hoovb, thanks for the idea about asking my local nursery to order them...did't even cross my mind! Rodgers is about an hour away from me, I gave them a call but sadly they tell me they have no pink kangaroo paws anymore. But thanks for the tips, hopefully my nursery can run some down for me.

OK, I can help with this one -- As long as you have 2 or more trees that are genetically different, seed-grown or grafted ones of different varieties, as opposed to suckers taken from the same mother plant, you have the right genetic combination to make fruit. However, the issue might be proper cross-pollination. I picked up this tip from a gardening magazine some years back, and it really works. Paw Paw flowers are brown/purple for a reason -- they are carrion mimics that produce the scent of rotting flesh, although it is subtle, and are pollinated by various species of carrion-loving flies. In the magazine, there was a profile of a paw paw breeder from Jackson, Michigan. He went out every spring and gathered roadkill -- racoons, possoms, etc. -- and also enlisted the help of a couple of friends to catch big carp in the local river. He hung a carcass in each tree. He had like 200 trees, so I don't envy his downwind neighbors. Now, I know it sounds nasty, and it is, but it sure does make a dramatic difference in pollination. Now, being sort of weak in the stomach, I couldn't see myself hanging dead animals in my paw paw trees, and I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't approve, and someone would probably call the cops on me. So, my solution -- I use the bait powder from Ortho disposable flytraps -- I mix it with an equal volume of water and pour it into a foam or plastic cup that I tape with duct tape to a vertical trunk of the tree about 4 feet off the ground. Pour the mix in there about 4 or 5 days before the first blossoms open, because it gets progressively more smelly as it ages. By the time the blooms open, it will be rank smelling and attract a lot of flies. Some will actually fall in and drown, but that's ok, because it just makes it smell all the worse and attracts even more flies. When I did this, the blossom set increased dramatically, about quadrupled. A lot more fruit set and ripened. Too late for this year, but try it next and see if that doesn't make the difference. Finally, one other thing -- I have one tree that is a couple of hundred feet away from the other two -- that distance does cut down a lot on the transfer of pollen, and it sets far fewer. So, if your trees are far away, you can use my other method, which is to cut several longer branches of buds and flowers from a pollinator tree and put them under the tree which needs cross pollination in a bucket of water with some cut flower preservative in it -- they'll last about 4 to 6 days this way and will do the job.

Hi, I've decided to post more photos of my plants. These are not hoyas but some of my other oddity plants at home. Let me know what you think. water mimosa or touch me not plant, when you touch its leaves, it closes. my goldfish plant. hoya krinkle, new buds just formed, this is about to open soon. can't wait to see the full bloom, will be it's third times in a row this year. snail vine or cork-screw vine, highly perfumed plant. a type of clematis starting with R, can't remember the full name, originated from Japan. Another of my favourite plant, can't remember it's name right now. A carion plant, I think the flower is quite unusual and it lasts for quite some time too. My pitcher plant, can't remember what type of nepenthes this is. Stephanotis floribunda in full bloom next to my hoya kerrii Can't remember the name of this plant, but always blooming each year. Another one of my favourite, a type of ceropegia, this one blooms twice a year for me. A succulent I bought for $5 buck, looks like bear's paw up-close. tacca chantrieri or black bat plant. Just bloomed not fully open yet, another flower bud follows but hasn't bloom. another favourite of mine. Well that's all for now. there are much more, but I'll leave it for next time. Hope you guys enjoy my plants collection.

When my daughter was approximately 6 years old we were out in the yard making a map of my gardens and putting the names of each plant on the map, she looked at me mid way and asked "Mom when you die will I get your hostas!" I asked her if she wanted them, and she answered "yes". I assured her she would as long as she wanted them! She is now almost 11 and she knows alot of the names, hopefully when the time comes she will still want my hostas and I hope she gets as much pleasure from them as I have. I too moved into a house that had a much neglected yard after the wife passed away, and sat as an empty house for a couple of years. The yard was overgrown with black raspberries, violets, elderberry and crazy ground cover that I would never wish on anyone. I started in one area very slowly removing unwanted overgrowth and found one small hosta, not very big, basic smaller round leaves with white edges. I split it up in several different clumps and it was the beginning of my hosta interest. Now I have over a 100 and can't stop! I grew up with a Mother who had a love of flowers and a Dad that grows an awesome garden. I can only hope it carries on!