When I Bing there are multiple photos showing the blueness of 'Minmari'; being from a different cross (Ceanothus x pallidus, according to Proven Winners) it is also somewhat different in structure - 'Gloire de Versailles', when pruned and fed to produce full-sized heads has long plumes of powder or grayish-blue. There are also other C. x delileanus that are bluer than 'Gloire de Versailles', perhaps one or two of these is currently on the US market somewhere also. Everett Community College, Everett, WA used to have a planting near a south-facing entry that consisted of one or two Sambucus mexicana (C. caerulea) and several 'Gloire de Versailles'. Presumably somebody put the two shrubs together because of the similarity of the bloomy blue elderberry fruits to the coloring of the ceanothus flowers. As I remember it some years later I noticed that the ceanothus were gone, perhaps having frozen out - we had a 30 year winter around here during 1990 (mildest neighborhoods near Puget Sound ~12F, others colder, with people in the mountains perhaps subzero). Otherwise maybe somebody decided the ceanothus weren't neat enough and took them all out - you have to know how to handle these or they may turn into "brush".

I planted one or two fruit trees every year from about 15 years ago up to 3 years ago, and wisely bought some of those fancy copper plant tags that you indent the variety name onto the tag and wire it onto the tree for easy identity long into posterity. And then two years ago, I saw my daughter had made herself a bracelet of all those tags. Take that, posterity! I have one good sized apricot tree. One good sized green gauge plumb tree - the one, forum readers will recall, refused to flower for 10 years until I stood in front of it one winter with a running chain saw, pondering its removal, and the vibrations convinced it that it was time to flower. I have Jonathan, Coz's Pippen and a Spitzenburg apple trees, and some pear tree that is on its 3rd attempt to regrow after bucks have rubbed the trunk with their horns during the rut, and some free stone peach tree that my son ran over with a tire on the riding mower so it leans sou-sou-west. Row one. Row two, we have a cling peach, Lapins Cherry that got totally hammered with the hail on one side and grows north, Stella cherry, and French Improved Prune, which makes great jam. Row three, two Asian plums and one blue damson plum that died this year. Rows four and five, we got two Almata apple, a red fleshed one with a taste to die for, two Anna apples, great complex taste, two Pink Ladies which are even better home grown, two something something apple trees, two cling peaches, a Comice (sp) pear, and the one remaining blue damson. The rows are scattered around the place. I bought all these bare root for We make jam, jelly, syrup, fruit leather, apple sauce, peach sauce, plum sauce, apple butter, peach butter, and chutneys. This year has not started out auspiciously for fruit, since most of the trees have flowered and been hammered by frost, and we are forecast down to 26 tomorrow night. But we'll still get something out of all that.

Guess I am going to pipe in a bit as well.There are plenty of zone 5s in the rockies,I live in one.But have plenty of experience from zone 3 as well since my old home an hours drive was 3/4. This being a prime source for growing in the rockies hmmmm,It has great people who have information that is wonderful,, but rocky gardening covers so many issues from state to state and zone to zone that it takes several resources the best starting at where you live... Zone 4 is a nice magazine just starting it is pretty and has some great info.That said if your an old hand at living and growing out here it will share some wonderful gardens to go visit..I very much appreciate them they also offer to put in events including ours which they had in their last mag.Thanks guys,,, I try to tell people instead of looking on line and reading mags get your butt out into the world and socialize with the growers in your own local.. I know, I know not everyone has the time for that.I make time for anyone who wishes to come down and learn....Personally I do not take the time on this site that I used to simply because I am focused on teaching those in my area who have an interest in gardening in my local. That way they benefit from not just our experience but also those who show up for our classes.Hey and our classes are free. I would say this is what many in the Colorado areas are able to reach out more socially here because they do get together on occasions not being as rural and spotted as across many miles like others here.. I feel I can comfortably say that having been one of the originals from spikes days of gardenweb when we had very limited forums.A small handful of us requested this forum which took a few requests as we watched him open up others,,,It has taken years for RMG to grow into what it now is.I guess it is nice to know that some people do look at it for so much info,,I just always thought it was a nice place to connect with others who have our garden challenges..

My Burkwood Daphne (Daphne x burkwoodii) grows well in amended clay. I purchased a large specimen (2 feet tall and wide) despite hearing some grumbling that this plant is difficult to grow. It's the star of the spring garden, and the rounded shape provides stunning contrasts to spikes of flower stalks. The daphne gets full sun in high summer from 9 am to 6 pm and gradually less sun as the year moves along (The garden is shaded in the mornings from my two-story house... the daphe is planted on the northwest side... only a few hours of sun in the winter.) My daphne keeps its leaves til January (semi-evergreen). Companion plants include Mrs. Moon lungwort (growing between the daphne and a rock wall - no sun) and wooly veronica (in the sunny front). I flank the plant with low-growing ground-cover stuff to accentuate the roundness of the daphne's form: kinnikinnick, golden moneywort and hardy plumbago. I also plant tiny species crocus around the perimeter. My neighbor is growing a smaller rock-garden type daphne (he tossed the tag and forgot the type.) Despite being transplanted three times in two years, this softballl-sized daphne thrives in his unamended but rocky clay at the base of a north-facing fence (minimal direct sunlight). Daphnes are great plant. No fuss. No pests. A great spring show. Handsome form when out of bloom. Winter hardy. Can't go wrong, in my experience.