Karen__w. You are CORRECT! That is my weed. I thought I discovered a cool thing with that variegation. I may still try to propagate the variegated one though. Indeed the rest I keep puling it and it keeps coming back.

Hi Pambucol, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Yes I would love a Konjac. My husband is actually around your area today and could pick up. We live in Clayton so we don't go into Raleigh much. Thanks, Crystal

I can pull a Konjac and put it on the brick path (you will know when you see it :-) ) with your name on it. We will probably get home after 6 pm. Does that work for you? 1053 Mills St. Raleigh NC.

That should work, I will let him know. Thank you!!

Called hubby, he is said he will be returning to his job before then but we can make a special drive out there tomorrow for the plant. So if tomorrow is fine I can pick it up then. Thanks again and sorry for the confusion

Hi, Pambucol. I have about a dozen A. bulbosas, but only one konjac. Can I trade you some coleus and or Caladiums and or Begonias for a couple of konjacs? I hav e about 2 dozen varieties of really pretty coleus.

Hello Ralph. It would be an honor if you would just take a few of my Konjacs. If you want I can put a few out for you too. Stop by, look at the yard if we are not there...

Vlad, if you propagate and it goes green again just let me know. Unless we do something really drastic, I should have plenty to share for years to come. Unless I move.

Karen__w sounds good.

Ralph and Crystal. I pulled the konjacs yesterday and have a bigger pot for Ralph and a smaller pot for Crystal. I also have plant tags with your names on them. I changed the location though ... I put them on the front porch since on the brick path would have been too much sun.

Vlad, Sooooo sorry,

Just sent you an email again!!

Ralph will pick up mine too !

Thanks for offering them !

Hi Vlad, picked up the plant. Thank you so much!, Sorry I didn't check in here this morning before leaving the house, your neighbors probably think I am nuts! Thank you again, I will be putting the Konjac in the ground this weekend!

I am glad you found them. Rawls texted me to tell me you got there. Enjoy your Konjacs

Good to see that there's continuing group activity through the summer.

To assist our trading partners with proper planning and preparation for the Fall Swap (to get us more plants from our updated trade list ;-) ), here's a preview of the new trades that we are preparing:

House Plants
Citrus 'Valencia' - dwarf, flowers abundantly and produces oranges in container, seedlings come true due to nucellar embryony
Ficus elestica - rubber fig
Philodendron scandens - heartleaf philodendron

Garden Plants
Buxus sempervirens 'Dee Runk' - improved columnar boxwood variety, well-rooted cuttings
Lavandula stoechas - lavender with best tolerance for heat and humidity
Leymus arenarius - baby blue ornamental grass
Liriope spicata 'Silver Dragon' - variegated lilyturf, less invasive than the species
Oryza sativa 'Black Madras' - ornamental rice, annual, promising growth of a bog patch, likely to produce seeds
Sedum ternatum - woodland sedum, white flowers
Thymus citriodorus - performs very well in heat and humid

In addition to items on our wish list, we are particularly interested in expanding our collection of "black" plants (sometimes just dark purple, but close enough), such as:
Cosmos atrosanguineus - Mexican perennial, unlike other Cosmos it forms a tuberous root
Euphorbia 'Black Bird'
Iris chrysographes 'Black Form'
Opuntia 'Dark Knight'
Pennisetum 'First Knight' or 'Black Stockings' - black ornamental grass
Viola 'Sorbet Black Delight'

Vlad, sorry I have not picked up the Konjacs yet. Can you hold onto them a little longer? And can you think of anything that I can bring you?

CasaLester - I realize I never answered your question about my tree ferns. The big monster is in the greenhouse (actually a hoophouse, the side walls and end walls roll up in the summer) for it is too big to move. The babies are in gallon pots and they live under my deck where they get morning sun but shade from 10ish onward. They are growing fast. There may be two or more in a pot. I only intend to keep one as backup. I would divide them if there are more. They'll grow faster as a single plant. I have had success growing them outdoors all summer in the past by just putting them in a saucer (that I kept watered) settled in under a cluster of trees where the humidity stays higher. In the fall I would trim off most of the fronds and lay them on their sides and roll them under my house in the crawlspace. I would set up a shop light over them. They didn't love the set up but they didn't die either. Do you want me to hold on to them until the fall swap or do you want me to deliver or do you want to join in the crazy whirlwind touring on the Sunday that Lorabell is in town?

