Double Delight - you will love it. The only negative is that it gets double centers if you overfertilize. Good repeat, about 4 feet here. Mine is an older plant, when younger, it was taller Just Joey - I love it but it is not reliably hardy here. I plant it again and again hoping to find the right sheltered spot! Love it but can't seem to keep it going. Fussy! Never grown one over 8 inches tall. Peace - a classic, good rose for me. About four feet for me. Repeat is ok, not as much as others in my garden. Medallion - I like it and it has been a good rose for me in my garden. Not my fave, though. 4 feet and a somewhat stingy bloomer here. Europeana - a nice rose, lots of bloom throughout the season. A shorter, low growing rose. Always in bloom. I haven't grown Pascali. Just not a big fan of white roses. I've bought the package roses at Menard's for years. To give them a good start, soak them for at least 24 hours. They will do better if you put them in pots to start, then transfer them to the garden when they have shown some good growth.

Hey spiny fans...due to my doubt about a pic of Dyckia cineria in the book, so I asked the curator of Heidelberg Botanical Garden, Timm Stolten to solve this topic. Then he tried to help me and just got a quick reply from Derek Butcher. Uncle Derek reminded him that exactly this subject was discussed in an old BSI article (J.Brom Soc. 45: 117. 1995) by Harry E. Luther wrote: "...When Can A Picture Be Trusted? A recent comparison of Dyckia marnier-lapostollei with Dyckia cinerea made me think at first that it was a valid attempt based on the published work of authorities, but then I did a little research that I shall describe. The problems associated with cultivated Dyckia marnier-lapostollei and D. cinerea result from the condition that they are probably the same thing. Note that I say "cultivated." This is a horticultural identification problem and not a taxonomic problem in the strict sense. Real Dyckia cinerea is probably not in cultivation, at least in the United States, unless it has very recently come in as wild collections from Caraga or vicinity. I have not seen any. I have a photograph of the type specimen of D. cinerea (Glaziou 18570 at Berlin) that portrays a plant very different from D. marnier-lapostollei. The leaves are much longer, relatively narrower with much more laxly arranged, generally shorter spines. The scape is very much more robust; the inflorescence appears more densely flowered than any D. marnierlapostollei. The specimen is only a fragment but I suspect that the overall appearance of this species is quite different from D. marnier-lapostollei as well. So what's the problem? Why any confusion? To find out, look at the black and white photo in Dr. Werner Rauh's BROMELIADS, the 1979 English edition, or in the later, reprinted edition BROMELIAD LEXICON, between pages 290-291, illustration 252. See the Dyckia cinerea? **Get our your pencil. It's really a Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. The identification was corrected in the later German edition of BROMELIEN but not brought to the attention of English-only readers.** If there are any questions about "big" Dyckia marnier-lapostollei, consider the culture involved. The type specimen, which can be seen in the photos in the protologue, appears to be in a very small, perhaps four-inch pot. Most of us now grow these things with much more root room. Was the type specimen "bonsaied"? Are our robust specimens normal? Eight or so years ago, I saw a few freshly collected plants that were at least 50% larger than what was reported in the literature. I'm sure that size can vary somewhat so this characteristic should not be cause for undue suspicion. If any one has living material that he or she is sure is Dyckia cinerea let me know. I will be glad to try to verify it..." So everything is clear...;-)

I would have loved to do the SS but at Christmas time I get so wrapped up in Toys for Tots and the food drive that I fear for lack of concentration to do SS justice. Last year I tried the Christmas card exchange and I ended up getting a couple of boxes of plain ole ordinary cards to send. Was disappointed in myself but, I did what I could. And remember... food drives usually begin around the first of November and food pantries are running bare due to storms and economy. Please pick up some extras at the grocery store!

No it is not much more expensive than ordering from a Canadian source and Mr. Shirley has over 100 different species available as cuttings. Mailing cuttings is not expensive but mailing potted plants is, it all depends on what you are looking for. You can also trade with members here or on the Hoyas.ca site if you have plants that are large enough to take cuttings from. Many of us rely on group orders from overseas to get the less common Hoyas and I am sure once you exhaust the Canadian sources you will want to look elsewhere. Believe me hanging around this site will have you neck deep in Hoyas in no time. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: Paul Shirley Succulents