I'd love a lemon that could handle 9 degrees! I don't have any information on that tree, but if it is 12 feet tall, it would be more than a few years old. Back in the early 2000s (don't remember the exact year) we had two nights in the mid-teens. I was sure my Satsuma was going to die, because it was a young tree then - waist/chest high. It did suffer leaf and branch damage, but the trunk was fine and it came right back in the spring. But if it had been a lemon, even a Meyer, it would have been a goner. Ditto for most other citrus. I have five Red Lime seedlings that I grew from seeds Silvia sent me in March 2012. I have read that Red Limes can survive 15F as mature trees. My baby trees are still too young to know how they will take real cold. Last year I brought them inside during cold spells. They are still outside this winter and have shrugged off the light frosts we have had so far. If we get any hard freezes I will bring most of them in and leave one outside to see how it does. If they prove hardy, I hope to keep one red lime tree and plant it in the ground. (Since I only need one, if I lose one during cold-hardiness testing, it's okay.)

Malacothrix glabrata about the eighth or ninth down the page. Looks enough like a dandelion that it is called a Desert Dandelion. I was looking at some in a vacant lot recently. They have really attractive flowers. If I remember correctly from last year look rather ugly when they start to go to seed,

I don't know about swaps, the Master Gardeners have their plant sale (more of a feeding frenzy) in early May. They also have an educational lecture series in February-March, the program from last year can be found here: http://www.unce.unr.edu/western%20new/events/2006%20Gardening%20in%20Nevada%20flyer.pdf I'd recommend calling up or stopping by the Extension office and talking to the people at the horticluture desk. You can check out their website here http://www.unce.unr.edu/mastergardener/mastergardener.html but it takes some looking around to find stuff. The Arboretum at Rancho San Rafel park also has classes. Look here: http://www.maycenter.com/

The coffee plants have lovely leaves, and the persimmon tree looks beautiful with all of that ripened fruit on the tree. I have been looking into getting one and doing some research on different varieties and what would do well in a container but my space is limited . Tropic, what a lovely jackfruit plant. I hope you had a lovely time in India. I currently have figs, bananas, olives and pomegranate growing in containers. A few years ago, I had a couple of lovely coffee plants growing in containers under the shade of my tall banana trees in the gh, but they eventually struggled due to neglect on my part. Shhh..Don't tell my pomegranate that they are supposed to be deciduous.. They have kept most of their leaves throughout the winter and shed just a small percentage. The dwarf variety had set a few buds and blooms briefly during the middle winter months and last summer they did produce small fruit..