Carrie,I just bought a new SLGB this summer - my old one (bought in '99) was sadly lacking in things this one has - despite the date of publication, I think it is fairly newly out - and all the illustrations/drawings are in color, as well as the entries being much expanded! To quote from the book - General for Michaelia: Magnolia relatives native to China & the Himalyas. When in flower, they might be mistaken for some kind of magnolia - but unlike magnolias, they bear their blossoms among the leaves rather than at branch ends. M. figo has been in gardens for some 200 years, and M. doltsopa has been in cultivation in North America for perhaps half a century. The other species listed here are newcomers about which we have much to learn; they have not had time to grow to maturity in North American gardens. All are attractive, with lush foliage and profuse, fragrant blossoms divided into petal-like segments. Not usually browsed by deer. The cultural requirements seem to be for partial shade in the hottest regions, otherwise full sun, and they need average amounts of water. For M. yunnanesis: Shrub or tree. Coastal and tropical south. Another newcomer. To 15' tall. Blooms in early spring, when white flowers burst from dark, velvety buds. For M.x fogggi: Shrub. Coastal and tropical south. Group of hybrids between M. figo & M. doltsopa. 'Allspice' grows 10-20' tall, 6-15' wide, with glossy green foliage; bears fruity scented, 1.5" light yellow flowers bordered in maroon from spring to early summer. 'Belle Durio', to 6-10' tall & wide, is a spring bloomer bearing 3-4" white flowers with a purple style (reproductive structure) in the center. 'Jack Fogg' grows yo 18' tall, 6-8' wide; spring flowers are white, with each segment bordered in purplish pink. Hope this helps. And I wish I were in a warmer zone; the plants sound marvelous, but it's too cold here for them, except M. figo and maudiae! And I have more than enough things to plant out from pots right now - maybe next fall.....

ok- jean first. yes, i'd love the ostrich fern come spring. i dug a few from PA/home this summer and we'll see if they took. they have roots to china, even the small ones. dehlia's purple is impossible to find on the net. i got it from my garden mentor and have no idea where she found it. she has something like 250 old varieties, and she's been gathering for many years, so who knows. since you want veilchenblau and alicia asked for the dehlia's, i'll give that one to her. i'll keep throwing trimmings in a pot like i've done before and cross my fingers that i get it to root again- it's much easier to dig a sucker of. yes, veilchenblau isn't too thorny. you'll still get scratched pretty good when you go to prune it though. the thorns it does have are a decent size and easy to see. the reason your asclepias didn't come back is the kind he gave you isn't perennial here- you'd have had to take it in- it's asclepias currasavica. you want a. tuberosum, which isn't quite as pretty but is dead easy and hardy here. and it develops a long tap root, so put it where you want it, because after it's about 6 mos old, it's nigh impossible to move. i'd be tickled with some yellow seeds if you get them. i don't need any of the others, but am always happy with rocks! :) i'd be really careful with maypop here- esp the native blue one- it is pretty invasive. you can always grow it in a big pot with no contact with the ground. that said, karen, i'd love some p. lutea if you can dig some. i'm happy to bring you veilchenblau, and am thrilled you got pink pillar to root. that one is tricky, so kudos! it's one of my very faves. i've never gotten the rash from rue, but have always worn gloves around it as my skin is pretty sensitive. i do get poison ivey pretty bad. fyi, about 10% of folks who get PI, also have reaction to the sap of english or boston ivy- so beware if you need to pull a patch. sorry magick- if it wasn't you i can't figure who it was i got the rue from in spring. jean, maybe you can reread that thread? i have ruellia, but i don't know which one. it's about 18" high, flowers are 1.25" long & across, and its leaves tend to be a bit bronzy. i might be able to get 1 more plant; i have to dig one for alicia and brenda.

Thanks for the compliment on my seedling Judy. I don't know if everyone's monitor shows it's true color. I looked at it on my iphone and it didn't look nearly as nice on that screen as it really does. It's a really nice raspberry color. Not a perfect flower as far as daylily breeder standards, but I just love the color. I've got white daylilies, but I don't know if I can figure out which ones they are now that they're not in bloom. Most of my tags have gotten misplaced or faded beyond reading. I'll check today. If not I can make note when they bloom next year. I've got a bunch more daylilies if someone is looking for something in particular, but only maybe a third of them have intact tags. I'll be bringing some Kwanso for sure because I had a bed of it that I had to remove and I don't need to replant all of it. I know it's common, but I like it.

Again referring to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden website, the following is from their article on this lovely little tree (link to entire article is below) "Propagation Prunus mume species may be propagated from seed extracted from ripened fruit. Stratify in plastic bags filled with a moist mixture of one-half milled sphagnum moss and sand for three months in the refrigerator, and then sow outdoors in spring or in the greenhouse any time of year. For cultivars true to form, you'll have to propagate from softwood cuttings taken in early summer and kept misted. Prunus mume can also be grafted by T or chip buddings with buds from soft or semi-hard wood onto the more available purple leaf plum, Prunus cerasifera, understock. Prunus mume will flower in three years from seed and in two from grafts. The tree grows quickly when young, three to seven feet per year, except for the contorted varieties which are slower growing." If you take and root cuttings, ermazi, may I be one of the first to offer you something in trade? ;-) I've been checking online and found very few nurseries that list this plant in their inventory. Here is a link that might be useful: BBG article on Japanese Flowering Apricot (prunus mume)