The seed pods stay on the plant for months and, on C nobilis, turn red. If you sow the seed immediately it's ripe it will probably strike easily. The seedlings take a few years to reach flowering size and seem to prefer being planted in wide/shallow pots rather than deep ones. I've noticed that plants I've bought from supermarkets have been extremely low on food. The leaves have been quite yellow, and there's been little soil left around the roots. They bounce back after being fed with an even N-P-K slow release (with a swig of orchid food - but don't tell!) If they're growing outside under trees, even in a pot, then the leaf litter and rain will probably be enough to keep them happy. If they're indoors, then I think I'd topdress after flowering even if I did leave them to become pot bound. PS - on the 'pot-bound' aspect - use a pot you won't mind sacrificing. Those roots really push hard on the sides of the pot! Cutting off the container is probably the only way to liberate the plant.

The rain this weekend has relieved the drought (the official word from the National Weather Service is found at: http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/seasonal_drought.html) so I think you can plant your tree between now and the ned of October (and maybe even surround it with water lilies). Now, more on the side issue I am still wondering about, the identity of the "messy" tree mentioned earlier. First, the information I posted earlier concerning the fruit of the Eastern Cottonwood tree, Populus deltoides may have been misleading. The true picture of the fruit is as follows: a mass of white cottony material, with tiny brown seeds embedded within the white cottony material, and without any covering, shell, or husk over the cottony material. The individual seeds with their cottony "parachutes" eventually separate from the seed mass and disperse, producing the phenomenon of "cottonwood snow" which anyone who has lived near a mature, seed-producing tree will not forget. (I still remember the blankets of "cottonwood snow" produced by one tree near my grandmother's house.) The following pictures of Populus deltoides should be helpful: Populus deltoides: fruit http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde50 Populus deltoides: leaves (note the species name "deltoides" originates from the spade-like or "deltoid" leaf shape) http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde10 Populus deltoides: whole tree, growth habit (vase-shaped to rounded, fast-growing to 75-100 feet tall, with coarse (open) branching) http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde00 Populus deltoides: bark (medium gray, deeply ridged and furrowed) http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/popde70 At any rate, I don't think the fruit of the "messy" tree mentioned earlier in this thread ("As for the infamous fluffy pods, they are brown and round, and when you crush one they disintegrate into a handful of feathery fibers") is anything like cottowood. Could you describe any other distinctive features of this tree (leaf shape and size, flowers, bark, etc.)?

Howdy Peanut, That picture is of a seed bearing fruit. It should hold a combination of membranous tissue, pulp, and inside the pulp sacks... seeds. Depending on which Passiflora it is, and what it was pollinated with, it may or may not have pulp and seeds. In some cases the pulp is edible. Are you familiar with passion fruit flavoring? If you've been to Hawaii, you've probably had a mixed drink with it. It looks from your picture like it is a caerulea-esque Passiflora, so there will likely be very little if any pulp, and what is there is generally not very tasty. However, the seeds may or may not be viable. Tough to tell without knowing how it got pollinated, or if it even did. It may be one of the self-fertile ones. Anyway, hope that helped to answer some questions and raise some new ones. Eric

Hmmmm.... Lobed triangular fruit.... How about Diploglottis diphyllostegia? Ungnadia speciosa is a good guess, too.... Still think we will need some flower & leaf closeups.... It may not be a CA native tree. And your shots are good for growth habit and the unusual fruits/seed pods, but not good enough for positive ID for which we'd need a good closeup of flowers and some leaves.