Amiart: Plant breeders like the Zaigers have created an extraordinary range of new fruit varieties over the years, to the benefit of commercial and backyard growers alike. To do to, they have invested a great deal of time, knowledge, and money. When they introduce a new variety, the patent system is the only way they have to recover these considerable investments, and, hopefully, turn a profit. They have far more failures than successful varieties actually brought to market. To keep doing what they are doing, they need the protection of the patent/royalty system or anyone could clone, propagate, and sell their varieties making all of their efforts worthless. The few dollars charged by nurseries for patented varieties are well worth it for what the Zaigers and other plant breeders introduce to the market, and 20 years protection is none too long to recover their investments given the small amounts charged for royalties. Patent protection of fruits covers only those propagated by vegetative or laboratory methods, not chance seedlings. If one of your nectarine seedlings produces fruit that is superior in some way, it is yours and you may patent it yourself if you like, regardless of the status of the tree that produced the seedling. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I've long since given up hoping for the potted mums to overwinter in the ground. But they do sometimes overwinter in the big pots we transplant them into and store in the garage for the winter. Last year a large mum was growing strongly by the time we moved the big pots out of the garage in the spring. So I left it in the pot, gave it some slow release fertilizer and clipped it back in mid-May, early June, and early July to keep it bushy, and then let it set buds and bloom in August. It's the orangy-red one in the picture below. As you can see when you compare it with the dark red potted mum bought fresh last summer, my clipping/pinching (and perhaps not enough fertilizer?) didn't produce nearly as bushy a plant as the purchased potted ones. We moved the pots out of the garage last weekend. Two of the mums are still alive but I'm going to throw them out this year. I've got an order in for the Mammoth mums and I have an old hardy white one that we like so I'm going to stick to the hardy types now and not bother with potted ones other than perhaps as throw-away temporary fall color until I see how the Mammoth ones perform here.

Cut off the dead blooms. This is called dead heading. The stem they were on is going to die anyway. This is true of all perrenials (as opposed to shrubs). They die back and send up new growth. Ripening blooms drain energy from the plant by producing seed which won't be true to the parent, when it's a hybrid. Side shoots may produce additional bloom. So the existing blooming stems on your mum have done their job by producing progeny via flowers. And it's ready for a rest. Put it into the garden now. The roots need to get into new soil to continue the mum's growth/rest cycle. If you don't have a garden, buy a 12-inch deep pot for it with new soil (ie. potting mix). The time to fertilize is spring, when new growth starts. In new soil it may not need any fertilizer. Potting mix comes with built in fertilizer. In spring the new shoots indicate it's alive and well. To prevent the plant from getting too tall, when new growth is 6-8 inches high cut off half of it. This is top pruning. The plant will be bushier as it forces side growth. Again in June you may pinch off the growing tips to force side growth. Exhibitors don't do this as they want the one perfect large bloom and does not matter if the stem is 4 feet tall. They pinch off side growth so the plant's energy goes into the one bloom. As to whether the root mass is bigger on top pruned versus non top pruned, I don't know. If the cuttings have turned completly brown they are goners. Cuttings need to have shade and humidity. The growth hormone is called 'auxin' if you want to research. I strip the mum cutting only of its lower leaves and push into firm shady soil about an inch, water thoroughly and put a jar over it to create its own little greenhouse. The soil must be in firm contact. Then leave it alone for weeks. Roots form at buried leaf nodes. Most hobbyists root cuttings from spring growth because the growing tip is full of auxins, hence greater success. If after 2 weeks your cuttings are all brown, tug gently. They will come out of the soil easily if dead. They will look like dead twigs! If your parent plant is still looking green (now), you may be able to detach a stem with some root on it. One more thing. Professionals use a chemical spray to keep mums short and uniform. How this affects rooting a cutting I am not sure. About 8 years ago I could not get a cutting to root and the 4-inch (pot) mum would not establish in the garden either. Just died! I read there was a chemical being used to prevent propagation of stems. Maybe someone knows if this was rumor or fact.

"May I use seed of a patented Crape Myrtle to sell?" Absolutely! Plant patents cover vegetative propagation, not seeds. "Are there any Red crape myrtles that are not patented?" Quite a few. Some of the more popular reds, like Whitcomb's selections, are patented, but there are many more that aren't. All together, there are currently 54 patented crape myrtle cultivars. There are hundreds of non-patented crape myrtle cultivars out there. "Which would be the reddest color?" I'm not sure you'd find agreement on the answer to that question. Here are some websites that illustrate/describe some of the many crape myrtle cultivars: Texas A&M Aggie Horticulture's List of Characteristics of Crape Myrtle Cultivars Clemson University Extension Service's List of Crape Myrtle Cultivars US National Arboretum's Crapemyrtle Quick Guide Chart NC Cooperative Extension's List of Lagerstroemia indica Cultivars A list of patented cultivars can be found at the link below. Here is a link that might be useful: List of Patented Crape Myrtle Cultivars