Hi Bob. Glad to see you have a computer now. I read your post, and one thought came to mind. You are already bumping elbows with the big wheels, and you have those patterns coming along. What about hybridizing do you not know? Maybe you are just happy to be involved here and are hoping to hear what everyone says. I want everyone here to know how great a guy you are. As solid a foundation you have in your life, you are the most open-minded, non-judgmental guy I know online. In the past, you have helped me to mainatin a positive attitude when I was about to lose the last bit of tolerance I have. The reason I seem to waste my time is that I have never been able to commit to daylilies. There were a few times, but each time a divorce changed all of that. Even now, I am in no position to make that commitment. I am one of those blue-collar guys, kinda artsy fartsy, kinda grease monkey. By the time I am financially independent, I will be hobbling along. This life has never been about me and my interests. Plus, there are so many people who know more than me about the daylily business. I am a novice. And, there really aren't that many people who care about a flower other than to enjoy them. If people go beyond that, then they cannot afford to make waves. So, bottom line, there is no need for me or my ideas. I am only trying to make things known so that at least I gave it a tiny bit of effort...a lame attempt to satisfy my conscience. I am ready to have my best bloom season ever. I am not sure I will even hybridize. It is way too much work. By the way, come up with a flower that has perfect color, a layered eye, and a toothy edge.

Dear Coniferophiles -- Thanks so much for your observations on my cryptomeria dilemma. They provided the knowledge base I needed to move forward. I accepted early on that I would be unable to find an arborist with a special understanding of Japanese ceders in these climes -- alas, steamy Washington rather than luxuriously temperate San Francisco. In that context, I decided to go with crowd-sourced wisdom [you are the crowd] and personal judgment. Accordingly, I decided that Phase 1 should be revealing the trunk. sugi style I hired an arborist who does careful work but does not pretend to know everything about every species. Because some of the branches are nearly perpendicular to the ground and some angle up, we discussed every candidate for removal up to about five feet from the ground, and we reached consensus. The result is a large billowy Christmas tree becoming a large billowy conifer on a handsome exposed stick. I think it looks quite a bit better at ground level, and it lets much more light into the living rooms of the English basement and first floor. [Ten photos of the tree before and after this pruning are linked to below.] I mean to give the tree a few weeks to see how the first pruning will affect its health and the configuration of its remaining branches. Then comes the much more challenging Phase 2 pruning, intended to make the tree more open, less massive in shape, and narrower. I think an oriental look might best accomplish these goals, but I am not sure what is possible with this particular variety of cryptomeria. My questions leading into a plan are: Should I take more branches off the bottom, revealing more ot the trunk? With some of the remaining branches curving over, the five feet at the trunk is less at the periphery. . Should I try to open it up largely by having selected branches lopped from the trunk as far up the tree as I can work? The dead zone for each branch is large enough so that visible cavities -- what the arborist is calling "windows" -- could emerge. I know from my own pruning of the tree over time that lopping off the growing tips stimulates lush new growth there. If I trim some of the remaining branches back to the dead zone to somewhat narrow the tree, will the branch die back or will new growth occur at the cut? 4. Finally, is it possible to mess with the leader, maybe to create a couple of leaders to soften the cone shape?. I would also like the option of controlling the height of the tree to about where it is now.. At present it is protected from most snow storms and derechos by the proximity of the linked three-story buidlings behind it. That will not long be the case as things stand now. The last four photos in my array are possible pruning models. [Well, the final one is a pipe dream, even if I had the tree carefully pruned twice a year.[ The problem is that having looked at all 70 cryptomeria varietal descriptions -- some with photos -- on the American Conifer Society web site, I still have no idea what i have. It looks like Yoshino, but it is much bigger. All help will be greatly appreciated. I may not deserve it, but the tree does. Grazie mille. hbk PS Everyone who is not familiar with it should check out the Tree Shapers site linked to above by IshCountryGirl. Two galleries of living sculpture so sublime that even purists who insist on feral conifers will have to gasp. Here is a link that might be useful: F St cryptomeria photos