Ralph - I need to talk to you about the variegated purple heart. If you need some succulents to bribe Vlad with I have plenty, some are marginally hardy here.

Vlad, I plan to stop by between 5:30 and 6 today (Sunday) if that is okay with you?

CasaLester, I don't have any of the 'black' plants on your list, but I do have a very, very dark seedling of something out in the meadow, probably a Eupatorium rugosum. If that's what it is, it's much darker than the cultivar 'Chocolate'. If you're interested, I can try taking cuttings this summer.

Hello Ralph. I missed you. Christine and I were at a 4th of July celebration... But I did see that you got the plants and I am SO looking forward to try the heirloom tomatoes that you brought and plant that seedum. Did you take the self guided plant tour? Did you see the cacti on the back deck? Please tell me you looked around. There are some gems around.

Sabji. Unfortunately I have net had the time to pull some Konjacs for you :-(. We got really busy but my offer still stands. I will pull some for you and set them in a pot on the front porch. Whenever you have the time come pick them up.

All with Vlad's Konjacs ... on full disclosure, I have bought 3 amorphophalluses from Tony. Konjac, Dunii and Henri (OK, I bought more but I have those marked :-) ). Those that I call Konjac could be any of the 3 I don't know how to ID them and without a bloom, it will be very challenging ... at least for me.

Vlad, your yard is truly amazing. I did not see the deck, but look forward to a greater tour sometime when you are home. The Konjacs are really impressive plants. Thanks.

Pambucol,

I'm trying to figure out what I have to offer for a couple of those Konjac...

my yummy garlic

a couple daylilies I plan on separating

- Vintage Merlot

- Wonder of it All

- Jeanne Deavers Dream

These 3 are my fav's. Rebloomers - gorgeous

Ralph, I can get a fan of each for you as well - if you don't have.

Hello Lorabell. I think I have one of your Vintage Merlot ... it is a beauty. Every year when the daylilies come out of the ground and they multiplied like crazy and Christine has thoughts of digging them out ... then the Vintage Merlot blooms ... then we always say ...ok, the yellow ones are going but not THAT one! We even some double ones from you. Really awesome. With that being said, I don't have the other 2. I'll take those or not but definitely you can have some Konjacs. As I said, they are really multiplying like crazy in the yard ... from the 6 or so that I sprinkled around the yard *first time* now ... oh man, they are popping out everywhere. And Christine always gives me the "I don't like those everywhere" speech :-). Would you like me to pull some and leave them in a pot for you. I need to do this maybe today for Sabji so I can make a care package for you too.

Ralph. Glad you like the yard. There are some sweet assarums in the back and other cool stuff. All the hydrangeas and the gardenias in the back are propagated y me. Definitely let's set-up a tour.

My amorphs have all emerged over the past week, even in the greenhouse they seem to aim for the first of July. So I've still got konjac and bulbifer, but Vlad, if you ever sort the ID's, I'll try to find something to trade you for dunnii and/or henryi.

Sounds good Karen__w.

I stuck cuttings from Hoyas bella variegata, aff engleriana, kentiana, and davidcummingii. All this misty weather is good for rooting!

Vlad Pambucol,

Please note that the last section of our post are high priority plants that we are looking for ourselves. We have identified a reasonably-priced source of Opuntia 'Dark Knight' - it is sold by Cold Hardy Cactus (have you purchased from them, and if so, are they reliable?), but with all the eminent succulent aficionados here, it may be simpler to explore local trades first.

Also, way back in this thread you mentioned that you build the crate-type wooden tables that were pictured on your Web page. Do you have instructions on how to make them? We copied the one we were referring to in our post dated May 8, 2016 at 10:34AM.

