Odinthor, I think it may have been last summer or perhaps a little earlier that there was either an email from Vintage or discussion on one of the rose email lists, that Vintage had someone helping out/volunteering in their gardens and that this individual was doing some propagating, particularly of roses they favored, which was I think hybrid teas and/or floribundas. After that I wondered if that was why Vintage had so many hybrid teas and floribundas in stock (and seemed to stay in stock, as in they didn't appear to be selling all that well). So with this sale I thought maybe *some* of these small quantity roses were ones the helper chose to propagate. As to lack of special requests indicating the old roses are not being supported, I don't think that is necessarily the case. Perhaps it is more that people are unwilling to pay Vintage's exorbitant price for custom propagation--$45 per plant is mighty steep in this economy and is also out of line with prices charged by other heirloom rose growers. For example, Angel Gardens in Florida charges $15 extra for a custom root order, and with their quart price at $12 and gallons at $15, the total is significantly less than at Vintage. Rogue Valley in Oregon charges $6 to be placed on a waiting list for a rose, and when that rose is ready, only $6 additional is added to the price. Greenmantle in California doesn't even charge a premium. Instead they ask for a $5 deposit to be placed on a waiting list for a rose, and when the rose is ready, the $5 is applied to the regular price of $18 for a one-year-old plant, 2 gallon size. If Vintage intends to stay in business it is going to have to change its practices. Melissa

Walter AndersonÂs Nursery 3642 Enterprise St. San Diego, CA 92110-3212 (619) 224-8271 Buena Creek Gardens 418 Buena Creek Rd. San Marcos, CA 92069 760-744-2810 Perennials, tropicals buenacreekgdns@aol.com http://www.buenacreekgardens.com Hidden Valley Hibiscus 2411 East Valley Parkway Escondido, CA 92027 760-749-6410 Hibiscus info@hiddenvalleyhibiscus.com http://www.exotic-hibiscus.com/ Mission Hills Nursery 1525 Fort Stockton Drive San Diego, California 92103 Phone: (619) 295-2808 Fax: (619) 295-7833 http://www.missionhillsnursery.com/ sales@missionhillsnursery.com Pacific Tree Farms 4301 Lynwood Drive Chula Vista, CA 91910 619-422-2400 Conifers, exotic fruits kyburg@ix.netcom.com Tropic World 26437 North Centre City Pkwy Escondido, CA 92026 760-746-6108 Palms, bamboos, exotica WeidnerÂs Plants 695 Normandy Encinitas, CA 92024 760 436 2194 http://www.weidners.com/ staff@weidners.com Your friend will NEVER tire of the selection available from these nurseries. The heck with mailorder. I sometimes wish I lived back in San Diego (my home town). Joe

Kskaren-- Congratulations on your daughter's wedding! I think you have 2 issues here---one is you want lots of beautiful hostas in a shady yard, and the other is you have a garden wedding coming up. Let the hostas go for a while -- maybe buy a few that are going to take several years to grow into maturity (at soonest) but concentrate on making the garden gorgeous for The Day. After the wedding you can work on building your hosta collection. That is going to take annuals, mostly, for the Wow. The guests absolutely will not know or care what you plant in there as long as it is not poison ivy. Impatiens will spend the summer getting spread out & lovely by fall, and by Sept you can also get pots of mums at your local big box place and plug them in anywhere you want a spot of color. Put them into pots, too, for height. You would view them more as wedding decorations than as part of the permanent ladnscaping. You can stick potted mums in the darkest part of the garden for a day or two, and they will not care, even though they are sun-lovers. If you can, get loads of them and "store" them in the yard of a friend who has sun. Then pick them up a day or two before the wedding. Then you won't need to fret about whether you'll find the colors and quantities you want on short notice. You can get them in colors that will complement the bridal party's clothes --- lavender, soft yellow, deep gold, pink, bronze -- there will be something in the colors of mums that will work with your bride's colors. You can get deep violet asters, too -- more sun lovers but who will care. After the wedding, take them to the local nursing home, etc if your yard is so dark they will die. And give some to the friend who babysat them for you! You can plant variegated liriope, too. They might be blooming in Sept where you live (liriope's season spreads over quite a few weeks, and there are a number of cultivars). They are very drought and shade tolerant and while they are boring in masses, they brighten up a dark spot very well when spotted here & there. I have them in my shady garden's shadier spots. They don't care much about tree roots, either. Best wishes on the whole event, and relax! (lol) Been there, done it.

Hello Plantaholics.....what wonderful trades! Have been in touch with Deb(debbya)and sent her box(hopefully got sat)and received mine. She sent wonderful cuttings of Hoya "Bella" and "Pubicaylx". Also some cuttings of Episcia and Streptocarpella these are new plants for me. I've not seen them offered anywhere before, so I look forward to watching them grow. And also she sent a 2x2 cactus and a cuttings from a fuzzy Wandering Jew. Thank-you Deb for a wonderful trade! Hope the weather holds out for those still waiting and trading. We actually had a cold front move thru here....I'm in South Florida....and temps. fell too upper 40's one night! That is rare for us. That happens in Jan-Feb. sometimes. Or we get a hard frost about then....thats what turns oranges orange and makes them sweet like me.....lol....ok did that just gag everyone.....lol. Thanks to Redheadedstepchild for hosting a wonderful swap!!! You rock girlfriend!!! Regina