Some truth on both sides, perhaps - "If it's been propagated and dispersed, it's a cultivar": correct, provided it is propagated vegetatively. The implication of Coniferjoy's statement "a Japanese local variety from the Kyoto region which does have a narrow shape" is that more than one clone is involved, so it is a Cultivar Group, not a single cultivar. So thus Cryptomeria japonica Kitayama Group in formal ICNCP usage. The botanical term forma (f.) is often used similarly, but isn't strictly correct. Resin

Like in most situations, whether you are talking about plant costs or real estate, MOL means, more or less. In this case, the $325 was an average price, because some will sell for more and some will sell for less. Every plant is going to be sold differently. So lets say we area talking about royals. In this case they have two ways to price. Over all height (which is what I quoted) and then a higher price that is estimated at feet of grey wood, which if you remember they have a green crownshaft, so in that way of pricing, it would be the hight of the stem and only the grey part and not including the crownshaft. Big growing dates as they are still smaller might sell in over all height, but when they get about 2 to 5 feet of stem, then they are sold as feet of stem, This price will also vary quite a bit on who is selling them. On cycads, yes ALL parts of cycads are poisonous. Animals rarely have a problem with eating this stuff, but for some reason the furfuraceas seem to cause the majority of the problems with small animals. If you did grow cycads for seeds, you would want to fence that off from any of your animals. It is certainly not for everyone and fortunately for me, it isn't, because I do pretty well with seeds right now. As far as deciding what to sell, you can sell palms in containers and in the ground. If you sell them in containers, you have a lot more upkeep, which you wanted to avoid, and they don't grow as fast or as big as they would in the ground. Normal wholesale prices WOULD BE the price where you prepare them for sale and even load them on the trucks that go out. When the time is right to sell them, you will either have to buy or rent equipment. You can however sell a whole field to a broker for a reduced price, if you are really trying to avoid the real work of having a tree nursery, but many times that will be about half the regular price, which may be good enough for you. A bit of advise would be, the nursery business is not an easy one. If someone wants to throw a bunch of palms out in the yard and then all of a sudden make a pile of money on them without really working too hard, there isn't a whole lot of that happening out in the real world. Even if you have a good product at a good price, there is no guarantee that you will sell the product. It helps to know people and get set up with people who want the product before you put it up for sale, which also takes a lot of work and marketing. I can tell you from experience, if you go up to business people with something that you just need to get rid of, they will take major advantage of you just about every time. At least palms are easier to sell than cycads. The majority of the people who really know cycads would probably say that I am at least in the top 5, for cycad growers in the world, and still, after 22 years of growing, I still have a hard time just being able to pay my basic bills and have enough to buy a load of soil once a year, fertilizer, and containers, yet alone having a little extra do to anything special.

There will be a bit of ambiguity in my answers...because there's no true right or wrong way. But here I go anyway: 1. Is the decision to go with epoxy or non-epoxy grout based primarily on resistance to mold and/or staining or is one type better than the other as far as preventing water penetration? Epoxy grout will allow less water penetration than a cement-based grout. Being non-porous, it'll also be less liable to staining. I consider epoxy to be overkill in residential showers, unless you're into dying your hair in the shower, etc. One other thing, you have a kerdi shower. That will limit water penetration, so it's sort of one more reason that epoxy could be considered overkill. 2. If we don't go with an epoxy grout in the shower, would the Polyblend grout used on the floor be suitable or would you recommend something different? Polyblend or any other manufacturer's cement based grouts would be fine. I use product from several manufacturers. Some people are preferential to just one manufacturer. 3. I think I'm confusing "caulk" and "silicone"... Are they used in the same applications? If not, what is the difference? Think of silicon as a type of caulk. There are, in general, three types of caulk typically used in residential shower construction; latex, siliconized-latex, and silicon. Latex is easy to work with, but the least durable and the most prone to mold and mildew staining. Silicon is the most difficult to work with, but has the best water-repellent capabilities. Siliconized-latex is a hybrid, it's in between the other two. In a well-built shower, any of the three could work fine, though I usually use caulks with some silicone in them, either S-L or 100% silicon. Look for a caulk that is color and texture matched to your grout, that way the caulk will look like your grout. Some 100% silicon's are only offered in color-match, but not texture. Since you mentioned Polyblend, here's a link to Custom's Color Matched Caulk. 4. Is caulk and/or silicone necessary in a Kerdi shower? I have nightmares about mold forming on my caulk (or silicone?) and having to tear it all out. The only proper way to avoid caulk completely is to do a floated mud shower with reinforced corners. Other than that, properly pitched surfaces, proper ventilation, and 100% silicon caulk will give you the best chance. 5. If we do caulk/silicone, I've heard that it should be done at every change of plane. Would this include areas that would not be taking a direct hit with water or having standing water on them? Correct. In lightweight shower construction (tile backer board over wood framing, for example), adjacent surfaces can move independently of one another. Caulk will flex. Grout could crack. Now you have a Kerdi shower, that works in your favor, as water can only penetrate to the membrane. But in general, yes, for lightweight construction, caulk all changes in plane. 6. Specifically which product would you recommend? A caulk that is color and possibly texture (sanded or unsanded) matched to your grout. A caulk that has some silicon in it. So the brand of caulk could be related to the brand of grout used if your goal is to color match. 7. Although our tile is porcelain, we are using a travertine base molding that has many nooks and crannies that will need to be filled. I understand that they get filled in by grout. This base molding is lighter that our wall and floor tiles and the matching grout that we're using there. Can I use a lighter grout for just the base moldings? Yes, you can change grout colors within the wall itself. 8. Finally, would you recommend sealing everything once it is done? Or just sealing the travertine pieces? I'd just seal the travertine. Porcelain is already non-porous. Sealing grout can be an adventure within itself. Regardless, use a penetrating, vapor-permeable sealer.

Cherryfizz - I have heard the same things about canola oil BUT that organic canola is healthier - who the heck knows. Anyway, I bought President's Choice organic canola the other day just in case. I use it lightly in frying pans etc. - and keep my extra virgin olive oil for use with bread etc. (besides the smoke point is too much). Re the coconut oil, yesterday while at Loblaws, I saw refrigerated coconut oil in a tub - I believe made by Smart Balance (organic) - noticed it because it was right next to the margarine I buy my husband - but since our 1.5 year old fridge is acting very iffy and being subject to many service calls - not buying it for him at this time. Remarkable the number of things that read "refrigerate after opening". I have seen jars of coconut oil that are filled with a white, solid "substance" - but have not read the after opening instructions. Personally, when in doubt, I don't do it. My husband might give something off to the dog - it is all about the dog!