Kate, I always enjoy Biosphere, too. They have a very small staff and at certain times of the year, it can get quite overgrown and messy looking. But they have a wealth of plants, especially natives, that you can't find elsewhere. And they have a wealth of knowledge as well. Plus it is a MUST VISIT nursery if you have a butterfly garden, for sure. Jim Thomas is a very nice man who is well-respected in his field. He gives a tremendous amount of his time to local conservation projects, clean ups, restorations, etc. I like doing my little bit to help support his business, and I always find cool stuff there that I've never seen elsewhere. I'm planning to go out there in a couple of weeks, myself. I figure I deserve it since I had to miss this get together. Marcia

The incidence of trophy wins by 'found' roses during the period 2001 to 2004 represented some 22 trophies among the polyantha, Climbing and OGR classes, equaling a percentage near one-third of one percent of all winsin those classes. At the time of the announcement of the ineglibility of 'found' roses for ARS classes, a list of some 395 'found' roses at the San Jose Rose Garden (and other places) was circulated among some of the heritage people. There would seem to be some pressure to identify roses frequently in competition and commerce, such as 'Maggie' or 'Martha Gonzales.' There would be very little pressure to make eligible again specimens rare in either competition or commerce. I think part of the problem in this area has been that explanations of actions taken tend to have been post hoc to the rose public rather than proactive. Of course, identifying and communicating with that public may be more difficult than anticipated. JD

Spider mite webs are very small and in the crotches (can I say that?) of stems and branches or leaf stems. When you see these small spider mite webs, you will also see signs of spider mites--stippled leaves which are starting to turn brown and die. You may also see specks crawling along the webs, if your eyes are good. On the other hand, in summer, my roses and daylilies each have at least one resident spider who owns the plant. While I sometines knock down these much larger webs, they are usually re-created the next day. These little spiders are kind of cute. However, even later in summmer, the spiders get very large and spin very large elaborate webs here. Some spiders can be up to an inch across. I hate these guys (and girls). Just my take on it. Kathy

>>the species at risk in the wild should be preserved within the general locality in which they are endangered as the genotypes and the associated genetic variability is suited to that region I agree that it SHOULD be that way.... but having accepted the reality that plants often are not adequately protected in their native habitat (especially in third world countries.... but extinctions may occur even in some first world countries) I think that cultivating threatened plants is a legitimate means of protecting them, whether it's halfway around the world or not. What about the highlands of Peru and Bolivia? What about all those New Caledonian endemics that are still being whacked down and burned indiscriminately by landowners? How about your own Eucalyptus recurva which is known from only four wild plants... a bushfire could come along, the regrowth could be grazed and the plants could be lost. This plant is now being preserved at Currency Creek Arboretum but it could just as well have been lost forever if it had not been brought into cultivation, and something happened to the original plants. Plants are inevitably vulnerable in the wild, often due to human influence but sometimes not... so isn't it better if as many people as possible have them in their gardens? Wattleblossom... your example is just about foolish people who are trying to make a profit and do not really have a clue what they are talking about, not people responsibly collecting plants to preserve them. It is one thing to harvest trunks of relatively common D. antarctica (and C. australis) from the wild.... this is unnecessary as it is unlikely to go extinct no matter what anyone does. Nothing wrong with growing D. antarctica in England but personally I think it would be better if they were spore raised plants. Now if someone were to collect spore from a very rare species of treefern (rather than harvest a whole plant) and disseminate the plants to help preserve them... is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. I also think that when possible a variety of genetic material should be used for each species cultivated.