Reviving this threa, what a great discussion! 1) Easy plant that you found really difficult - bird of paradise. my absolute favorite flower, gorgeous plant, but I can't seem to grow it in my area. rotted the roots of my largest, and I have 4 seedlings hanging in suspended animation... don't know, I just can't get them right. 2) Difficult plant that you found really easy - Persian carpet flower, Edithcolea grandis. I've heard they rot very, very easily (almost overnight) even at room temperature... I've had mine for a few months now and it's doing just fine. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, as it has not flowered yet. 3) A difficult plant that was such a disaster you will never try it again - Desert Roses. I was gifted a dozen seeds, and bought 3 six month old seedlings. Every seed germinated, but they all shriveled out of nowhere and dropped their leaves. The larger plants leaves yellowed and now they're a little shriveled and kind of doing nothing... very disappointing, won't be buying any more :( 4) An easy plant that you find so rewarding that you collect them/push them/get too excited about them - cacti, specifically Gymnocalyciums. Love love love their flowers, and most are just interesting to look at. Easy to care for f given the right conditions and very rewarding in the springtime!

Oh, I see what you meant. Though modern DNA research has demonstrated a lack of China influence in the Portland pedigree --Chinas, apparently, were THOUGHT to be part of the Portland heredity. (I haven't spent a lot of time with Portlands, as on the whole they are not my best roses.) I suspect this author -- no horticulturist -- was TOLD that China influence was there, and so, believed it. BESIDE THAT, the early Portlands very likely were eventually crossed with Chinas. They crossed EVERYTHING with Chinas, in the early days. And why not? So SOME roses now classed as Portlands very likely do have a China in the Woodpile -- so to speak. JERI

Experts agree don't top your tree Around here I see old large water oaks die all the time from topping. Most tree trimming services don't care one bit if your tree dies or is damaged in future years, they just want the money. Over the last several years I've probably counted 7+ Large Water oaks die from topping and the entire tree has to be cut down by the end of the year. It's not smart for the people calling for topping, and not smart at all or just non-caring from the trimming service. And trees that can survive that are lucky will have a lot of weakness from the poor weak branch attachments, disease attacks, and rot can get in. Also the top trees that could survive are now like the infamous Bradford pears with all the narrow twiggy branches crowded on the stub ends and spit off very easy in a storm leading to more rot and damage. All this make the tree more and more unhealthy and they can decline fast. Why Topping Hurts and can Kill Trees: Why Topping is Bad Why Topping is Bad "Eight Good Reasons (NADF, 1989) to NOT "Top": Starvation: topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets the crown-to-root ratio and limits the food-making ability of the tree. Shock: the canopy of leaves casts shade on the internal branches. Topping removes the shade and exposes the internal bark to sun scald. Pests and Disease: topped branches have large wounds that cannot seal nor defend the wound from insects and decay. Weak Limbs: new sprouts develop at the edges of the cut branches, and are weakly attached. If the stub rots, the sprouts will break even sooner. Rapid New Growth: height control by topping is doomed to fail. The new branches grow fast and furiously to the original height, but much more crowded. Tree Death: some species, e.g. beech, do not tolerate topping and the reduced foliage may cause the tree to die. Ugliness: topped trees are so disfigured that they will never recover their original grace. Cost: topping can be done quickly because good decisions about pruning are not needed. But trees that die will need replacement, the ugly trees reduce property values, the dead stubs become liabilities, and more maintenance will be needed."

Hi irish rose grower! If you have been following my threads you will know that I did the feeder a little longer than a full year before I saw a hummer at it and now I have one male that comes 3 times in the early morning and 3 times as the sun goes down. I now also have 2 or 3 females that come all day long. Looking back at it all now I am wondering if I may have had a few visit last year and not even known it as I looked at the feeder a few times a day, but I now see that unless we are as lucky as hummersteve that my approach to seeing hummers last year was not enough. Even with 3 or 4 regular birds visiting my feeders everyday it is rare that I just look out and see one there. It does happen, maybe once or twice a day, but the typical experience for me is to sit there and look and usually within 5 minutes one will come along. Usually one will come and feed quickly and run back off! I would say that the average stay at the feeder seems to be 20 to 30 seconds, with some as short as 5 and some up to a minute. They are small and fast! Not having a feeder could make it harder to just look out and find one as the flower possiblities are far more than just looking at a feeder quickly. If you have not done so I would suggest putting a chair outside at least 15 to 20 feet from some of the plants that you think they would like this time of the year and sit fairly still for a half hour and enjoy your garden. Best time might be 7:30pm. They might surprise you with a quick fly in and fly out. I grew up on LI. Moved one state over about 13 years ago.