Most cypress, like dawn redwood look best if grown/styled the same way they are found in the wild. If you've seen them or seen pics most are almost formal upright with a tight narrow crown or nothing but the top 1/3rd of the tree with any kind of foliage. In both cases the foliage becomes almost an afterthought, the beauty of these trees is in the magnificent trunk and a well developed nabari. The cypress trunk only really gets character once it becomes 'fluted' with age. Putting yours in the ground or in a large training box, allowing it to go vertical for a number of years, will quicken this process. Bob

Buford's photos could both be herbicide damage. At present there is not a simple field test to determine if a rose has RRV or does not have RRV. Excessive thorns is thought to be a good indicator of RRV infection but lack of excessive thorns does not rule out RRV. Buford's photos do not show excessive thorns, and the one that he feels is RRV is similar to one posted for herbicide damage by Plant Pathology Department Extension Service at the University of Arkansas. http://plantpathology.uark.edu/Number5-2009.pdf From Ann Peck's web book: "There are no laboratory tests to confirm a diagnosis of RRD; graft transmission tests can confirm the disease when the recipient plant (R. multiflora) develops RRD. A lack of transmission does not prove lack of the disease, just lack of transmission. Dr. Jim Amrine (personnal communication) suggests that graft transmission tests are more often successful in spring than in other seasons. This, to me, corresponds to the time that multiflora puts on most of its new growth (when its growth isn't affected by RRD)." -------------------------------- H. Kuska comment: Until a simple lab test is developed, we simply do not know from a single field examination in some/many cases. There are too many variables: type of herbicide, concentration of herbicide, rose variety, weather, etc. to say for certain from a single observarion in all cases this plant definitely has RRV, this one definitely has herbicide damage. Here is a link that might be useful: Ann Peck's chapter Recognizing Rose Rosette

A new nursery opened this month where the old Cottage Creek Nursery was on Avondale Rd W'ville/Redmond area. It's called The Gardens at Cottage Creek. The old Cottage Creek was well known for it's roses. This one has quite an extensive collection of roses too, but I didn't have time to browse through there. I also noted quite a few dahlias potted up. Another one I like going to is about a mile south of there also on Avondale Rd. It is Classic Nursery, they have a good selection of shade/native plants. If you look at the independent nursery map at the link above for these locations they would be just south of the one marked #60(Bassett). Another good one for trees is Olympic Nursery. This would be located between #59 (Enchanted)& #64 (Molbaks) on the map. Olympic is well respected for their trees & shrubs. The do not carry many perennials, but what they do have is usually cheaper than Molbaks. OK-I spend way too much money around here.

Natures Growers is the absolute best nursery for adeniums, he has tons and tons of them, lots of seedlings-one of the seedlings I bought last year just bloomed and is a gorgeous deep red/purple double, I think they are $2 or something like that. Last years plants are maybe $12 and the new ones $15 at the most. I picked up Intense Rainbow Plumeria for $10 last year too.