I would love some bougainvillea. It's my favorite. What color is yours? I have sage that I can divide, which has a nice bluish flower. I don't think I have any other blue perennials. Would you be interested in Jolly Bee geranium cuttings? They are purple, and root really easily. I could also send you a box of organically grown meyer lemons, if you're interested. People have been really happy with those as a trade... Please email me at balletstef@att.net if you'd like to trade. Sorry, but I can't use this Gardenweb email, for some reason... Thanks, Stephenie

Hi Melissa, All of the parents of P. exoniensis x parritae (mollissima, antioquiensis and parritae) can only take temps to the mid to upper 20s from what I've read (I think I've occasionally seen lower for mollissima). So you would definitely have to protect it over the winter at least some of the time. I have only had mine since February and our last really cold weather (26 F) was in January, so I really don't know what it can take. However, even if you protect it from the cold, the summer heat could get you. I've heard stories that people grow P. exoniensis in Florida, but not much detail--can they bloom it? The usual story you hear with Tacsonias, of course is that they don't really like it over 85 and that they really need cool nights. However, we have had two big heat waves already this year, and the plant actually seemed to like it. Recently it hit 96 and then 98 and the plant responded by increasing its growth rate from 1 inch/day to 2 inches/day. However...the nights were in the 50s. My plant is also where it gets full shade in the afternoon. So I doubt it would live outside all year there, but you are welcome to try. I actually rooted a bunch of these during our first heat wave, when it was 80 and above inside for several days in a row. One of the cuttings was in those 80 degree temperatures PLUS bottom heat, and it rooted slightly faster than the other ones. So perhaps this hybrid isn't bothered by heat as much as some others? I don't know. Still I would give it shade in the afternoon. Since it's so easy to root it would also be easy to take cuttings and risk a plant in the cold.

Hi Paul! How are you? Do you still have cuttings of P. edulis and P. belotii? I have P. vitifolia and P. aurantia and maybe a piece of P. Amethyst. Have you seen this website? DROOL... Rebecca

daveh, I've never been to one of the sales, but I can imagine. I used to live in Pasadena and the Huntington sales were amazing--people would line up 2 hours in advance with their wagons. On the other hand, I went to the UC-Santa Cruz nonmember's sale last year and was incredibly disappointed--everything was already cleaned out by the member's sale just before (no Proteas, no Leucospermums, one or two Banksias...). I've heard that even the member's sale there is a free for all, and that you have to plan in advance exactly what you want and run for it. The thing that I like about the monthly sales at Strybing is that they are so low-key (do most people even know they exist?), so that even really amazing plants are often still there after 30 minutes. In February the Passiflora table was really sleepy and I imagine that P. antioquiensis, P. exoniensis, P. antio x parritae and P. exo x parritae were still there for quite a while. There just wasn't a mob of people there to grab them. As you say, the people working there were incredibly helpful. I met up with someone at the sale this month to exchange some plant material, and he asked for a particular plant that was not on the sale table (possibly P. bogotensis? I'm not sure). Anyway, the guy went right back to the greenhouse and got it for him. It's great to hear that's standard practice--pretty amazing. It sounds like if you really want a particular plant the monthly sales might make more sense if it's that easy. daveh--If you are still reading this thread, I have a question. The themed sales later in the year: perennials, native plants, etc. (also each month)--do they have a substantial representation of other plants, or are there fewer? I've heard that a native plant sale is not for example, just a native plant sale, but a general sale with an emphasis on natives. So in this particular case would there be fewer non-native plants? Also regarding volunteering--do they make it so that people can do it only one the weekend? Many botanical gardens are geared so only retirees can volunteer. Passionlove--that's interesting. I'm always amazed by the plants that "shouldn't" do well in Florida yet survive, or even thrive. Another Andean species, Solanum quitoense or Naranjilla comes to mind. From a book chapter on the plant (actually a really nice book online on a Purdue site): http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/naranjilla_ars.html#Climate "In Colombia, the naranjilla flourishes in humid regions at elevations between 3,600 and 7,900 ft (1,600 and 2,400 m) where the annual rainfall is about 60 in (150 cm). Precipitation up to 120 in (250 cm) is tolerable if well distributed throughout the year. In Panama, the naranjilla has made good growth at altitudes from 4,000 to 6,000 ft (1,200-1,800 m). It is grown in southern Florida at near sea-level. The best plantations in Ecuador are between 5,000 and 6,000 ft (1,500-1,800 m), where the mean temperature is 62.6 to 66.2º F (17º-19º C). The naranjilla cannot tolerate temperatures over 85º F (29.4º C). It is not adapted to full sun but favors semi-shade." It does get above 85 F in South Florida, right?