Kris, I think you are missing the point. With few exceptions there is no valid reason why most Miscanthus cultivars CANNOT be cut back in fall. A good many are hardy to zone 4, the vast majority to zone 5 and few more tender cultivars to zone 6. With the exception of the slightly more tender condensatus cultivars, they are root hardy to at least -20F, some to -30F. It is highly unlikely leaving the dead stalks through winter will significantly increase winter hardiness except in very marginally hardy cases. Cutting back in spring for most OG's is only an option, not a requirement. I am also a bit confused about a couple of other statements you made. "the majority of the public only grows Miscanthus". That's a pretty broad statement and unlikely to be supported by fact. In a number of southwestern states, including Kentucky, Miscanthus sinensis and many of its cultivars are considered invasive and not recommended to be grown. And you are ignoring the popularity of scores of other grass species - Calamagrostis, Panicums, Pennisetums, Deschampsia, Stipas and all the native prairie grasses and sedges that are so popular, not to mention bamboos and all the grass-like plants commonly grouped as OG's, like liriope and mondo grass. Gardeners are a diverse bunch and live and garden in diverse conditions and making blanket statements such as this is innaccurate and misleading. Miscanthus is not easily damaged by cold except in areas of borderline hardiness, like most other plants. While I currently live and garden in zone 8, I have also gardened in colder climes and cutting back most miscanthus in zone 5 (eastern WA) in fall or early winter never compromised the health of the plants I grew there. I would look to other reasons why your miscanthus are not doing well if cut back in fall or early winter as opposed to spring. And finally I think you are confusing aesthetic concerns with cultural requirements. Cutting back dead top growth of any herbaceous plant can be done at any time. There is some slight benefit afforded by leaving dead plant material intact over the winter but only an increase of a few degrees of protection, far less than what would be accomplished by mulching or by the insulating factor of snow. Certainly not a concern when the plant in question is hardy to a zone or two or more lower than your current location. And in areas where miscanthus is invasive, it makes very good sense to cut the grasses back early so that the seed is not dispersed by winter winds. As for my responsibilities as a professional in the green industry, I am well aware of them. And the dispersal of accurate information is paramount among them. And if I were you, I'd be a bit more concerned about your responsibilities as a green industry professional in encouraging the planting and spread of potentially invasive plants in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: Kentucky - invasive species

Hi Bill, Just wanted to report back after my visit to UF at Gainesville. First off, I wanted to say there was a very large slope by a building that had a huge area of the asiatic jasmine. It was in full sun and looked great. The only thing I noticed that was not that great was that the area was so wide it could not be reached for maintenance from either side. Therefore, the long strands were visible in the central, unreachable portion, and it looked a little unkempt. So, I guess the moral of that story is to make sure it can be reached by a weedwhacker and an edger from both sides if you want to achieve a neat and tidy appearance. A ground cover I had not thought of is dwarf Indian Hawthorne. I saw it in so many places in full sun, no care and it looked great. Although when I looked it up it said it got to 3-6 feet, I didn't see any that were higher than about two. Maybe there are newer types. Most seemed to be lower than that. I have a friend who has it here in Sarasota, and hers is about two foot. I know she doesn't prune it or do anything to it and it always looks great and blooms in the spring. I know it is higher than your criteria, but I saw so much of it that looked good, that I thought it would be worth mentioning. I will mention another, although again, it probably doesn't meet your criteria. Wart fern as a ground cover is beautiful and carefree, maybe a foot tall or a tiny more. However, I think it does best in partial shade. I am experimenting with it this year in my garden and it is doing well and starting to spread a bit in half day sun. However, it gets late morning, early afternoon, hot direct sun. Shaded in morning and late afternoon. I have to tell you where I am coming from. I know you are looking for visibility from the street. My DH and I are the opposite. We frequently are in the garden in our pajamas, or, in his case, a lot less! It is essential to us that we have as much privacy as possible from the street as well as all our neighbors. The first thing we did with our landcaping when we moved here (even before) was start screening in a big way. I can report that he is now able to shower outside or skinny dip in the pool after yardwork as needed. Feeling like I'm outdoors most of the day is almost essential to me. Our home has many very large windows and no window treatments! This also makes it essential to have great screening from all angles. Although I've got to say I really don't care much if someone wants to see an old lady in her pajamas through the windows at night. Although we like our yard to look nice from the street, we absolutely have to have it look nice when we look out. My viewpoint from the inside is what I work on all the time. I just wanted to mention that I saw so many lovely, lovely vitex in bloom at UF. There were groupings with firebush (the yellow, shorter type) and coonties that were just stunning. However, some of the vitex reached 10 feet or so. A plant I had forgotten about that I absolutely love is oakleaf hydrangea. It was not in bloom, but the foliage is so lovely on its own. I didn't know thryallis did so well up there. Crinums and European Fan Palms were absolutely beautiful. I really like that picture #7. It is lovely and sort of what I had envisioned with the sabals, coontie, palms, etc. However, having had experience with saw palmetto, I would never plant it unless I knew it was going to be a permanent planting (although I love its look). We had a lot at another property, and tried to dig up some of it to plant something else. It involves a bobcat or backhoe. Definitely not a drainfield candidate, I don't think. I love the silvery one like in the picture, though. Well, that's all I've got. Good luck, and whatever you do, let us know. I also love sunworshiper's fountain idea, or even a hardscape with an umbrella, a table and chair for an afternoon beverage. Have fun! Anna