how far is Knoxville from adrian MI .. which is about 40 mins north of the OH border ... how many hours to toledo plus 50 mins .... you might be amazed at the resources up this way ... not counting a visit here... gee tree farm.. schmit gardens.. hidden lakes garden .... maybe you need a road trip some day ... ken PS: my point in the example was.. along the lines that THEY ARE NOT YOUR BABIES ... you need NO tlc.. if you have the TIMING down ... you have seen the pix of the ... oh i will attach it below ... if i can do that to a 6 foot tree.. and it thrives after.. BECAUSE I DO IT AT THE RIGHT TIME OF YEAR ... then all the other variables are NEARLY superfluous .... you need to deal with them .. but Mother nature is very forgiving ... IF THE TIMING IS CORRECT .. AM I MAKING IT CLEAR YET???? ITS KEY TO YOUR DISCUSSION .... in other words.. its the true topic of the dissertation ... all other things are derivative ... at least if i were writing the topic .... because it becomes near fool proof when this is your prime consideration .... and another thing... its the same for trees/shrubs/conifers... frankly anything other than annuals and perennials [as compared to WOODY things]... the title of the post.. is limiting in its scope.. when it need not be.. for any other reason than a search engine ....

I can reccommend also Leatherleaf Viburnum, Pieres Japonica, leuocothoe (rainbow is a nice hybid variety), Acuba, Mahonia Aquaflorim, they have developed some new Camelias which are more cold hardy, you could look into them. If you get a cornus florida (native to america) be sure to get a named variety because they tend to be more resistent to powdery mildow and other diseases. I have several Kousa dogwoods (native to korea I think) 'Milky Way' has done well for me. I have both native and kousa in my yard and I get a prolonged bloom because the kousa blooms just after the natives. You might try planting some bleeding hearts mixed in with Hostas. You can get the spring bloom from the bleeding hearts, which will then go dormant in summer (unless you get a hybrid named 'Luxuriant', which blooms all spring and well into summer) and the Hosta leaves will fill in the bare spot left by the bleeding hearts. The same can be done with blue bells and anemones. Astilbe, lobelia cardinalis, huechera, tirarella, lenten roses, japaneese peonies, are nice plants for shade as well. I love shade gardening because of the foliage combinations which are possible. Keep in mind that I am in the southern edge of Zone 7, you should check the hardiness in your area.

Hi Ritholtz - Leylands are beautiful trees. If you want to trim them that short, they may be more prone to disease over time. It's better to find a plant that you can prune a bit closer to it's mature height. Maybe other can weigh in on this? Neil Sperry says never to "top" a tree. Because I read recently that Neil Sperry (or Howard Garrett) no longer recommends Leyland Cypress for Texas, I marked it off of my consideration list (arborvitae's are prone to a lot of insects?). Because of that, I am focusing more on junipers. You can google evergreen plant nursery for dimensions, "mature" rate, etc... If you are interested, I would do some further research. Last night I was looking at some videos of Wax Myrtle on youtube. I recommend checking the videos and google "wax myrtle trees" images. Yes, they do need to be pruned and trained as a tree (some people want them to grow more as a shrub). They take really well to pruning so it is possible to make them look like a nice tree. I found some really nice ones. Right now, I'm looking at the Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorne; It grows to the right dimensions, is evergreen, drought tolerant. I would have to find a larger size since it is only moderate growing... Here's what I'm doing - a combination of spartan juniper, Nellie Steven's Holly, Blue Point Juniper, Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorne, and Cleveland Pear (hardier version of the Bradford Pear - a bit larger and still very dense). I know some people hate the pears but I think they are "well-groomed" and provide good density. Cleveland is less prone to blowing over in an ice storm. Also, according to Neil Sperry, they have a moderate lifespan (25-50 years) and fast growing. In all these trees, I'm taking into consideration - hardiness, drought resistance, density (for privacy) and beauty. I've been reading Neil Sperry's gardening book to help narrow down choices; I recommend it! Hope you can find some answers!

I recently purchased a 36 site aeroponics kit on amazon (link below) about 2 months ago. 36 Site Aeroponics Kit I'm extremely interested in trying to root trees and shrubs, specifically camellias and japanese maples. So far I've had very limited success, I'll explain what I've done/tried so far, and hopefully someone who has some experience can offer up some tips. Also if there is anywhere on the web that has good information on growing something aeroponically I'd love to have a link, as I haven't had a lot of success finding any info to date. General Notes on my set up: Kept in the basement with a standard flourescent tube light over the chamber, with 2 different types of bulbs. I currently have a timer set for 3 minutes on, 8 minutes off. I use z7, dip n grow rooting hormone, and aeroponic fertilizer (name escapes me, I'll update when I get home). PH levels appear to be in the correct range around 6. Camellias - I took 15 cuttings from camellias, some from current years growth and some that were a bit harder, just to get a mix. I cut with a clean, fresh razor blade and stuck in the chamber. Most of the cuts were made just below a leaf node, and only 2 leaves were left attached, and those were cut in half. Cuttings were generally 3 inches long. After about 6 weeks in the chamber, some are starting to die off (yellowing leaves), and no roots have formed. I have noticed on 3-4 of them that there is a small amount of white substance at the bottom of the stem. At first I thought it was root starting, but it's hard to the touch. Japanese Maple - Pretty much the same as above, except my cuttings were all from new growth, and probably about 2 inches in length. I have not seen the white substance as I saw on the camellia. It did appear that one japanese maple started to root, but I bumped it on the side of the water basin while lifting the tray and it broke off.... I also tried 6 loropetulum (sp?) and all these started to root after about a month, but have been slow to progress since the rooting began. I beleive 2 have died recently as well.... A few questions...but also looking for any other advice: 1) Would it make sense to shorten the amount of time that the misters are turned on? Anytime that I check the plants the stems are soaked and dripping, rather than slightly wet. 2) How often should I be changing out the water? I've had issues getting the PH just right when I started, so I've been hestitant to changing it out too often. Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance!