Hi Tim & Rick, I am a very happy member of the WNYHS. I joined about a year & a half ago & have made many friends and been amazed at how welcome they have made me feel. Their activities are a lot of fun & very educational. I have accepted a position in Albany & sadly will soon be moving to that area. My good friends Kathy & Mike Shadrack have assured me they will connect me to the UNYHS & that group is very active & a lot of fun. I will be moving into an apartment at least initially from my 10 acres near Buffalo. I have many hosta plants to bring with me or board out until I have a new home for them. Well 1st I have to find that apt! Dianne

No, this isn't my first winter up here. I grew up in the Rochester area, and moved away five years ago, for Florida. I lived in Tampa for two years and loved the beaches there! I then moved over to the East Coast for the last three years. I lived in Palm Bay. I have to get used to this 50 degree weather DURING THE DAY! This was the weather that we might have in February at night! So why am I moving here? My family all live here and I really wanted to get back to a more natural cycle than Florida offered. I guess you can't take the New York out of me! So now I can learn to snowshoe near Lake Ontario, sample wine in the Finger Lakes, and see all of the fall foliage at Letchworth! In my Florida garden I had a beautiful Bismark palm, several foxtails, bottle, spindle, triangle, queen and teddy bear! I will have to try a needle palm here when I'm more settled as I adore the palms. Isn't there a book out on "Crape Myrtles Won't Grow Here--and other myths"?? I think I have to get this one! DGordon...let us know about your crape myrtle here! At least they offer more year round interest than the powdery-mildew prone lilacs. It's sad to say, but I'm not impressed with the look of the lilac plants this year. What variety did you buy? Christinpalm...I will have to look up that sabal palm in my books! I just think, even if it's a slow-growing palm and not a twenty foot tree, it will be interesting to have that in the garden here! Thanks guys Mark

I am not in upstate New York, but in zone 6 downstate Illinois. I was using the search feature for something completely different when I saw how many people had responded to this old post and knew it would be a treasure trove. Many of the things listed are things I have heard about before, but I had never created a list. Just prayed I'd remember what not to get or what to be careful with at planting time. Thought someone else might like this in list form. I still plan to go back through and add the latin botanical name where missing. There are a few things that I didn't put on this list. Ornamental grass, for instance, since the type wasn't mentioned and there are huge differences depending on the species. So, here's the list I came up with. Thank you for helping me to create the beginnings of a good reference file. Aggressive / Invasive plants -- The following list began with plants that gardeners in zone 5 and 6 on the Upstate New York gardening forum found to be invasive. Some noted that âinvasiveâ is somewhat objective and depends on where the plant is located. In the book Paradise Lot the authors sometimes put aggressive plants that they liked to have around on purpose in an area of the garden not ideal for that plant. I.e. in shade rather than sun. At some point I should perhaps mark the plants below with a rating system to distinguish the ânever, never, never plant thisâ from the ones that might be good to use in certain situations. Achillea millefolium ssp. Yarrow Aegopodium Bishopâs weed aka gout Weed; aka snow-on-the-mountain Ajuga ��" Someone in New York doesnât like it. Ours is a good ground cover. Anemone Canadensis anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' dark leaf form of common cow parsley Artemisia I get the feeling some types are okay. Artemisia âOriental Limelightâ Beautiful when small; will swallow your whole garden! Very invasive. Years to eradicate. Huge. Roots run vigorously. Tap root deep. Balloon flower Bittersweet (I think this is also called Virginia creeper.) chameleon plant Chinese lanterns Cleome Annual. Prolific self-seeder. Might be good if the self-seeding is desired. Comfrey Apparently huge, fast growing and deep rooted. Lily of the valley Many, many warnings, although some would like to grow it and canât. Creeping Charlie Echinacea purpurea purple cone flower Several mentions. I like it and like the self-seeding. Echinops GLOBE THISTLE Prolific self-seeder, Butâ¦awesome looking and attracts humming birds. Feverfew Fennel, bronze ��" Self seeds vigorously; person commenting liked this trait. Hemerocallis common ditch daylily geranium oxonianum Ipomoea morning glory Jerusalem artichoke, perennial sunflower Lamium ssp. Tiger lily Lobelia syphilitica Lychnis coronaria Rose Campion (See- Lychnis The Genus for types that might not be invasive.) Lysimachia clethroides Many, many warnings. Lysimachia punctata Loosestrife Many, many warnings. Lemon balm Mentha ssp. Mint Mexican evening primrose Monarda bee balm Money plant Mountain bluet Oenothera fruticosa - sundrops - evening primrose Pachysandra Obedient plant Ribbon grass stachys byzantina Lambâs ears Sweet woodruff Thymus ��" the creeping thyme variety. Trumpet vine verbena bonariensis Self seeds vigorously; person commenting liked this trait. Vinca Virginia creeper Yucca has spines. Dramatic structural plant. Very very deep rooted.

Usually only the dry seeds themselves are sent, minus the pod, chaff, dried flower petals, bits of stem, etc. -- just the way you would find them in a seed packet that you buy. The Seed Exchange forum has a very good FAQ that will help answer some questions, and if you don't find the answer there, you can post questions on the forum. I wait until I actually have the dried seeds in hand before offering any, so I know how many I can offer. Usually people expect the seeds to be mailed within a few days after you agree to the trade so it's best to have your seeds ready to be packaged. I hope I'm not making seed trading sound harder than it is. It's really lots of fun. While you're waiting for the jewelweed to bloom, you can lurk around the Seed Exchange forum and check out people's trade lists on their member pages, and get an idea of how it all works. And have fun!