an African Violet cutting if there's one left? Kamil ~ would love 1 or 2 bulbs of Star of Bethlehem.. I've heard these lil guys are crazy invasive.. but I'm willing to try some in a pot! :) Mark I'm fine w/ whatEVER the postage is! lol I have a paypal acct too so if that works I'm game as well. I'm pretty sure the rhubarb and asparagus plants are all gone, but I am hoping someone can answer questions re: these for me. I actually have seeds for both.. but from what I understand it takes 2-3 yrs before you actually get food from the plants.. is that right? I am looking over the property tomorrow.. I'm sure my mom had an oak leaf hydrangea.. just can't seem to remember where it was! Thanks everyone for the get well wishes.. I'm working on it. ~Wendy