Well... I suppose if I already knew everything and wasn't able to absorb anything new, some of what Al writes might seem a little patronizing... but I don't know all there is to know, so what Al writes and the time he takes to explain things in depth, and the willingness to share he exhibits, are all greatly appreciated. It helps to remember that not everyone who frequents these forums is a gardening expert. Some of us are novices, or entirely new to the various processes, and some of us appreciate refreshers every once in a while. I know I do! Thanks again, Al! JoJo, that's a great idea! I love the display of gardening tools in the mail box! In fact, I just happen to collect old hand tools like that... I find them at flea markets and second hand stores... I might pinch your idea to use somewhere in the gardens here, if you don't mind! Mike, pussy willows are among the easiest to force! Those were my Dad's favorites for bringing in early as cuttings! The bigger the catkins, the more impressive the display!

Brenda No expert here! But all of the qualities (and qualities others have mentioned) you've mentioned are important for most people who collect Brugs as their hobby - or just want them for their gardens! A very unique & beautiful bloom - as many have attested to that! You've had great success with her/him for - I believe two seasons. (boy or girl??) It's been a winner each year! Everybody loves it! It's definitely one many would love to have in their gardens across America! Myself included!! lol! Sooooo - what's stopping you from registering it? :) Do we need to start a petition thread?? Mike

I've got a couple of white irises I'll dig up for you Rosalinda...I also have diablo ninebark but it doesn't appear to have any shoots off of it. Can you root it? Hilde, I might have a couple of unknown varieties of phlox. I've got several but the tags faded so I don't remember which is which until they bloom. Brenda, I've got your plants already to go. The galardia looks a little wilty but I got plenty of root so hopefully it perks up. If not, I'll get you some more. Tauna, I've got bee balm set aside for you. Is anyone looking for any particular Iris? I've got so many now, and most are in bloom but it seems most years people don't end up taking them. If anyone is looking for any specific colors/varieties, let me know.

The 5% number has been floating around for a while and is probably what one person found by eyeballing his/her growouts, and not from a series of controlled studies. If it is from a controlled study was it carried out in several locations over several years? There are several factors involved, the most important of which is the number of halictid bees you have in your area. These are tiny sweat bees, often iridescent green incolor. They are about as long as the anther cone of the tomato flower and easily missed if you are looking for larger bumble bees, and they only stay at a flower for a second or two before moving on. They pack pollen into a nursery burrow and then lay an egg and seal the chamber and start all over again collecting pollen for food for the next egg. When they find a good source of pollen, such as your tomato patch, they repeatedly come back to it. Flying several hundred yards is not a problem for them, but they are going to stick around areas with highest source of pollen closest to their brood sites. Each flowers may be visited as many as 50 times in 2-3 days (depending on how many bees are around), mostly in the late morning, but little after mid afternoon. So if you are not in your garden during this time you may miss the activity. An individual bee usually has enough foreign pollen on its body to fertilize every single seed in a tomato with just one visit, but tomato flowers contact their own pollen as they are opening so the question is what is the ballpark percentage of unfertilized seeds/ova at the time the bees get at the flower. This would depend on weather and temperature as it relates to the flower releasing pollen as it is opening, as well as flower development/structure. Flower development and structure depends on the variety as well as the form of the flower, some varieties have a lower percentage of malfomed blossoms than others. The bees' posture while collecting pollen from a tomato flower is such that cross pollination is favored on a perfectly formed flower, but the stigmas of malfomed flowers may be less likely to contact their own pollen, so some hard data is needed to know just what the effect of flower deformation is on cross pollination rate. With a very small sample size, In fruits off of the first truss of the year, I have cross fertilization rates as high as 12.5% per fruit, but with 7 out of 10 fruits showing no cross pollination. This is before heavy bee activity later in the season, and on plants whose cages were whacked with a stick daily to aid self pollination. So you may hear people say 5%, but it is a ball park figure and we don't all play at the same ball park. If your ball park was sprayed with sevin or there are no adequate sites for halictid bee nests you may have a very low cross pollination rate.