I didn't know that Playboy gets rust in So Cal, hopefully he'll be okay up here Sonoma. I had him in a pot last year and didn't notice any particular susceptibility to disease, but if he does turn out to be a problem then out he will go! I think I like the idea of putting both JC's together in the center, like a big centerpiece. The area has my veggy garden to the south and a retaining wall, line of fruit trees, and the driveway to the north. I can train the JC's onto the fence next to the retaining wall and hopefully they will make a nice display to be seen from the driveway. All oranges would be very cool, but I want to enclose two other sides in rose beds eventually and I'd like them to flow once I do, so a mix would probably be better for the long-term look. I think I might do this: Livin' Easy, Anthony Meilland, Fragrant Cloud, Joseph's Coat x2, Kordes' Brilliant, Kirsten Poulsen, Playboy. I can't decide if I want to mix my OGR's in with my modern roses, or have a separate area just for them.

I have held off listing this year's varieties, since tractor failure (early) & sustained wet weather (late) have prevented me from planting them all yet. But I have started most of those remaining in Jiffy strips, so I won't lose too much ground - unless the heavy rains continue. Keep in mind that I am a preservationist & amateur researcher... don't try this at home. ;-) -Beans Bert Goodwin (pole dry / shelly) Bird Egg #3 (pole snap / very large shelly) Cranberry, True Red (pole dry / shelly) Durango (unknown, from a GW swap) Fortex (pole snap) *Garafal Oro (pole Romano snap) Jembo Polish (pole snap / shelly) Light Brown Zebra (bush dry) PI 281987 (foreign, similar to the Cranberry) PI 507984 > (unknown, large-seeded, from foreign source) *Pole 191 (pole snap) Serbian Yellow (pole wax from GW swap) Tisa (another pole wax from GW swap) * I will grow whichever germinates most poorly -Cowpeas 21 Peas (pole type); Bush Sitao Var. BS-3 & CES-18-6 (both from Philippines) Fenugreek -Garbanzo Brown Popping (the PI 374085 mentioned by Carol Deppe); PI 315810 (green); PI 359944 (red) -Limas 1880's Butterbean (pole); Cave Dweller Black (bush) -Peas Dunn (dry); Golderbse (dry); Mesa (green pea); Nadja (dry); Preboharty (dry); Purple Pod Parsley (green pea); Sandy (snow pea); Sugar Lace (snap pea) -Runner beans Goliath "Wright's Korean" (from GW swap) -Soybeans 25 varieties, most from NSRL (thanks Jimster), USDA, and the collection of the late Robert Lobitz ***********Asian beans Adzuki: Red & White Green gram (mung): Unknown (from Asian market); PI 374124 & PI 376925 (both from Philippines) Yardlongs: Black Seed; Chinese Red Noodle; *Long White Snake; Galante & Sierra Madre (both from Philippines) (*) = attempting to rescue, seed sent may be dead Winged Bean (day neutral)

Since you live in an apartment, I would go with either an Emperor Lychee because they stay somewhat small or a named cultivar of Dragonfruit. The Lychee will be much more difficult to fruit but others have succeeded. Lychees tend to be alternate bearers and may fruit only lightly. I'm currently growing Sweetheart Lychees but the tree will get fairly large so I would not recommend it for your situation. I really love Dragonfruit but you should do your research before investing on a cutting. I would not recommend growing dragonfruit from seeds because they will take a long time to fruit and the fruit will be unpredictable. I currently grow the white, red and yellow varieties of dragonfruit. The white variety is the easiest to grow for me and the fruit is extremely large and sweet but is nowhere near as complex and tasty as the red varieties. The Red varieties I have growing are "Halley's Comet, American Beauty, Bien Hoa Red, Valdivia Roja and a few others. The Red varieties are sweet and have a hint of berry flavor. Halley's Comet and American beauty were the highest rated dragonfruit at the UC Irvine Dragon Fruit festival last year. You can purchase these varieties online at pineislandnursery.com but the shipping is super expensive. Dragonfruit will sprawl so you have to be sure to train it properly and prune it back every year once it reaches the ideal size. I like to train it into a dragonfruit tree. Good luck with whichever plant you decide to go with!

HA! Sorry guys when I posted that I was just home from my day with my Mom-running on no sleep LOLOL But -gave you a good visual huh Flamey?LOL \ What I meant to say is: I think a good torture device would be to make someone strip down naked be in the hot summer sun and have to pick it! Had to pick it so much never naked though....HATE IT! and then yes the next stage of torture is to have to cut the slimy mess up and roll it in cornmeal and then cook it -all the while still hot and itchy!