Thanks, Al, for the info. on soils. I moved the juniper underneath our house overhang to minimize rain interception, but am still a bit worried about it getting too wet this winter. There is a much drier spot underneath our front door entry, but the light conditions may not be so ideal, as the roof shades quite a bit (not that there is much, if any, direct sun in the winter here). Regarding soils: should I repot now, given the native soil may not drain well enough to avoid ponding? If so, do you have any suggestions on preferred soil mixtures? Thanks so much for your help! Just as a bit more background: I am working on thickening up the juniper stem in the 1 gal container before moving to a ceramic bonsai pot and shaping. I most likely will do this next Spring or Fall, assuming this is good logic...?

Since we live in Mountain View (south of San Francisco, north of San Jose), I don't know how relevant our experience is. But we're also very partial to native plants & planted a Western Redbud in our small front yard (strip along driveway) some years back. It has been terrific, a un-fussy multiple-stemmed small tree that is quite attractive all year long (IMHO). We've read that it needs cold temperatures in order to flower, so that might be an issue in S. CA. Here, the magenta flowers make for a brief but spectacular show of color. It is hard to understand why Western Redbud is so infrequently used. Best of luck with your yard, Elsa

I too have had an interest in this species for a long time, but have been unable to find anyone selling it in the mail order nuresery trade. I found a couple of places listing it, but it's been unavailable every time I've checked with them. I've seen it growing wild in relatively high altitudes in New Mexico where locals told me temperatures had been down to -20F before, so I think it's probably more cold hardy than many sources say(which I think they are basing these hardiness clames soley on where the tree grows in the wild and not through any cultivation data). Just a note, Alligator Juniper is native across a wide are of New Mexico and Arizona(var. pachyphlaea), as well as Northern Mexico. There's only one very small area in West Texas where they grow native. I think it's the variety var. sperryi, which only something like half a dozen individuals are known in the wild in the Davis Mountains. I also think some believe it to be a hybrid with flaccida and it doesn't have the Alligator like bark of the other varieties.(flaccida doesn't have the Alligator like bark either) tcharles26, I'd also think that Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum(from West Texas or adjacent Mexico or New Mexico), Pinus ponderosa var. arizonica, Pinus strobiformis and Pinus ayacahuite might all do well for you there. Lastly, I agree there are many beautiful, relatively safe areas of Mexico. But on the other hand most of the big cities in the Northern 1/2 of Mexico have large areas full of banditos who'd look at a foreigner with dollar signs in their eyes. Most all of the smaller towns and cities though tend to be quite safe and full of very nice people. Many rural areas also tend to be quite safe, and the big cities down South tend to be safer as well. At least this has been my experiences in Mexico. But if you have a good idea of what you are doing and stay away from obviously dangerous areas I've found it to be fairly safe. Then again if you're crossing the border at Ciudad Juarez, you're taking your life into your own hands! he he Lastly, I've heard quite a few strange stories of Homeland Security, APHIS, and the Border Patrol confiscating seeds etc. Then again, if you want to make sure your seeds make it across the border, I think you have a much higher chance of giving them to a local Mexican to get them across the border, since they have a higher success rate than US citizens doing this. he he (yes, being very sarcastic here!)

jdevers, Oh, your weather is just like mine! Our average last frost date is March 28th, but in about 7 out of 10 years at my house we'll have about one freezing night per week until around May 3rd or 4th. It makes me crazy, but I just try to plant when soil and air temps are in the right range, and then use floating row cover to protect plants on the occasional late cold night. That is funny about having to worry about plants bolting and/or freezing at the same time and my experience here this spring has been very similar. The weather in this part of the country sure can change rapidly. I like Seedmama's 2-liter bottle cloches. To store similar things, I cannot put them in trash bags or my husband thinks they are trash and hauls them off to the dump, so I store them in nicely labeled kitty litter buckets. I use duct tape to label the buckets. Of course, if you go into the greenhouse or garage, it looks like we are hoarding cat litter, but I like reusing buckets for storing many items. A cat litter bucket here gets used over and over for a million and one things until it finally cracks or breaks and then it finally goes into the trash. I bet I have some buckets that are 10 years old. I don't worry too much about okra getting an early start most years. It grows so fast once the soil temperatures are just right for it that I tend to just wait and plant it at the normal time. Or, even worse, I see volunteers sprouting on their own and that makes me realize it is time to get the seed in the ground if I want to grow the specific variety I intended to grow. Or, I can just dig up seedlings (they tend to sprout near the compost pile where I know I have thrown overmature pods in the past) and transplant them where I want to grow them if I don't care what variety it is. Nothing says "it is time to plant your seeds now" more than seeing volunteers that already have sprouted. Due to us having a lot of hot days this past winter---not in a row, usually, but just 1 or 2 here or there, we had a lot of strange seedlings popping up randomly, including summer squash, gourds and okra in February and March. Of course, they froze later on. Dawn