Lux, you've put a lot of work and information into this essay. Your talk will be wonderful, I'm sure. I do nearly everything that Cass tells me to do, but I'm not going to run out and plant a California wild rose into my garden. My friend Bill planted one in his garden and found it popping up all over the place. Took him years to eradicate it. I'm content to admire California wild roses in the wild or in somebody else's collection. I do, however, grow several species at home, including R. glauca, R. eglanteria (rubiginosa), and one of the double moschatas. So far, none have colonized very much. In the cemetery, R. roxburghii plena is one of the most beautiful and long-blooming roses in our garden. Worthy of mention, for its spiny sepals, beautiful flowers and interesting foliage. A rose that may be a cinnamomea has an incredibly colorful fall foliage and hip display. The species truly can be beautiful and garden-worthy, although usually one must have the space for them. Love your description of the alba leaves as shorn teal velveteen. The preferred terminology is "Scots" rose, not "Scotch," according to Peter Boyd when he came to speak a couple of years back. His wife Evelyn described the "tsunami of scent" from their collection. We've planted a couple of spins in the cemetery, including a single cream variety from Vintage, and have been pleased by how pretty its bloom was this year and how many visitors commented on it. I know that you targeted this to Jeri and Cass, but it was fun to read it - thanks. Anita

So I guess my 3 trees will be semi-evergreen. The tree in the pic has alot of green leaves still, for them to be visable from a distance like that. My London plane and sycamores are naked though.It looks like the Q R leaves aren't going to turn brown or not for a while.I sorta assumed that since the UK is zone 8-9 that you guys had it warm. I vacationed there in 2001, but it was spring. I guess you have cold winters just not the drastic lows that the other zones are capable of. Heck lately our southern states are having colder than usual temps.Florida included.poaky

Thanks for the feedback. I have had a good look on the web and have ordered some chelated iron (which also contains magnesium) and will give them a foliar spray. It seems that the worse thing to do is to be too kind to them and fertilise them. However they can suffer from iron and it seems magnesium deficiencies. Our soil is sandy and light so it is well drained. Have bought and planted some banksias from an English nursery that specialises in them (The Old Walled Garden in Kent) and they are surviving well, although one of them is looking a little yellow (*gulp*) so I'll go down the iron/magnesium and no added fertiliser route. If this works then I'll have a go at some more seeds. The mix that I started them off in was a mixture of sand, potting compost and perlite, roughly thirds. Thanks for the help and encouragement.

As a general technique for getting temperamental plants to grow I have come up with a nifty solution: I grow the plant in a polystyrene foam box with suitable potting mix in it. then just place the plant in the final position and leave to grow. The plant will grow through the bottom, and over a few years you can pull away the foam and enoucage the root system. Using this technique I've managed to grow darwinias, grumpy wattles and verticordias in our swamp soil. It worked for a euc caesia too. B. robur likes wet clay soils once established, anyway.