My setup is actually a rooting and recovery tank. I pulled a bunch of strawberry plants that were weak from overcrowding and exposure and gave them some time to recoup out in a moist environment. So far, they've done well and kept their leaves which is why I actually added the MC. What I did se for the rooting aspect was a few drops of super thrive. I also pull my clones when they were leafed out and didn't want to loose leaves that I had established already. Btw, why are nutes counter productive in rooting with dwc? I can imagine why, but I'd rather ask.

..Following up on this thread, my persimmons are finally leafing out. It is surprising how long they took. I am guessing it was also not hot enough for them, we had a very cool period there compared to the norm. Someone told me they prefer 75-85F for callousing. The jujubes all are growing as well but again with a big delay. The figs didn't take; I think they may have dried out, they were not protected at all. The grapes are all toast. I then did some chip buds on them which should be about ready to force now. I should have also green grafted some but never got around to it. Here is the summary of estimated best temperatures: apples - cool but they are somewhat flexible (50-75) peaches, apricots, cherries - mild is important (60-80) grapes, kiwis, persimmons, jujubes(?) - warmth is needed (75-85) pears, plums - not picky pawpaws, figs - ? Scott

Each region of the country is a little different.. From wasted amounts of dollars in north east, I can tell you, that HTs, floribundas, grandiflorias, etc.. just do not hack it year after year.. Sure with deeply buried grafts and some winter covering, they will last longer, but after trying dozens of these varieties, I found one that did OK in my zone and that was Sunset Celebration, that would typically have around 6 inches of cane left, it did very well for 4-5 years and wasnt a complete blackspot disaster as well. Granted I havnt tried every variety, but where I had them was basically in front of the house at the time, I just wanted lower bushes becuase the windows were not high there. No worries there as they never got above 4-5 feet max in any giving year. I tried alot of the popular ones, ala Oklohoma, Mr Lincoln, Double Delight, Sunset Celebration, Christinan Dior, I cant really remember all of them now, Oh I know I had a Queen Elizabeth in there as well. I tried alot more including stuff like Victorian Spice. But I couldnt picture not buying repeat flowering varieties at the time.. I pictured dozens of blooms throughout the season. I spend hundreds of dollars on these.. none of them lasted more than 4-5 years really. Then I discovered gardenweb, I also relized that my garden season is pretty short, mid june to late august. A OGR rose that blooms for 4-6 weeks can be a third of my season. Alot of these also are highly fragrant, BS resistand and hardy. I basically order 4-5 hardies now and a couple of moderns a year or remonont ones that I try to keep alive. Even though I had very good success with Austins in my zone 5a (close to 4b garden) , they hated my move to my new house, I lost alot of these for some reason.. even though I didnt lose a one of my OGR's the austins after transplant just shrivled and died on me, except for the hardiest varieties, they all appears to have survived in thier pots covered over winter, but I guess they just didnt like it. Bucks did nothing for me, I tried over a dozen of these that died as well.. The one caveat is I didnt try some of the hardiest ones like applejack or quiteness, basically becuase I had two dozen austins at the time , alot were already pink or pink blends and I didnt see room on adding these. I tried all of the blends that looked nice to my eye, and they all died, winter sunset, prarie sunrise, harvest, honeysweet... etc.. none of them made it here. Its up to you, but to me, plant where you live, if your willing to take the losses, plant what you like. But there are hundreds of different roses that are hardier than HT's that have great form and fragrance, including OGR's and some modern shrubs. Silverkelt

Will is waiting for my comments first before he starts a new post :0) Pinus parviflora 'Ara-Kawa' Must be written as 'Ara-kawa'. I don't believe that the Pinus nigra 'Oregon Green' is the true one, the needles are to long and it doesn't have the typical needle setting for this cultivar. (see link) To me the one in the pot looks like the normal species or a simular fast growing cultivar, probably the understock... Will, I also have my doubs about your Pinus parviflora 'Ara-kawa'. This is because the true one does have green needles instead of blue one's. Can you show us a detail pic of the part just above the grafting union, the bark at that place should be courser at that place allready. Thanks in advance! Here is a link that might be useful: