Well that's a cool way to find that long lost pear. Winter Nellis is sometimes used as rootstock. In the growers nursery row, the Seckle bud didn't take, so they let the Winter Nellis rootstock be harvested.

To sum it up, I was really happy to get some plums, and the taste was really good. I was impressed with the crop size, especially considering that this could only be described as a fractional crop. I was a bit disappointed that both trees are the same variety. Who would plant 2 plum trees of the same variety with no pollenizer variety? I was also a bit disappointed with how soft they got when dead-ripe. Perhaps they would keep better if picked a bit early and kept refrigerated. But my wife used them all up before I could experiment. I think that based on descriptions that I have read online, these are a hybrid Japanese plum, most likely Pembina which seems to be one of the few varieties sold around here. Do you agree with my diagnosis? What varieties would you recommend that I graft in spring? Who can sell me budwood?

I just read an article about the TP shortage and one of the things that was said is that it's not so much people hoarding (although some are) as it is that people are now spending all of their time at home (per Annie's post) which means they are not using public bathrooms and public TP (at work, school, while out and about). This has caused home consumption of TP to increase substantially, which in turn, has increased the amount of TP they must purchase to keep up with the demand which is also contributing to those empty shelves we're all seeing. I've recently seen 20 pound bags of carrots and mega bags of grated cheese at my local store which I imagine is the restaurant supplies mentioned upthread. On a happy note, I went grocery shopping on Monday and stopped by the dollar store to see if they had any TP. To my surprise they did! It was a generic off brand that I've never heard of before, but it's quilted and two-ply. They didn't have limits on how much a person could buy, so I picked up two 12 packs and feel like I won the lottery! I was really glad I stopped by the dollar store, because when I was at the grocery store later, I took a stroll down the TP aisle and they are still completely out. They haven't had any TP for a month - I suppose they have, but apparently I haven't been there at the right time of the day or week.

The link says it has a mild sting, but so mild that I've never experienced any sensation, and I've literally rubbed it into my skin in order to find out. This is what my botanist friend says. Urtica gracilis is a unique species native to North America. Urtica dioica is from Europe, but the 2 species look so much alike that gracilis was erroneously considered to be a variety of dioica. The bonap map adds to the confusion by listing dioica as being native in most parts of the U.S., and bonap doesn't include U. gracilis on their map. Gracilis grows much taller than dioica and has narrower leaves. I saw some over 10 feet yesterday. A Facebook discussion about this, in case you don't believe me.... https://www.facebook.com/100001220788499/posts/3430108467039812/ In my Flora of the Chicago Region,( Wilhelm and Rericha Urtica gracilis is listed as the only species in the genus Urtica to occur in Illinois. It's also listed as native to NA.Urtica gracilis