Received my plants and cuttings from Natalie today. The post office made a mess of the box and the heat was a bit unkind to the cuttings. I am hoping water will make them all happy again. In this case, priority mail might have been a better option for the cuttings as it took the silly Post Office a while to get the box to me. Thank you Natalie. I am looking forward to getting these cuttings rooted and in the garden. I must say the box smelled wonderful. My husband remarked about it and his smelling is not the best due to allergies and a couple of nasal surgeries. I had a good time with this swap and will watch for the one you hope to do again in the fall. I have been in contact with Sue and will be getting her box off to her on Saturday. Smitties

Yes, you're right Popi; I'm determined to have my way with these seedlings :-) Nearest structure is my garden shed, which doesn't worry me. If they send out roots, they'll probably head off in the other direction towards the veggie patch. But I'm fully prepared to cut them down and dig them out if they get out of hand. As I said, it's the first patch of ground that's been all mine, and this area is just lawn. Eventually I expect it will be given over to something else (maybe paving) but, for now, it's free for experimentation. When the garden gets established, I simply won't have room to try things like this. Macbirch, I don't know about birch trees in particular but suspect that, as the roots are generally in proportion to the canopy, if you keep pruning the tops then the roots should never get too cumbersome. Perhaps you could try posting to one of the US forums. They have so many more members that you'll almost certainly find at least one person who has done, or tried, what you want to do.

MM, Buckhousia Citiodora being a rainforest native needs to be planted in a bed with other like plants for good results. If planted on its own it usualy grows quite slow but steady.What I have read & agree with due to trial & error (also learning from my fanatical Mum over the years),is that RF trees create a microclimate(?)of bacteria below the mulch where the surface feeding roots are. RF tree roots go out rather than down to much depth. I had a garden with 42 RF trees incl 1 Buchousia Citradora and the latter grew to 3.5m in 4 years. The one out on the neigbours footpath wich was cultivated cording to std proceedure took 10 years to reach 4m. I hope this is helpfull as I am passionate about our Rain Forest trees.

California. In the 1850s Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians travelling to California during the California Gold Rush. Much of California has a similar climate to parts of Australia. By the early 1900s thousands of acres of eucalypts were planted with the encouragement of the state government. It was hoped that they would provide a renewable source of timber for construction and furniture making. They went on to note that the promise of eucalyptus in California was based on the old virgin forests of Australia. This was a mistake as the young trees being harvested in California could not compare in quality to the centuries-old eucalyptus timber of Australia. It reacted differently to harvest. The older trees didn't split or warp as the infant California crop did. There was a vast difference between the two, and this would doom the California eucalyptus industry.[11] One way in which the eucalyptus, mainly the blue gum E. globulus, proved valuable in California was in providing windbreaks for highways, orange groves, and other farms in the mostly treeless central part of the state. They are also admired as shade and ornamental trees in many cities and gardens. Eucalyptus forests in California have been criticised because they compete with native plants and do not support native animals. Fire is also a problem. The 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm which destroyed almost 3,000 homes and killed 25 people was partly fueled by large numbers of eucalypts in the area close to the houses.[12] In some parts of California eucalypt forests are being removed and native trees and plants restored. Individuals have also illegally destroyed some trees and are suspected of introducing insect pests from Australia which attack the trees.[13]