I'm sorry that you are so far away from me. Swapping plants is a great way to get a larger variety. Senior Center, local gardening club, high school agriculture classes, 4-H, local library.... I would have thought Craigslist, but I had extra pecan trees and placed an ad. I got a dozen people who wanted one and then never showed up. 6 trees went to friends who garden and I have 34 pecan trees for myself. I'm putting a pecan in every empty space I can find. I am NOT throwing away pecan trees!!!! Oh, just thought. Maybe your local junior college offers gardening classes. Parks and Recreation offers classes and I think I've seen gardening classes offered. If you have a thrift store you like to support, maybe they would take them to try and sell them. Tons of plants and veggie starts get sold by the local stores, so somebody is growing veg. Do you have a local farmer's market?

I live in Los Angeles and would drive down to your area if you still have any available. I have four night bloomers and I recently bought 12 clippings and can't wait for them to grow. I love collecting them and would greatly appreciate having them amd taking care of them. Please contact me as to whether you still have any available. Hopefully, you do. Thank You, Chad Please contact me at: alchemyandfx@earthlink.net

As far as I can tell from the internet, for a large flowered Hedychium,'Tara' is considered among the most reliable cool climate bloomers worldwide. Below are example comments for North America. And note the comparison inferences about other varieties. Glossler Farms OR "Probably the only ginger (the spice) that blooms early enough to actually flower in our garden. Many of the hedychium species we've tried will bloom for 2 minutes in November and will be puny at that. H. 'Tara' has beautiful light orange flowers in late august-September. The plants are upright with narrow leaves. This perennial can make a strking plant for the tropical look." Dancing Oaks OR "The most reliable blooming ginger for our garden. Wide green leaves on sturdy stems proudly bear tangerine orange flowers with delicious fragrance. 4' t x 2' w * " * Note: warm climate (HI, FL, SC, NC) growers list 'Tara' at 6' - 8', likely due to the climate advantage for subtropicals. Hedychium must grow large = tall enough before it flowers. Phoenix Perennials BC Canada "In mid-late August 'Tara' offers dramatic large firey orange and fragrant flower clusters. The most reliable bloomer for the West Coast climate and indispensable as a subtropical accent in the perennial border. Tropical-looking foliage provides interest all season long. Mulch with fallen leaves in winter. In colder regions grow in a pot or store in dry peat moss and keep above zero." Plant Delights NC says this "Hedychium 'Tara', a selection of the high mountain Himalayan species Hedychium gardnerianum, is a good performer in the upper South as well as the Pacific Northwest. Hedychium 'Tara' is one of only a few ginger lilies to be awarded the Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit for outstanding garden value. Hedychium 'Tara' emerges in late spring with 6' spikes of grey-green foliage that rockets skyward. In late summer, the vigorous clumps are topped with lightly fragrant, 16" bottlebrush spikes of bright orange flowers...stunning!" On fragrance of 'Tara' most say light, not strong in cooler climates. A few say they didn't know it was fragrant until the brought it inside. Most say fragrant in late afternoon. Collectively these comments may suggest most fragrant when warm enough. ______ From this research, I suspect that NY gardeners, in z7a a zone colder than our z8a but with warmer summers, have a fighting chance with 'Tara'! Mulch well for winter survival, plant in a protected full sun position, ideally against a south facing wall, where the heat collects. Watering will likely be necessary in hot weather to support sufficient growth and maturation in time (if not your soil might not be draining well enough and you risk tuber rotting). Fragrance might be light, unless it's a hot day. Some Hedychium are said to be most fragrant in late afternoon ... when it's warmest? But I also have read a Bremerton, WA z8b grower blog "be sure to smell at night. It is strongest at 10 to midnight." If so, I wonder how many gardeners go to bed early and fail to discover their Hedychium is in fact very fragrant?

An update - got a call from the market manager this morning, she said that the market will be held this weekend. New rules are in place, 50 people allowed into the area at a time, it is an outdoor market so social distancing shouldn't be a problem. Two people recommended for each vendor, one to handle the product and one to handle the money. This is a market that I have brought my plants and flowers to for more than 20 yrs and have a loyal customer base. I have many many daffodils and cut pussy willow branches that I could take this weekend and would probably sell out. Now I am torn between doing the market and not doing it. I will be 60 this July 1st. Absolutely no health problems, don't smoke or drink, in good overall health as far as I know.... Now the question is would you expose yourself to the general public if you took precautions this weekend???? My life does not depend on my selling a few flowers to market goers. The city nearby is Cleveland Ohio, don't think there are a high number of cases reported.