Hi, A couple of questions: -Would hardy pricklypear cactus (Opuntia humifusa/compressa) be the only hardy pricklypear to endure zone 6 winters? -Would sweetshoot bamboo (Phyllostachys dulcis) be suitable for zone 6? -Comment: Pawpaw, Asimina spp. (including Asimina triloba), contains the compounds associated with increased risk of atypical Parkinson's; you'd have to it is frequently enough, I would suppose. -Comment: I believe that ginko nuts must be eaten in moderation - I remember reading some materials describing them as toxic to some extent. I wonder if making tea out of the leaves would be a good thing, however. -I know Lucky has some varieties survive his zone 6 winters, but anyone have any varieties of Pomegranates survive zone 6, 6a or 5b? - and fruit? -What are the best Amelanchier spp./Juneberries/Serviceberries w/regards to taste? I think that the only berries I absolutely loved must have been A. alnifolia - 5' thin suckered bushes with dark, sugar-sweet berries; the A. canadensis and A. canadensis x laevis I've tasted are not as good as what ever variety that happened to have been. -Will American hazelnut/filbert & American beaked hazelnut hybridize with the European species? -If I were able to obtain a true American Chestnut selected from a stand that showed great disease resistance, would the taste hold up to the Chinese and/or English varieties? -In comparison to a straight D. virginiana or D. kaki, would there be any taste improvement in the hybridization between American x Asian persimmon? -Would you think that a fully ripe Wild Mandrake/Mayapple would be at all toxic; or would it be risky if consumed in excess? -What are cold-hardy, reliable varieties of Black Mulberry (M. nigra)? [non-hybrids] -In zone 6b, my 'Brown Turkey' Fig never dies back to the ground; I do nothing to protect it. -I purchased a grafted D. kaki 'Saijo' and a friend of mine showed me his orchard containing grafted Asian persimmons - the grafts reject after several years; he explained that if you had an American x Asian hybrid as the inter-connection between the D. virginiana rootstock and D. kaki scion, the graft would last indefinitely. I hope the tree will last, contrary to this - probably won't. -Are the berries of native/American shrub-dogwoods and tree dogwoods (other then the toxic Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood) really edible? C. sericea/stolon., C. alternifolia, etc.? -Besides Black Oak, any other good oak nuts? -I'll contribute a few I can think of here (edibles): Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, 2 varieties of Ligonberries - American/European, Bearberries, Wild Wintergreen Berries, Berberries spp., (water lily and lotus/parts, arrowhead/parts, pickerelweed/parts, Acorus - sweetflag, not iris!), various man-made blackberry x raspberry hybrids, the man-made 'jostaberry' - ribes spp., a wide array of vaccinium spp. (blueberries, deerberries, bilberries, false huckleberries), Garden Huckleberry (not a huckleberry), varieties of cranberry, Akebia, Orange trifoliate, Crabapple spp., nuts: chinquapin, species of hazelnut/walnut/varieties of hickory (including pecans), forbs: daylily species, various flowers, Monkey Puzzle Pine, Pine Nut species, syrup from Walnut & Maple species, Prinsepia, Asparagus, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, various greens, various man-made stone fruit hybrids, foxgrape (including 'Concord' & 'Neptune'), purple passionflower, Mountain Ash species, Aronia spp., Western Sandcherry, Buffaloberries, native Silverberries, Sala, Yuka spp., Magnolia virginiana for tea - leaves and culinary, chokecherry, wild black cherry, pin/fire cherry, American wild plum, Chickasaw plum, Beach plum, cloudberry/bakeapple berry, smooth & staghorn sumac, teas from birches, American larch, and others - be cautious, tall & stinging nettle tea, the species of Jujube, Streptopus amplexifolius - I forgot the name - I call it watermelon berry, but it's not the above mentioned Che/Melonberry which is a good one to have. ____ When you think about it, there really are only a few fruits out there: Apple (4 types), brown or green Pear, Cherry otherwise know as Bing or Yellow Cherry, Melon, Apricot, Nectarine, Orange, Grapefruit, Grape, Kiwi, Plum, and Pineapple - if you don't believe me, just go to the supermarket or your local cooperate sponsored fruit consumption advocacy materials. Well, they do have around 5 other rare ones: Starfruit, Date, Fig, and Fruit-roll-up Fruit.

RobertEire: Gai Laan (often spelled Kai Laan, and called Chinese Broccoli and Chinese Sprouting Broccoli, among other attempts to create a European name) is one of our favorite vegetables and I'd guess would grow very well in Ireland --once you work out the proper season! It is a winter crop here, and gets tough and bolts when the days are lengthening AND the temperature gets into the 100s (F) --not likely to be an Irish problem. California has a wonderful Asian seed source, EvergreenYH (http://www.evergreenseeds.com/), which carries several varieties in nice large packets. The difference between the varieties didn't seem to be very great --they all produced well, they all tasted good, and they all began to make flowering stalks at about the same time when planted in early September. The flowering stalks are the part Kailaan is grown for commercially, but the leafy thinnings are delicious also. The stalks are quite long, with a shiny outside skin and very sweet, succulent interior. When they grow fairly slowly (cool weather?) they are thicker; as the weather warms the outside skin becomes fibrous --but it's very easy to peel. My suggestion would be to plant in spring, and if the Kailaan bolts quickly, with tough skinny stems, try another planting in midsummer, or perhaps even May, so the main growth time is when days are shortening. It will take some frost --if you can protect it you could try a fall planting, though it's a bit late now, I'd think. The dark green leaves and loosely clustered flower buds (only a few per cluster) add a different texture and flavor to the stalks. We like our Kailaan more or less braised --started with a very quick toss in a little oil, to coat the stalks lightly, finished under cover with a little water or chicken broth, then dressed at serving time with a few drops of soy sauce. It is very good steamed, too. Another vegetable you might like to try is Komatsuna. Same season, but mine seemed less sensitive to day length. Komatsuna has very large, shiny dark green leaves with a sweet, succulent midrib. It is a brassica but not like any other I've grown. The leaves are smooth and thin, not like a cabbage or a mustard, and the flavor is not very mustardy. Just a few plants fed us two or three meals a week for months --two or three leaves made a dish for the two of us, and you can pick from the same plant again and again. Eventually the ribs started to get tough, so I stripped the leafy part, and when it began to bolt the flower stalks were very good too, and produced for quite a long time. The bases of the flower stalks needed peeling eventually --very easy, like kailaan, no trying to peel between knots and branches as when peeling broccoli stems. We have fond memories of Ireland and the great root vegetables the landladies at the farmhouse inns served. It was spring --around Easter-- and possibly just what was left by that time.

Gengis, The leaves are used medicinally. Refer to the following sources for more information: A Barefoot Doctors Manual Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods. Medicinal Plants of China Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4 Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

Hello, Can anyone provide some "how to" tips for growing sansho from both the seed form as well as from plant clippings? I've ordered seeds through Amazon and Ebay. They have come from China, Japan and the USA. I've tried to propagate them indoors in little 4 inch starter pots under a grow light and heating pad. They havent taken. Do I need to stratify them? Also, years ago, my aunt gave me 2 sansho plants that she grew from cuttings from her "mother plant". They were well established when I received them. I also live in Toronto, Canada, so the winter weather is really harsh. I have them outside in pots in the spring, summer and early fall. They are brought in for the winter and stay in a cool bay window while they go dormant (in the same pots). I'd like to try propagating them from cuttings, but need some help. I have rooting hormones, but I'm wondering if it might be more successful to try to root them without clipping. Has anyone done this already? I've tried taking clipping in the past, but without success. Any help and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kathy from the north.....