I bought trees last year that came from LE Cooke and I was not happy with the quality. They were dehydrated and took most of the summer to get going, One never did. If they are available from Trees of Antiquity then you can be assured they are worth the money. The trees I have gotten from there were some of the best I've ever seen. I'm editing to say that you should buy from ToA soon as they always sell out of everything. This post was edited by milehighgirl on Wed, Feb 5, 14 at 23:48

Thanks for your suggestions, bamboo and fruitnut. Given the accolades, I'm very, very anxious to try Sweetcrisp. I should have bought one last year, but better late than never. I've seen a lot of praise for Jewel's flavor, but, based on your description, fruitnut, I might be happier with another variety. I had my eye on Star and Windsor, so I might go with one or both of those. Have either of you (or anyone else) tried Palmetto? From what I can read, it gets very high marks for flavor. As for your question, rayrose, I do have a couple of potted SHB (O'Neal and Southmoon). The lower chill varieties like Sweetcrisp worry me a little bit because of early bloom times, but I can't resist trying them. I already have to protect some of my early bloomers (mostly rabbiteyes), though, so it shouldn't be too much trouble. I used a heavy weight frost blanket over a small greenhouse frame last winter, and that worked very well. This post was edited by shazaam on Tue, May 21, 13 at 21:26

Ijumpman, You can click on a button on this page to find Stihl dealers in your area. Home Depot has stuff at a fair price and a good return policy and I buy quite a bit of stuff from our local Home Depot. But I didn't buy my chain saw from them because they are a "box store" and they don't have a credible service department. My Stihl dealer took a couple of hours to show me the safe operation and maintenance of my chain saw (including how to sharpen the chain) and steered me to the "perfect" choice for me (in my inexperience, I was going to get a much longer cutting bar than I needed). I think it borders on the criminal to sell chain saws in a box to a potentially dangerously inexperienced user. But enough about chain saws. You are interested in a trimmer, and you can't cut your leg off with that, unless you try really hard. From what I hear, Echos are good for the money and with only 1000 sq ft of lawn you could probably do all of your trimming with a pair of scissors. (grin) I'm pretty sure that Home Depot and your 20% off coupon will save you some money to start with compared to a comparable Stihl trimmer. And, if/when your Echo trimmer goes bad, you can always buy another one. Actually, with a lawn that small, I probably would get a good cordless electric trimmer with a rechargeable lithium battery. Cordless electric trimmers have come a long way in the last couple of years, particularly those with lithium batteries. And they have a lot of advantages over gas-powered models. MM P.S. I applaud your choice of a reel mower. They don't "butcher" the grass. You probably should set it to cut as high as it will go. A lot of reel mowers tend to cut the grass too short, unless you have one of those hybrid golf-course greens bermudas.

I understand you have some large established clumps of Bambusa Alphose Karr, B. Golden Goddess, B. Textilis, at your sisterÂs house. I would be extremely interested in coming down from Dallas and digging it up. Would you be able to let me know approximately what kind of size the bamboos are or send me a picture of them, seeing as it is going to take me a few hours and a couple of tanks of gas to get down to the Huston area. I could come down at any time and dig so just let me know what flexibility your sister has. Thanks in advance,