Karen__w,

The list we gave are only a few high priority examples of black plants, so thanks for bringing up Eupatorium rugosum. Being tolerant of dry shade, it is a strong candidate for us, so something 'Chocolate'-like would be great. (It is possible that a small seedling may be darker when growing compared to the mature plant).

A more comprehensive list of black plants (75 cases) can be found in the eponymous book by Paul Bonine that we should credit for inspiring us to start this collection as a systematic effort.

CasaLester, I'm not positive of the ID, but it looks Eupatorium-ish out there. This one has been growing in my meadow garden for several years, so the very dark coloration doesn't appear to be age dependent and doesn't fade through the summer. I've got lots of 'Chocolate' progeny elsewhere and can look for some dark examples there as well.

Hello Les,

I have never bought from Cold Hardy Cactus before. I have browsed them before though. I understand about the want list :-) I misread your post. ... The clay pots racks ... I forgot to write you about those. I don't have instructions or plans how to make those but they are made from 1 x 2 lumber and it is sort of what you see is what you get :-). I have some for 4 in pots and some for 6 in pots. I am not proud of the dimensions either or I would measure them for you. My squares are ... well, not too square. I tried to design them for the square of each pot holder to catch the lip of the pot. They are glued and screwed/nailed.

Vlad,

I can swing by this weekend ( july 9th or 10th) to pick up mine as well as Lorabell's konjacs..Which day is good for you saturday or sunday?

Sabji, that would be awesome..

Lorabell, send me an email and I will send you my phone number in return re your visit to Raleigh on Sunday. Have you and John established a tentative schedule for your time here?

Lorabell, send me an email and I will send you my phone number in return re your visit to Raleigh on Sunday. Have you and John established a tentative schedule for your time here?

Oh heck! Sorry Ralph. Been crazy here, new Gbaby, son / family back from Europe, etc... I've had up to 18 people staying in my house the last 2 weeks. Thank goodness I had lots of eggs and veggies on hand. Ha. Spent the day sleeping and attempting to recover this place back to normal!

All is on for today... Plan on being at Johns at 9-. Sabji at 11-, and hopefully meet up with you, or head to the Aurboratum at 1 ish.

I will message you asap.

Lorabell, am I losing it or has your post from yesterday gone missing? I remember because it mentioned garlic and I've got a bunch of recently rooted hoya cuttings to trade for it!

It has!

A big THANK YOU to John, Sanji, and Ralph for a wonderful Sunday. I've spent the week adding rocks, moving plants, and making lists for the next swap!

Vlad, cool Konjacs, beautiful plants. I can send your daylilies or will see you at the swap.

Karen, I have the garlic packaged up if you'd like me to throw it to you via mail. . Or wait till Fall but then you can't be eating some now! Am so happy to be getting some more Hoya!!!!

Lora bell, It was a pleasure seeing you ! Thanks for the garlic !!

Those hot peppers are truly tiny and hot!!! Handle with care!!

They are growing pretty fast! I am looking forward to see taste these.

Lorabell, would love to get the garlic before the swap, but I'm not sure how to get you my address without posting it here. I think I managed to edit my profile so you can message me, so maybe that will work.

The Hoyas I've got rooted for you are H. kentiana (which is already blooming!), H. bella variegata, H. aff engleriana, and H. davidcummingii. If I have time this summer I'll try rooting some others.

Karen,

Message sent.

Vlad, are you coming to the swap next weekend? I've got Hoyas with your name on them.

Great! I was hoping to get a pup from your Agave 'Cornelius', if you have one available.

Vlad, sounds great! And I hope you'll give me the answer key in case I get it wrong!

I also have hundreds of Japanese Roof Iris seedlings, like 3-4 inches high. I separated today into several pots, but after they grow a bit, they will need to be separated again, to have room to grow. I am happy to put them in the general swap, not doing many specials this year, but thought someone might especially want them. I have had them bloom first year, and it is only iris I know that prefers shade.