Hi again, I'd like to trade you for Snowberry (##) - I used to collect these myself when I worked for the city of Portland, OR so I know the process it takes to get these tiny seeds collected and dried. Thanks! I would like to tempt you for seeds of the following: Pinus strobus (collected myself) -- any amount. Hydrangea paniculata - collected from Dawe's Arboretum, Ohio. Any amount seed is like dust. Commercial Seed from F.W. Schumacher Co. INC. Taxodium distichum, Northern Seed (can be grown in the south, it's the southern that cannot be grown up here seeds are HUGE and heavy like chunks of wood) Larix mastersiana: A Larch that tolerates heat well. (a lot larger than S.albus/alba whatever it is) Cedrus libani var stenocoma (quite large seeds!) Stewartia pseudocamellia (heavy!) Metasequoia glyptostroboides (lightweight but I cannot trade a ton because I grow these for grafting understocks and again those S.albus are the size of a pinhead whereas these are 4mm across and I have only 50 seeds or there) Pinus resinosa (once more --- a heck of a lot larger than Symphoricarpus) Abies nordmanniana (large heavy seeds) Let me know if any of these either a) interest you, b) meet your trade requirements (kinda reversed now since you have such "high" requirements), or... c)can be grwon in your neck of the woods. Dax

DO NOT FERTILIZE TODAY. The sod was already heavily fertilized before it was cut. That's the last thing they do to the fields they are cutting. Wait until Memorial Day. Before you water for 10-15 minutes, measure your sprinkler output. The 10 minute rule for new sod/seed works unless you have a high performance sprinkler. Some sprinkler systems can put out an inch of water in that time. All you need to do is mist the surface, not drench the depths. Measure yours with a tuna or cat food can. Put several cans out and see how much water you can get in 10-15 minutes. All you need is about 1/10 of an inch for these initial sprayings. That's just enough to keep the sod from drying out. Pending the results of your watering system flow test, the schedule you propose is probably a good watering schedule to start with. I've never seen that particular schedule before, but looks good to me. When you cut back on the frequency in the later weeks you should water longer. Before you back off on the watering frequency, double check to be sure the new sod has rooted into the underlying soil. Try to lift a piece. If it seems stuck, then start backing off and watering longer. The idea is to develop deep roots that will resist the summer heat. In the subsequent weeks try skipping a day and see if the grass looks okay. I assume it will be fine. Then skip the next day. On the 3rd or 4th day, try watering for 30 minutes. Eventually you want to extend to the point where you are only watering once a month in the cool months and working your way to once a week in the heat of summer. On the rare, hot, droughty summer you might go to once every 5 days. But you will be watering a full inch (or thereabouts) when you water. You'll have to come to your own timing based on sprinkler output, wind, humidity, soil type, grass height, shade, rain, and a few more factors. During a normal summer I water 3/8 inch per week in my soil and shade situation in San Antonio. With my sprinkler that takes 3 hours. Last summer during the drought I was up to 7/8 inch per week. That was extreme for me. More questions?

As no-one has followed up this interesting post, I'll give my thoughts. First of all, the quoted hardiness temperatures generally refer to survival temperature, not the temperature when very slight damage occurs. Secondly, this temperature is very dependent on exact conditions and can only be considered a very rough guide. Length of exposure to damaging temperatures, humidity, wind speed,age, stem thickness, protective leaf canopy -- all will alter the result, and can vary over a few yards. Poncirus has developed hardiness by becoming deciduous, by generally delaying its springtime growth even if there is a short warmer period, and by developing bud scales which protect the flower buds as they form. Poncirus hybrids maintain some of these features but to different degrees. I also have citranges which show leaf curl after hard frosts, but I don't think the plant is damaged by this. Some leaves drop later, but are soon replaced by new ones. What is more damaging is a lighter frost after spring growth has started. Even Poncirus new growth can be damaged. I don't think your query about whether 'these plants haven't stayed cold enough overall' is relevant unless spring growth has begun.

Most of them we know the source due to id of the parent trees. This one was supposed to be lumholtzii, but has 5-7 needles per fascicle, which is unusual. Very few spp. have been reported with 7 needles. You are right about the faster growth for lower latitudes. Of course, with that comes less hardiness. P. maximinoi seems fastest so far for me, with pseudostrobus not far behind. I have several sources of pseudostrobus. The one pictured was from Sheffield Seeds. I raised it in my greenhouse in Minnesota and then planted it when I moved to FL in late 2006. It had some damage the first winter, but progressively less ever since. This species is planted in several trials around the region and consistently performs well - even in Georgia. I am also trying apulcensis and some forms of pseudostrobus from Jalisco. They seem less hardy, but time will tell.