Once again, thank-you! Its especially nice that you've recommended something I can actually find ("available in the big box stores". I live in a very rural area in Tennessee and the nearest towns are all small towns. Since I've discovered this web site I have seen many recommendations for products that I cannot find. Even the small nurseries in my area don't know about or do not have many products you folks recommend. Anyway, thanks for the help...I will certainly be following your recommendations! kevin

Great photos Sue! The Shorea tree is very interesting, I like how it flowers from the trunk. Was this tree only allowed to be grown by the royal family? Those giant water bugs look pretty crunchy, did you try one? I watched a National Geographic Taboo show on the different foods eaten around the world and how different cultures inevitably eat something that is considered taboo to another group. Insects were of course featured and although I have not eaten any before I think I would be brave enough to try, well as long as they taste better than they look. Mike

tlbean2004, I totally know what you mean, I make some strange posts out of boredom, or wanting a totally new point of view. I agree with the genetics answer, but, I have seen more American hollies with 3-4 trunks than single trunks, but the shape is the same, anyhow. I will mention though, that sometimes trees do seem to take on a different growth pattern, or at least seem to in youth. I have 2 Quercus Robur (English oak) trees I started from seed (acorn) from the same tree. One is short and has wildly growing branches and a "general dissarray" of growth. The other acorn brought forth a tree that is more upright, and nearly 3X the height of the "general dissarray" seedling. This taller tree is very balanced and near perfectly formed oak, shaped tree. In the distant future, maybe they will look more the same, but now there is a real noticable difference. On a funnier comparison, I don't watch the Kardashians, but anyone could notice, nobody but Kim has that kinda tushie. It was a random genetic thing, it coulda came from her great grama, who knows. I don't see any other girls in the family sportin that much junk in the trunk. poaky1

The fruit of a fig (a synconium) is actually a receptacle for it's flowers, which grow inside the receptacle. Figs are pollinated almost always wasps, that crawl into the synconium through a hole (ostiole) in the distal end/bottom of each synconium. The female wasp(s) carry pollen into the fig, pollinate the flowers, and die inside. Male wasps emerge and mature first. When female wasps emerge they meet the males and mate. The males then dig escape tunnels for the females before dying inside the fig. The females then go in search of another synconium, which completes the circle. So, whether or not your little synconium gets pollinated depends on a highly specific wasp having access to them. Better to attempt propagation by way of cuttings. Pecking Order of Plant Parts Trees and herbaceous plants prioritize their parts, but perhaps it's better to say that the strength of energy sinks has a distinct order: Energy is first allocated to respiratory function, i.e. to maintenance of living tissues, then, to production of fine roots, followed by flower and seed/fruit production, then primary growth (extension of both roots and shoots), then secondary growth (thickening), and finally, the synthesis of defensive chemicals. From this, you can conclude that additional energy will be available for primary and secondary growth as well as the plant's defenses. As a bonsai practitioner, I always remove blooms from developing plants as soon as they appear. If I miss removing some of the blooms, I remove the developing fruit to free up extra energy in order to increase the plant's mass. On more developed plants where bloom and/or fruit appreciation is one of the plants most desirable properties, I generally limit blooming/fruiting to every other or every third year in order to keep the vitality level of the plants as high as possible. While I realize you are not tending a bonsai, this is a useful bit of information applies to any potted tree you would grow indoors or outdoors. Al