I found the one I had back in the mid 1990s to be pretty hardy; the erstwhile management of Forestfarm said their seed came from one in some frost hollow of western WA that had seen very low temperatures by PNW standards. Current management of Forestfarm knows nothing about this...too bad they didn't keep better notes. And, I think this reflect a general thing going on with Forestfarm. They will still have rare plants but not someone - an owner-operator-plant-lover - going through the tedious steps to obtain the "best of all possible rare plants". (always time for a little Panglossian optimism!) I really don't think they are particularly susceptible to fungus for any reason other than having been pumped full of nitrogen to get them into fast growth...when sold as the decidedly odd looking 'mini Christmas trees'. They grow in Texas around the dry line, which certainly can be humid! Years ago someone posted a picture of some big ones in San Antonio. And also of course one grew in North Carolina. I think, south of say Richmond, VA, they are just under planted, and north of it, likely to die back in the coldest of winters.

I just did a search for P. pinea & ended up here..........any of you still around? I live in South Australia & have been around P.pinea all my life. We have one planted when I was a kid & it is now a big tree which dominates the skyline from a distance off. We get no nuts anymore as the cockatoos eat them all before they ripen. In about 2004-5 a friend & I gathered 10 gal of nuts from under a tree in the Adelaide plains & have been eating & germinating them ever since. I last germinated some from this hoard about 5 years ago. I am going to plant a couple of pounds of them this season to see if they'll still germinate.....will be amazing if they do as not many conifers will stay viable for that long. The nuts still taste fine & the embryo is still white & not dry & brittle....we'll see. P.pinea is an amazing species. I have grafted many species on it & all grew well. I have put P.mazimartinezii on potted plants & P.torreyana & P.sabiniana on 10' tall trees in the ground which healed smoothly & made strong sound unions. This is more amazing as P. pinea is supposed to be the most 'unrelated' species to any other pines. Here is a picture of about 2 gall of them:

Things to check for: Signs of gophers--mounds of disturbed soil with a 2" concavity or, rarely, a hole in the side. Recent digging, as for sprinkler repair, etc. Recent change in the surrounding landscape, such as grade changes, new pavement, change from grass to gravel, etc. Heavy fertilizing just before you left, including accidental fertilizer spills. Any unexplained plant deaths in the neighborhood, which could be a sign of Texas Root Rot in the area. Rare in Nevada, but not unknown. Pines are resistant, but not immune. Very high winds while you were gone, and cracks in the soil around the trunk--may mean damage to the major roots. If it's less than 20 feet from the property line,it may have been something your neighbor did (hopefully inadvertently!) Any other change in the last few months to a year! Hope this helps! : ]

Hi John, I'm not Italian either, but if you can get hold of "Carluccio's complete Italian Food" Book he describes all the variations on the chickory name in italian cooking. He claims that the common characteristic is "bitter" because they descend from the wild plant Cicoria selvatica (closely related to the dandelion). He describes with italian names - Catalongna - wild chickory Catalogna puntarelle - bushy variety of the same plant Cicoria di Bruxelles the Belgian endive we also call witlof Radicchio which belongs to the chicory family of which there are 2 types - Rosso di Verona, looks like small red cabbage and Radic. di Treviso long leaves Ceriolo verde & ceriolo rosso, green & red salad leaves formed like a rose Circorietta da taglio, a tiny salad leaf Scarola (Batavia)a bushy head which is cooked whole Indivia (curly endive or frisee) a salad leaf. I have only grown one of these the long red radicchio, which was VERY bitter & only the first tiny leaves were OK and have eaten the small red round one (grilled) at resturants. You are now more confused than ever:-)) but I reckon you could use the belgian or the radiccio. Sorry I can't help with seeds - what about talking to your local italian grocer.