Hi silenceisgod, Welcome to The Plant Exchange. Please see addressing newbie and newer member issues for instructions on getting your Member Page email link set up so that you can easily be reached. In the past, having the follow-up replies emailed to you hasn't always been 100%. Additionally there are also a lot of members who have no link, or have chosen to show it to no one so even if you get a a follow-up reply via email, you can't always reply to the email. Happy Trading! Sue...aka chemocurl

I am looking for temperate climate trees, especially alder and birch trees that are good at reclaiming hill sides. The seeds of the Cheesewood are tiny so I will send chunks of the fruit that will contain about 50 seeds or so. I haven't sprouted any yet so I don't know the best way to grow them. Check out the list of tree seeds I already have, I don't want any of those. Thanks. Chris

If you're really going to try it, I'd recommend sowing the seed on top of live moss - this works for all ericaceous plants. I've generally used haircap moss, but any species should be fine. Avoid peat pots - they wick away moisture from all the exposed surfaces and are very hard to keep evenly moist. Instead, use small plastic flats, surface sow and place in a ziplock plastic bag. Place under flourescent lights if you can, otherwise put in a bright spot, but avoid direct sun - high temperatures are fatal. Root disturbance shouldn't be a big concern. Kalmia have dense fibrous roots just like rhododendrons so are easy to transplant. You do need to sow lightly and thin out the seedlings when small. The seeedlings will need to stay in the flats for probably 2 years. It's important to gradually remove the plastic bag, but you need to maintain a very humid atmosphere around the seedlings. Good luck!

Thanks midwestdave. I see zero burn on shedding needles here. If Iseli was aware of the compatibility of understock to scion it could be possible they'd be writing a different article-description. DavidV - the same does hold true when it is grafted to anything "other" than Pinus contorta. Bob's emphasized it clearly. The reason he uses seedlings of CJ of course is because of the closest prodigy of seedling and scion, but also because, he has stock plants coning freely. He figured out something of rare proportions whether thru luck/skill - it doesn't matter. It's a wonderful discovery, he's made. Of course mugo - or var. pumilla (used a lot for grafting dwarf/mini conifers in Europe) - or anything of dwarf understock-growth should not be used for long-term compatibility because the scion will soon outgrow the slower understock - creating an imcompatible union that will "snap off", failing later....Speed of the understock needs to be compatible to that of the scion for you others out there that may not know this or understand how to select seedling-understock choices when grafting. var. latifolia should be used for hardiness purposes -(Pinus contorta var. latifolia)..... I'll assume. One more tip - never graft Abies concolor to Abies fraseri. You'll be looking at 100% dead plants in about 10 years. Glad I could be of help. Dax