The Amur cherry is recommended for continental climates, I've seen a nice big one at the Finch Arboretum in Spokane (ponderosa pine country). However, the birchbark cherry is more striking visually.

Of course the seed supposedly from Kiev or nearby, could actually be from that area even though it is not native there. NS is planted very widely, and for one example, from my researches, somewhere near half of the NS seedlings offered for sale by nurseries here in the U.S are from seed collected from stands of NS growing in the U.S. But if the seed is indeed from the Kiev area, it may well be a strain that is acclimated to that area and may do well in a comparable area. Also, NS trees in one part of Europe may well be from seed that was collected in another, and possibly somewhat distant location. Dr. John Genys, a native of Lithuania who has done provenance trails of NS, once told me that for centuries there has been so much planting of NS from seed collected in one area of Europe and then planted in other areas of Europe, that learning where a seed was collected from may not yield a strain that is representative of a purely local geographic strain. Resin: it is my understanding that NS is generally very, very hardy, regardless of the area it is from, and that those from more southern European sources are not that much less cold hardy than those from more northern sources. But let me know if you have evidence to the contrary. --Spruce

I recently read an article ( Forest Ecology and Management, Lu and Sinclair, 2006) in which Pinus strobus, wallichiana, and their hybrids were differentiated by wood specific gravity- strobus=0.314, wallichiana=0.357, wallichiana x strobus=0.334. According to the Tropical Tree Seed Manual, Pinus chiapensis has WSG of 0.34 to 0.38. So perhaps this would be another way to confirm the tree's status ?

I used synthetic bags for years because down is worthless if it gets wet. Then I realized that I never had gotten a bag wet and switched to down to save weight and space. I've also heard that some of the new synthetics are almost as light and pack down almost as compact for the same warmth. I suspect that it is pretty close and that if you are at all concerned about getting damp, synthetics are the way to go. Do be careful about temperature ratings. At present, I have two types of down bags, a Campmor and an LLBean Mt. Katahdin, both rated at 20 degrees. However the quality of construction and warmth are very different. I've used the LLBean comfortably down to 30 degrees, and I doubt the Campmor would be warm enough below 45 or 50. The Mt. Katahdin comes in both down and Polarguard 3D. In a rectangular bag, the synthetic is about a pound and a half heavier, in a mummy bag, about a pound heavier. In 40 degree rated bags, the difference in weight is much less.