I ordered two of the Exclamation planetrees from Advanced Tree Technology. The total of the order including shipping was $64.50. The trees were roughly 4-5 ft tall. They were not bare root. They are shipped in a plastic wrapping that is in the shape of a pot. The trees were essentially potted with a good amount of soil around them and best of all the soil in each "pot" was still quite moist. I expected the trees to be dormant given the time of year that I ordered them but each still had a decent amount of green leaves. They were beginning to go dormant though because each had a few brown leaves as well. Neither tree was root bound when I took the plastic "pot" off to plant them. However, each had a nice root system that looked very healthy. I took some pics of the shipment and I've included them to give you a better idea of how the trees look. BTW, Advanced Tree has some errors on their website. If you poke around, you will find Bloodgood listed a few times as the Planetree that they sell. I talked with a company representative over the phone and she said that they used to sell Bloodgood but they switched over to Exclamation exclusively. This was confirmed by each tree having a tag from Chicagoland Grows that discovered and markets this cultivar. Advanced Tree Technology hasn't updated parts of the website yet to reflect this change. You can't see the prices of anything on their website unless you click on the "Order online" link. You can also request a catalog that has all of the prices. Here is the box that I received: Here are the two trees in the box: Here are the two trees out of the box: Here is a closeup of the leaves:

,Barb the funny thing is, YOU just made me even busier today with the plants that arrived today lol THANKS. I will find them a good spot in their new home. Mary that is probably a tree I would bring back from Florida lol I think Magnolia blossoms are so gorgeous. But the yellow blooming forsythia does indeed bring nice color in early spring. I only have to small twiggs from arbor day foundation. So how long did our sweet actress sleep? She must have had great dreams from her play! Eloise thanks. It worked. No rain and painted all morning. Almost done with the front now. I will give it a rest on sunday. I did however plant some of the seedlings and worked all afternoon in the yard. Lucy

Runmede, I've never tried anything other than a banana mixture a few times and I set out watermelon rinds this year to see if I'd attract any butterflies. I don't know why, but they just don't seem to like that stuff here. The flies and wasps do though. Wow, do we ever have a lot of horse flies here this here. I barely step outside the house and there is usually one swarming around me. I have to carry a fly swatter with me wherever I go in the yard and garden or I get nailed. Those darn things hurt! Just yesterday when I was outside in the garden I killed 6 in about half an hour and came in then because it seemed that's all I was getting done. I don't know why they're so terrible this year. You mention putting your fruit feeder on top of a garbage can. I wonder if that could actually be my problem, not sitting it up fairly high. I was putting mine about a foot up off the ground. Susan, Yes, can you believe that it's been that long since we met on here! Actually, I think I joined in 2006 when I got my first Monarch cat and was panicking that I didn't know what I should do to raise it. Ha! I have to laugh now when I think about it. I think I planted milkweed here in the late summer of 2005 along with some other plants but didn't get any cats until the following year. I'm glad you're having a great butterfly year too. You're lucky that you haven't had bad years lately. I was getting pretty discouraged the past two years and started thinking that the butterflies were really on the decline. I've had Monarchs every year though since that first year that I got them. I think that's the only kind of cat that is reliably here year after year, especially in great numbers. I have hundreds of eggs every year, which is unfortunate this year because my tropical milkweed isn't very big at all because of how dry it's been here this year (and also HOT and HUMID). It sounds like you and runnymede have super luck with the fruit feeders and wow, you sure get a variety of butterflies there. I have yet to see any kind of emperor. Maybe when my hackberry trees get bigger, I'll see some butterflies that I haven't seen yet. I also have wild black cherry, paw paw, wafer ash, paper birch, black willow, tulip poplar, and a few other kinds that I've planted for the butterflies to lay eggs on. I think I remember reading that too, what you said about the hummingbirds mainly eating insects. I think that they must use the sugar water to wash them down. :) Wishing you continued success with the butterflies! Cathy

Here I am again. So many things going on everywhere - on the board and in people's lives. NH Suzanne, I think we all know what it feels like to have your life suddenly threaten to turn upside down on you. BJ has some good advice, and has survived pretty much everything and come out ahead. DeeMarie, I read about your brother some days ago, and was glad to see that you came to some resolutions. I don't mention it, but I think about it from time to time. I have had no contact with one of my sons and one of my brothers for two years. My friend that I talked about that I developed a relationship with over the internet is very bitter and unhappy. He hasn't taken that out on me, but I have concerns about his ability to go in a positive direction. It's one of those things where I have to accept that I don't make choices for other people, but sometimes it's painful to see someone whom you admire and care for be destructive and unappreciative with themselves. I'd like to share a site with you that a friend of mine has put together. It's called Eco-Mama. Here is part of the description from her site: Environment: Eco-Mama products are produced in ways that reduce harm to the environment and are reusable and/or recyclable. Many of the products like diapers and cloth pads reduce a familys waste considerably as well as save valuable resources and money. Also, I reuse all boxes and packing materials that I receive and encourage my customers to do the same. I'll put the link below. Back later Amy