trying to grow pure Changsha in zone 7a would be a stretch, most likely it's not going to work out, but you may have a chance in zone 7b (especially the warmer half of zone 7b) if you live in the South. I have tasted the fruit of what I believe was a Morton citrange. The fruit entirely looked like a delicious orange, very inviting, but biting into it it had an awful flavor that I can only describe as putrid, and it made me want to immediately spit it out. I was told there was one other person who tasted it that found it to taste acceptably edible and could eat it. From what I have researched, I think many other Poncirus hybrids don't taste as bad as this Morton citrange, though they usually do tend to have a similar flavor. As for the US 852 hybrid, I have seen a video where a guy said he was even able to manage to enjoy eating them. Though I suspect he probably had more "adventurous" tastes that many people.

karmahappytoes, My plants were all grown from small cuttings from the previous fall. I've stuck the rooted cuttings in the ground in the spring and go from there. They aren't old plants at all, just rooted cuttings. I do take cuttings each fall just in case I have some that don't come back. This will be the fourth winter in the ground for some of them. Tonight will be our first hard freeze and I cut all my brugs down today, and only saved two large plants to overwinter in a bucket of water. My greenhouse is bursting at the seams and I didn't have room to bring them all in, but I do have quite a few brugs in pots. Hopefully the plants in the ground will all come back from the roots. I'm sure if I will take the time to cover the stumps and mulch them well, they will all come back next spring. I might need to add that I have very sandy, well drained soil, so that might be a factor why the majority of mine come back with no added mulch. :-)

I for one think everyone has had a great comment here, and I would combine the answers into one plan! If this were my yard, I would enlarge that paved area by about three times - at least out to the ac unit and out to the line of the downspout. I think having that paved area (whether it's concrete, stones, pavers, whatever) would just help define the area, and as it stands now that walkway is too tiny and utilitarian. A bigger area will give some definition to the area as an entryway, a sitting area, etc, and look better in scale to the house. Might even be nice to have a pathway connect from that to whatever other path/walkway you have in the yard. I can't tell from the photo if there is already one there or that is just dirt. I have three rain barrels, and love them. I should note that not a one is connected to a downspout, as DH won't hear of cutting into the downspouts, so I can only dream of the abundance of water I'd have if I did! However, even without that, mine do fill up slowly but nicely, and I do use them with watering cans, either dipped in, or under the spigot, as my barrels are on cinderblocks to give just enough height to get a watering can under. These rain barrels help me cut down on my well use, and IMO are a great idea in general in terms of water conservation. I'm not quite sure WHERE you want to put a garden - along the wall where the ac unit is? To the left of the photo where that bag is? Extending it out from the bag to cover that green area? Is that where the moss is? IMO, you can have a garden almost anywhere, if you have the right plant for the spot. I've put in a bog-type garden in an area where it floods every spring, and which sometimes has standing water well into August. Again, it's the matter of the right plant. Determine just how wet this area is, and do your homework researching plants that like that moisture level and the sun levels you have. Amending the soil helps, but do it as nature would - don't try to change the soil there, but enhance it. It will take some trial and error but I'm sure it can be done. There are many plants you can use. As for moss, I too don't understand why some people dislike it so much. I had a friend who I used to help in her garden, and we live in a very wooded area. She had a quite damp yard, and lots of shade and trees, and along the edge of the lawn she had these wide swaths of moss - a good 10 to 15 feet deep from edge of lawn to woods. She tried for years to get rid of it and get grass to grow. I always told her it looked wonderful, it was soft, green, and from a distance who could tell? She was constantly worried about the resale value of not having a lawn (and it's going on a least 25 years that she's been in the house and worrying about this!). The one downfall to moss, IMO, is that it does rake up very easily when you are raking up leaves, so that is a pain. But other than that, if its green and nothing else will grow there (in terms of lawn, not garden), then that is the plant to have there! I don't know. I guess I'm just a big believer in working with nature and not against her. Good luck and keep us posted on your evolving garden! Dee

"Thomasville Old Gold" is at the bottom of my list of potted Teas alphabetically, but is near the top when it comes to vigor and growth so far. This came as a band from Long Ago Roses. Now onto the Chinas. I got a bunch this year. Some went in the ground, and they're doing well so far. In the bed with the aforementioned 'Napoleon' I planted 'Louis Philippe', 'Rival de Paestum', "Dutch Fork China", 'Ducher', and 'Cramoisi Superieur'. I already had "Grandmother's Hat" and 'Perle d'Or' in there, so with this year's Chinas, that area is "done with roses". In my little front yard, Chinas which went in this year are 'Arethusa', Comtesse du Cayla', and if you think of it as one, "Huilito". But this is about the ones destined to remain container plants. "Boone Hall China" is a "mystery" rose without a page on HelpMeFind, probably a seedling or close relative of the 'Louis Philippe' and 'Cramoisi Superieur' clan. It's a cute little thing so far, with cherry-scented blooms that hang down. Unfortunately, it's the only one of my potted Chinas and Teas which seems to be showing some mildew, but only a touch, and only recently. This came as a band from Angel Gardens. "Ferndale Red China" is another "mystery" rose I'm giving a shot here. It recently sent a new thick shoot, which grew rapidly and is terminating in a small candelabra. On HelpMeFind, bloom pics seemed so variable that I wondered if they were all the same rose. As I watch this one flowering on and off, I see how they really vary with the weather. This one came as a 1-gal from Rose Petals Nursery. I'm really looking forward to a barrel filled with 'Miss Lowe's Variety', and its rapid growth so far with me makes me think that it will accomplish this by the end of next year. This one came as a band from Rogue Valley Roses. I almost didn't want to admit that I planned to try 'Mutabilis' in a barrel here, being as it's so often touted as becoming a monster. Well, I'm going to see how it deals with one hard pruning in Spring, then letting it grow as it wishes the rest of the season. I have to do it anyway for Winter damage for my few other Chinas and Teas planted in the ground previously, and they rebound. Right now, this rose is a bit lopsided. When repotting it, I accidentally snapped one of its smaller stems, and it doesn't seem to want to grow back. But the other side took off. So here in my neck of the woods, the growing season is just what the Chinas and Teas seem to like for encouraging growth. The ones still in pots are in my "magic mix" -- three parts peat moss, one part Bovung dehydrated manure, one part vermiculite, and one part perlite, with 1/2 cup Garden Tone per gallon of mix, and a mulch of used coffee grounds. They get almost all-day sun, and frequent water. Those in the ground started off the same way. Give them heat, food, and water, and the Chinas and Teas will respond with lots of growth. And this is what I need here, since my Winters will take some of that away -- three steps forward, two steps back, every year. Those I'm keeping potted will go into either my garage or my unheated enclosed back porch for Winter, but I still expect to have to remove damage in Spring. They may never get as big and glorious as they do in California, but I'm thinking they'll work somewhat like Buddleia here -- they need one hard pruning in Spring to remove damage, but then let them go wild for the rest of the season. That they bloom for me all through the heat of Summer -- as long as they get food and water -- makes them worth it. :-) ~Christopher