I found the one I had back in the mid 1990s to be pretty hardy; the erstwhile management of Forestfarm said their seed came from one in some frost hollow of western WA that had seen very low temperatures by PNW standards. Current management of Forestfarm knows nothing about this...too bad they didn't keep better notes. And, I think this reflect a general thing going on with Forestfarm. They will still have rare plants but not someone - an owner-operator-plant-lover - going through the tedious steps to obtain the "best of all possible rare plants". (always time for a little Panglossian optimism!) I really don't think they are particularly susceptible to fungus for any reason other than having been pumped full of nitrogen to get them into fast growth...when sold as the decidedly odd looking 'mini Christmas trees'. They grow in Texas around the dry line, which certainly can be humid! Years ago someone posted a picture of some big ones in San Antonio. And also of course one grew in North Carolina. I think, south of say Richmond, VA, they are just under planted, and north of it, likely to die back in the coldest of winters.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chocolate - Pate Du Chocolate With Creme Anglaise ================================================= 4 Ounces semisweet chocolate 1/2 cup butter 5 egg yolks 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups whipping cream Creme Anglaise (recipe follows) Toasted sliced almonds . Melt chocolate with butter; let cool. In bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale in colour; beat in cocoa. Beat in cooled chocolated mixture Whip cream and fold into chocolate mixture. Turn into 8 X 4 inch loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. To serve unmould pate and remove plastic wrap. spoon Creme Anglaise onto dessert plates. Top each with 1/2 inch slice of chocolate pate. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Creme Anglaise 5 egg yolks 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 cups hot milk 1 tsp vanilla. In bowlw beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale in colour; gradually whisk in hot milk. Transfer to very heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly and sauce coats the back of a spoon. Be careful not to boil. Stir in vanilla. Strain through fine sieve into bowl. Let cool; cover and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 1 day. Makes about 2 cups. This one comes from Marilyn it's YUMMY! Golden Lemon Cake Roll CAKE: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoons salt 9 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest Powdered sugar FILLING: 1/2 cup sugar pinch of salt 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 3 egg yolks 1 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest 1/2 cup whipping cream Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom only of 15X10-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment paper and grease again. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, first 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until a light lemon color. Add second 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until thickened. Add cold water and 2 teaspoons lemon zest, mix well. Gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture, blend well. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until light golden. Remove from oven and immediately turn out of pan onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Quickly remove paper. Starting at short side, roll up in towel; cool completely. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, salt, lemon juice and egg yolks. Cook over low heat until thickened; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel; cool. Whip cream to soft peaks and fold into cooled filling. Unroll cake, spread with filling and roll again without towel. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. (Inspired from recipe in "Pillsbury Bake-Off Classics III.) *One lemon yields 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) lemon zest and 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) juice. Marilyn

Cori Ann, that was a hilarious story, I could not stop laughing! By the way, I posted some pics of TRM climbing over an arch on your post, hope it can help in answering your question. By the way, I also saw you ordered Figaro Panarosa - you will looooove that rose - it is one of my favourites with very little thorns (I have it espaliered on the fence between Claire Rose and John Claire). Please update us later on how it is growing in your garden! Beth and Cynthia: Acropolis is very pretty! We don't have it here but I wish I could see it in real life. Koko Loko is not in commerce here either but I obtained one plant from Ludwig (I actually had two but one did not make it). I rarely see the brown colouring on it but I love the grey tones as well. I do however wish I could get a rose with the same colouring in a nice old fashioned shape. I will try to post some more photos soon but will do it on the rose gallery :-) Liezel

Honestly I considered it a negative when we bought, and was glad it was not visible from our house! It is probably a quarter of a mile, if you don't count long driveways to them and to us. I am so happy with the changes. We got lucky. LOL about the window; thought you were going to say something about take the CH view with the window. : ) I noticed my post was cut off above. It was about Black Forest Ham. When my kids were little and I made them ham sandwiches, they would ask me to "cut the forest off:" the dark edge. LOL Petal, They are having a blast. So far I know they had a pizza bar and tonight I think they are going to do gyros! Very lucky with the weather. MD in Maine can be cold, even where we are all the way South on the Coast. Usually it is within 2 degrees of our temp here in the far NYC burbs; not what people expect in Maine but then you can probably drive another 4-5hrs North of us and still be in Maine!