"Slow growing and difficult to establish in cultivation, it is highly prized in British horticulture, but its low climate tolerance limits the regions in the USA which it can be grown successfully" "....wow! if I had known that, I would probably never have tried growing them here in Quebec !" Ah, but Quebec isn't in the USA . . . plant one just a little further south and watch it expire rapidly ;-) "Supposedly P. breweriana's closest relative is P. sitchensis" I'd disagree, and also am very dubious about those genetic results. I'd put P. breweriana somewhat on its own, but not too distant from the P. brachytyla - P. omorika - P. mariana grouping. Certainly not close to P. sitchensis, which in turn is very close to P. jezoensis and the P. engelmannii - P. glauca group. Resin

This thread began as a means to discuss the issue of Sunset zones. The secondary motive was for me to try to explore the notion that elevation is a factor to RMG but not the only factor. Over the course of looking at climate data, I discovered that annual precipitation and the time of its occurrence may be a defining feature for the RMG region. Aridity cannot be the only determinate or wed all be over in the Southwest Gardening forum. Previous and somewhat naively, I had thought that these evergreen mountains here and there indicated that there were areas with rather high rainfall amounts - what hadn't quite sunk in was that while that is true, these areas were all at elevations where gardening becomes impossible. I began wondering if a particular native plant species was representative of the broad RMG region. I'm no expert on native plants so this was a fun exercise even if it doesn't appear to be absolutely successful (perhaps, an impossibility). It seemed to me that the Arrowleaf Balsamroot was most broadly representative. I'm hoping that other gardeners are giving this some thought and will comment. By way of encouragement, my question now is - what the heck is this plant whose image is used here on GardenWeb to represent Rocky Mountain Gardening: Steve

I've stayed at the hotel shown in your photo Ida (Prince of Wales). It's an incredibly beautiful area but much of it was affected by the wildfires a few years ago. I remember they had a special team of fire fighters working to save the hotel. The fires got really close... the Visitor's Center just down the road burned. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/prince-of-wales-calgary-firefighters-1.4290763 ETA: I just read that 30 per cent of Waterton Lakes National Park was severely damaged, 70 per cent of the forested area was lost in the fires. We were only there one night while passing through. We did get up to Red Rock Canyon. We were there in late August 2016. We were traveling from Calgary down into Montana where we crossed the "Going to the Sun Road" (Glacier National Park) and eventually came back up into British Columbia. The whole area is spectacular. I can't recommend the "Going to the Sun Road" enough - breathtaking scenery I can't even describe. We were traveling with my elderly inlaws so we didn't do any hiking. My FIL has Parkinson's Disease so is a bit mobility limited, so it was more of a driving-around-looking-at-the-scenery trip. I think I still have some photos on my phone. Waterton Lakes National Park is on the Canadian side, and borders Glacier National Park on the American side. Between the two there would be an incredible selection of trails and things to see, so many waterfalls, wildlife (we saw buffalo and elk), etc.

Elmer, I am one of those people who love snowy and cold weather. I used to love going outside after a snowstorm to shovel snow off my sidewalks. With my back I can't do that now unfortunately. I also love being near the water in the winter. I like watching the ice breakers or listening to freighters as they plow through the ice. Love the sound of the ice breaking up. Some of the most beautiful winter scenery is at Point Pelee as the ice from Lake Erie is pushed up along the shoreline. Summers can be horrendous with the humidity but we get used to it. My cousin who moved here 2 years ago from Toronto can't stand the humidity. Along with living near the water there comes the yearly migration of fish flies or shad flies. Stinky creatures who live to die. I love having 4 seasons and sometimes we can experience them all in one week.