Hi, the problem with bougies is that the flowers are large, so in a clump, fused or not, it could get a bit crowded in there and not look so good, but if you want to try it, feel free. As far as fusing goes, I suppose it's more likely to work if the stems are not yet woody, and bougies get woody and brittle fast, but then I don't know that they wouldn't take, either. Don't prune what you don't have to (within reason) to get it into an appropriate sized pot, but don't sweat it because that's the first I've heard of a problem (which may or may not be valid). Obviously prune no more than necessary, as rarely as will still keep it healthy. Not a lot of help here, I guess, but there's lots of info. on them out there (hopefully more positive than what you read).

Thanks, Josh. Ima - These four have come from four different sources. - I got the Bursera from Tropiflora (he had a bunch of older ones a few years ago). - The Fockea from a local nursery here in Massachusetts - was very surprised to see it there, too. It did not look much like it does now. Back then, it was mostly buried and had a bunch of vines wound through a trellis. - The Euphorbia and the Dorstenia from two different sellers on eBay. Most of my other succulents (Madagascar and S. African) I have sourced from Out of Africa, Great Petaluma Desert, and Rare Succulents - all on the web. I usually get a species in mind, then I start hunting! Tom

Craig, sorry I'm not certain of how the Cape Chestnut will perform in your micro-climate. Below I've typed out the description from the book "Ornamental Trees For Mediterranean Climates: The Trees of San Diego." (Don't worry, I type fast.) Calodendrum capense (kal-oh-DEN-drum kuh-PENCE) Cape Chestnut Rutaceae Southern and Eastern Africa Magnificent is the word for a mature Cape Chestnut in bloom, and it is certainly a tree that once planted will entertain generations to come. Unrelated to the true chestnuts, this African tree is famous in Kenya for a large specimen that forms part of the structure of the Tree Tops Hotel. In Southern California, the Cape Chestnut is a slow-growing evergreen or briefly deciduous tree to 25-40' tall and wide whose dense, gradually spreading crown deserves the space it needs to show off its handsome dark green floiage and showy flowers. Flowering usually occurs in late spring or early summer, when the whole tree is covered with candelabra-like basketball-sized flower clusters composed of many individual 3" rosy-lilac blooms. Although this tree seldom blooms when young, a mature specimen will often rebloom in the fall. Seed pods are produced on mature trees and when ripe split open to reveal shiny black seeds. The Cape Chestnut is somewhat frost-tender when young, but mature trees will withstand temperatures as low as 15�F. It prefers a deep soil in full sun, and will usually lose most of its leaves for a brief time following cold winter temperatures. Quail Botanical Gardens is indicated as a place where this specimen can be viewed.

I'd like to clarify some of the confusion regarding the "fuse-grafting techniques, and training methods that I have used on some trees. I will employ this same method on the fig trees that I have just purchased. I realize that this technique is not for everyone. I just wanted to share this information with you guys. Use it as you wish. "Fuse-grafting" techniques DO NOT involve cutting into the healthy bark so that the cambium layers can be aligned. No wounds are created by this technique so no insects or diseases will enter or infect the trunks being joined. No special follow-up treatments are needed. It is not labor-intensive. Once the stems are joined together, just follow your regular fig growing routines. The mainstems are simply screwed together to create a fatter, and stronger "trunk". The "composite-trunk" will not be weak, nor will they pull apart. The screwheads will quickly be covered over with new bark, and in time, you will not be able to tell that the heavy, fat trunk was at one time, made up of individual stems. This "grafting" will take a few years, and the spaces between the individual trunks will fill in and smooth over with new bark. Your trees will look like a bundle of tied-up cornstalks for a while so be patient. In addition, this method consolidates plant material which would normally be grown in separate containers. I do not have the space to grow individual trees, so I needed to find a way to grow my fig trees in one container. Fuse-grafting to the rescue. Now I'll have three times the plant material growing in one place ... and maybe three times the figs too. I also like seeing trees with short, fat, trunks with lots of taper supporting a nice rack of ramified branchlets. More branches, more nodes, more nodes, more figs. This preference is a hold-over from my bonsai days. Large diameter trunks convey age and endurance. Exposed rootage does too. I like thinking outside the box. I know that this training method might be too unconventional for some, but I'm going to try it out to see how well it works...or, fails. Wintering-over will still be a problem for me. I have an unheated shed where I stored some fig trees over the winter '06. The trees did OK. I'm hoping for the same results with my new trees. I've also read that fig trees can be brought into a heated room to break dormancy about a month before they are ready to be grown outside. For my zone, this would probably be around mid, to late April. I'll try bringing my trees in on Tax Day and I'll put them outside around Mother's Day. I read that it takes about two weeks for dormancy to break and for buds to swell, and, at least another two weeks before the new leaves start suffer from low light. Any thoughts...pro or con?