I have been told (but can't verify) that when river birches have had an exceptional growth year, meaning that they have put on a large annual growth ring, the bark exfoliates in larger sheets. Anyone else heard this? Might be what is happening here. hortster

I simply love the overall look of 'Heritage' River Birch trees. The 'Dura Heats' are reported to withstand planting areas that drain better and that may encounter more drying out in the hottest parts of summer, when rains are less apt to occur. Personally though, the 'Dura Heat' birches seem to display a little more yellow than I would prefer to see in a birch tree's bark. The leaves also do not seem to be as nicely shaped or colored as the Heritage Birch tree's leaves. Bottom line; I guess whichever birch cultivar you plant needs to the cultivar that is more compatable with the soil conditons and climate that the tree will encounter in its intended planting site. Still personally I prefer the Heritage Birch tree cultivar over most others. There are even prettier cultivars than Heritage Birch, but any those others that happen to tolerate my USDA zone area seem to be more prone to Birch borers or even other pests, which feed off the leaves of such birch trees.

louisiana gal, brilliant, I'll cram or stuff newspaper! Yes, I'm holding back enough of my favorite seeds. I'll let people know if I have some fluke germination from old seeds, have little to lose and can re-use the soil. morz8, thank you for all that info. Will copy and save it. I swear I'm a nutcase. I have no place open for a weeping birch. But I was so intrigued with them, enchanted would be a better word. So I shouldn't really have even asked. All you say and more is true about birch. I've got a clump of 3 I planted over 30 years ago in the front yard, kids were very small and, surprisingly (for them) very interested in the planting and watching them grow. The roots grow right at the surface, encroach in some of the planting areas. Now that they're older, they're messy and I'm constantly cleaning up twigs and branches. I love them though. The white isn't so pretty any more. Horror of horrors, would I have them taken out and stumps ground? I suppose not; they have sentimental value. As if all you mentioned isn't bad enough, they're a magnet for Japanese beetles which we didn't have until about 5 years ago now, munch too high up to do anything about. They help so much with shade in the hot front in the summer. I'd miss them too much I think, are on the decline but could outlive me. Ha ha. If trees could talk what stories they could tell. My granddaughter carved her first love in the bark years ago. When she was back on a visit, she had to look to see if it was still there; it is but faint. One limb is special for the kids to climb up and get their picture taken. I'll quick try to find just one but can't remember all the grandkids and neighbor kids who have loved that branch. Please forgive me for whiling away the time, am trying not to think about my sore tooth and headache. A little visitor in 2007 (not related): Another visitor in 2006:

Hi there, Steffen. And welcome to the forum. Growing adeniums up here north can be a challenge but fortunately not impossible. For indoor growing I suggest that you buy a heating mat and an artificial light source (heat is as important as high light intensity and adeniums love bottom heat). For instance, LED or T5HO as suggested. Use the setup - both mat and light - even in the spring and summer, on overcast cold days to prevent your plants from going (semi-)dormant. In my experience, changeable weather (with longer periods of cold overcast weather) during the growing season will dramatically stunt the growth of adeniums. It can take weeks before they wake up again. You want to prevent that. During the fall and winter months, I suggest that you use the artificial light as well. The past year I have been growing adeniums in heated closed grow tents (30C/86F) under 17 hours of LED light. Using this setup, I prefer a growing medium, coir/cocos ground, with 40-50% inorganic materials (it does not really matter what you use - as long as it prevents water logging). The ratio you want to use depends on your growing conditions and watering regime. Without a heated tent, I would probably change the ratio myself and increase the percentage of inorganic materials. Say, to 60/40. Cheers, Martin