Hi again Mark, What's going on with your garden and landscaping? Here are a few highlights of my doings. On a Quartz Mountain trip of 5 years ago I pocketed a few acorns and grew a QM fusiformis. It's been slow to gain size but seemed to speed up last summer gaining some size. I bet you have not seen a mature Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens 'Stricta') for years since that bitter winter spell of December 1983 killed every last specimen. I planted my specimen from a 1 gallon container in 1990. It's been very cold hardy surviving cold low as -3*f during a spell of Feb 1996. I have started to spot Italian Cypress around town but none large as mine. They are a nice landscape tree provided we don't have another 1983 like winter event. Skyrocket Juniper is a rather poor imitation of the real thing Italian Cyperss. For years I have been dabbling with cold hardy palms. The cold hardiest palm I have found through years of experience is the Rhapidophyllum hystrix common name Needle palm. Back in the bitter cold winters of those terrible 1980's Needle Palm would withstand below zero without any damage. The specimen pictured below has really gained size over the years. The link below is a short video showing a long row of hardy sabal palms I planted 15 years ago. Just click the link and a video will play. Row Of Sabals Video Click Here

Thanks Andria! Looks like I just might be able to get out there Sunday..and I'd have never known the opp if you hadn't posted this! Greatly appreciated!

Hi Dave I'm Jay. Its so great that you are doing this in PA even further north than me. I live in Chambersburg in Franklin County. This year I'm planting 3 Trachys, sabal brazoria, W.robusta, musa basjoo, D.cavendish, EEs, cannas, and many more. I'm sorry I dont know of any one in your neck of the woods but have found may people in PA that are doing this in Carlisle, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Edgemont and Philly. That is awesome about your windmill. Did you cover the leaves at all? Stop over and share your story on my palm forum using the link below. I started it to find others in PA growing cold hardy palms and tropicals. So far there is quite a few. I look forward to talking with you more. Jay Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania Cold Hardy Palms

Update: Called Satterlee's, they're out for the season. They reccommended Precur on 10th/Reno, called them, they have Virginanus, and couldn't tell me anything more about the Cultivar (haven't had great luck with them). Called a place in Richardson that specialized in trees, the fellow there didn't know what I was talking about, but was good enough to reccommend what he sadi was a large tree-farm south of Tyler, Rennerwood Nursery. Called them, they didn't grow Fusiformus. Then called Sunshine and struck paydirt. Spent some time speaking with Steve, he confirmed that they sold Fusiformus from the Quartz Mountain area. However, he believes that Fusiformis reputation for smaller size is probably a result of harsh environment, rather than genetic predisposition (he says that he knows of a Live Oak, presumeably a native in the Quartz Mountain area, whose diameter it would take three men with out-stretched arms to encircle). Unfortunately, he's out of the larger ones: the OKC zoo has some sort of project that involves native species and they've cleaned him out (Post, Blackjacks, etc, at least the larger ones) but he'll have some ready for the Spring. I enjoyed speaking with him so much that I'll wait untill then. That may work out better: after pondering just where I want to plant the Live Oak I've decided that a Cedar is in the way. I'll have to get it out of the way, and now I have a season to do it. shows the front, roughly south side of the lot. The Cedar is visible in the far-right mid-ground, on the flat. Other, perhaps more aesthetically pleasing areas are undesireable: I can't plant the Live Oak near the street, in the fore-ground: there is a power box within 20' or so and the cables radiate out from it in all directions. There's also a culvert (just visible beneath the drive) that drains the entire street: that area can stay damp, and actually soggy, for long periods of time.