it's been my experience that the only climbing rose that does really well here (in volusia) is the cherokee... it's a MONSTER rose, tho. very aggressive -- it' doing battle with chinese wisteria and winning. very pretty, nonremontant rose. trouble free, four months of bloom. if you want cuttings (which take 3 years to bloom), write me at centralfloridagardener atty thing gmail dotty thing com. we live close by. you'll have to give me and castorp a tour of your farm...

Having both attended a spring swap and hosted one last spring, I wanted to post a few thoughts as well. Though I think that elaborate plans for day long swaps and weekend events can be a wonderful idea, I'm concerned about how overwhelming that may be to new gardeners and to those who would only want to attend a few hours of plant swapping and in turn have no place to attend. I agree with Asarum (we missed you at the spring swap), that the more elaborate and lengthy a swap is the fewer people will be able to attend. Weather becomes an issue as it did last spring. I had a rain date for the following week and then some health issues got in the way and we ended up just postsponing the swap by one day. That ended up having a few people not come because of the change and if I remember correctly it rained on the rain date as well. The eastern mass spring swap was larger than the fall swap, which may be do to just having more plants for swapping in the spring, new people coming that had no plants to swap and where looking for plants to start a new garden and where more than welcome to come, and just the fact that it was in the spring. It seems that more people are interested in spring swaps than fall swaps. I myself am unable to attend fall swaps because of business commitments that I have on the weekends, and prior to that, when my kids where in school, my weekends where full of their sport games that we attended. Many times hubby and I had to take turns going to games as both kids would be playing at the same time. I personally prefer the simple, relaxed plant swap with no formal additions added to it. Everyone brings what they have to swap, or comes without and brings a goodies for all, and we just swap plants, visit, talk and have a good time. I'm planning on hosting a spring swap again this coming spring, with the same simplicity that I had last year and I know the fall swap had as well. I've had several requests to host it again and think all had a good relaxing time, and we lucked out with no rain. To those that where at the swap last year, my back if fine, surgery was a complete success and I'm out working in my gardens putting them to bed for the winter and planning my seed stash for wintersowing this winter. Yes there will be tons of wintersown babies needing good homes again this year as well. In no means do I mean to put a damper on a more elaborate type of swap, it's just that many of us are not able to attend anything that is elaborate, costly and might even last a weekend, and would want a swap that lasts a few hours. Fran

Andyandy, I posted some comments about that same palm in another Gardenweb discussion (see link). I've never seen it personally but I've seen many photos and know the guy who originally planted it back in 1994 (he no longer owns the house and a new owner is taking care of it). The short answer is that nobody knows exactly what temperatures it's experienced, or for what duration. The nearest airport (Dulles) has recorded subzero temperaratures at least two or three times since the palm was planted, and I assume Sterling would have similar temperatures, but it's planted right up against a house in a very sheltered location; he told me that he doesn't remember the temperature at his house ever actually going below zero even on the coldest days, but I'm not sure if he ever took actual measurements with a reliable thermometer. Windmills palms HAVE been documented to survive below-zero temperatures in other locations, but the survivors are generally large, well-established plants, growing in climates where such temperatures are extremely rare, and always suffer extreme damage. Regarding the palms planted in front of the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, I was checking some old Gardenweb discussions and saw claims that they were planted in the late 1980's (in which case they would have survived the extreme 1993-1994 winter, the last time temperatures in the city went below zero). This is not accurate; they were actually planted in the early 2000's but they are still impressive and worth checking out if you ever visit. Here is a link that might be useful: Trachycarpus fortunei discussion

Ditto, no selling at the Fort Worth area swap. One lady showed up one time and wanted to sell her plants, but when we told her we weren't there to buy anything, she packed up her kit bag and went home. If you log on the Gardening in Arkansas forum and go to the trading forum you can just post a notice that you would like to have a swap in your area and see how many people are interested. You may be surprised and if you only have 5-10 people respond, go with it, a small swap is still a swap and you still get stuff for your garden for free. Ours started out several years ago with Sylvia doing that, and it is always a big event. We reserve a space at a centrally located public park, preferably an area with a pavilion and a grill. One couple has agreed to always bring refreshments for everyone in exchange for plants and seeds. Then if anyone has something they want to bring extra to eat they bring enough for at least 30 people. Then we set a date, usually a Saturday and people start listing what they plan to bring. We have a lot of "pre-swaps" on the garden web and then there are on the spot swaps after you get there and find people have brought stuff that they didn't list that you want, like tools, books and other fun things. One time someone brought gardening aprons with the GW logo embroidered on them. One person always brings great soaps and bath salts that she makes at home. Some people will bring baked goods to trade for plants if they don't have enough plants to swap. Another person made cute personalized name tags for everyone. Once you get one of these swap things going you will find that a lot of the same people will attend year after year (oh and we do it twice a year too, Spring and Fall) so we all get to be very good friends, even visiting each others homes and gardens and sharing plants and info on a regular basis. My humble opinion of the swap is that you should not ante up a dime for anything, otherwise you will be expected to continue to cover the costs and you will eventually lose out big time. Go cheap, spend nothing, and you will have a fun get-together with other gardeners who share interests in the best way, freely. This way you will never feel used or abused and in no danger of having to make it into some kind of business. Check out your public parks, maybe a church yard or a school yard will allow you to set up for a couple hours on a Saturday morning. If you plan to help out your humane society that can certainly happen too, they would have to be willing to set up at whatever location you choose but if they want to make money by selling something, you may again wind up obligated in some way. Personally, I'd keep those kinds of activities separate from a free plant swap. Cheryl