The most common name is: Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta'). And it is an unusual twisted branched cultivar of the regular straight branched European Filbert (Corylus avellana) The main way of propagating it is by grafting but sometimes it can be successfully propagated by air layering or by digging up rooted suckers. It is not in the Willow Family and wonÂt root in water and it is very difficult to root, but in very good rare conditions with intermediate misting and during the right time of the year etc., it can be rooted but it is usually done by professionals. Corkscrew Hazel is placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae. Here is a link that might be useful: Images

We have a walk out basement with a bunch of windows and two doors - one to the finished area and a double door to my workshop in an unfinished area. You might want to consider that second door if you are going to be storing stuff down there in the winter. I have security concerns about all teh doors and windoes down there too, but I feel like if someone really wants to get in - they'll get in regardless. The two issues I have are - what the finished basement means to the design of the deck and patio outside. In our case we need both and they need to work together. Second issue, and this might be specific to my build, is how the concrete footers are insulated where they are above grade. In our home the footers under the back wall continue above grade by about one course of block - maybe 6 inches. That block is 5.5" thick. On top of the block sits the 2x6 stud wall. So, with the wall and the block being the same thickness, the exterior siding (hardy) and the interior finish (drywall) can run right down the stud wall and perfectly cover the block. Here's the problem - The 2x6 wall is insulated, but there was no interior space to insulate that concrete block. We have radiant heat in the basement floor and we lose a lot of heat through that 6" by 50ft length of wall that is uninsulated. I can tell because the snow melts in that area of the yard before it melts anywhere else. On the interior, all it has is sheet rock and mdf base molding covering the block. The solution (I think) would have been for the wall to have been thicker than the block so that there would have been interior space to put rigid insulation against the block before the sheetrock and moldings were put on. Good luck

D, I grow a lot of kale varieties in my garden but in the summer they all decline and I start with new plants for the fall. I am reading a book now the Tao of Vegetable Gardening and she lives on the West Coast and is growing 'Russian Hunger Gap' a kale variety something like the one that you asked and even in her weather she says that in the summer they decline and plant new ones for the next season. In the book Perennial Vegetables he said that he was not impressed by the Walking Stick Kale, its rubbery texture and strong cabbage flavor of the leaves and his died in the winter. I planted Winterbor one season and they are really tall, here is planted next to a regular kale and ornamental kale. Now in my garden I have Red Russian kale and Lacinato planted with the sweet potatoes and if you can see the sticks is where I picked the leaves this morning, soon they will come out and I will start new kale varieties for the next season... Silvia

High humidity and low temps will do that. So if you have a place protected from humidity fluctuations (which does happen in winter) and stay above 10°C but no warmer than around 15°C, that will be fine. I suspect, though never really tested myself, it will be better to dump them all in open boxes so they will also air out. Even when allowed to dry out of the pot, plants will continue to transpire. Kept in a closed box, the relative humidity could still rise and then you'll have fungus issues. My winter storage for unpotted adeniums are just open boxes. Or just to cover all bases, you could also treat them with desiccants like cinnamon powder or sulfur. Or, treat them like I treat my hand planes. Put actual bags of synthetic desiccants in the box if you really want to seal them in to save space. Pagan