To the question about characteristics of Pluots, Plumcots and Apriums: Pluots have mostly plum characteristics. Apriums have mostly Apricot characteristics. Plumcots tend to have characteristics of both. Fruitnut mentions Flavorella above - very flavorful but hard to pollenize and grow. There is an old Zaiger plumcot called "Plum Parfait" that looks like an apricot with some red marbling. It is no longer sold by DWN, but I think it's still available. I haven't tasted it. Supposed to be self-fruitful. There is a UDSA variety bred for the upper Southeast, Spring Satin, which others can fill you in on. It was over-hyped by a disreputable nursery in Florida and other nurseries (shamefully) adopted their description. It looks like a plum with a little fuzz. I have an old Luther Burbank plumcot variety, sold by wholesaler L.E. Cook. Variety name is not identified. It's a small, easy-care tree with beautiful bark and foliage and blossoms larger and showier than on most culinary plums. You will never find this plumcot in a grocery store. Fruits are apricot-sized or smaller, pastel yellow with a red blush when ripe. It softens while still tart. When perfectly ripe, it is very soft with a pleasant, mildly sweet flavor which reminds me of rose water. It is nothing like the bolder-flavored Pluots. It has a very short harvest window, and over-ripe fruits quickly disintegrate into mush. It often bears some fruit on the main branches as well as on newer growth. It does not bear young, but seems to be self-pollenizing and is about as reliable and prolific as the typical Japanese plum. The best use I can think of for the excess fruit that comes on all at once is mixing it with stronger-flavored fruits in fruit leather.

I still had lots of food in the house, but DH told me to go ahead and stock up since he'll probably be on the road for 5-6 weeks this time and the immediate future of our para-transit sytem is iffy at best right now due to budget cuts. (We won't know its fate until March 19. On the 22nd, we'll either have it or it's immediately gone.) So, hey, I'm no dummy. I stocked up. Trader Joes - greek yogurt eggs Cheddar cheese bacon almonds frozen haibut frozen green beans frozen mixed veggies frozen mixed peppers frozen naan butter canned diced tomatos quinoa mustard Regular Grocery Store bread Tortillas raisins black beans lentils canned tuna (my lucky day - albacore at .79 a can!) 5# chicken breasts (on sale at .99 a pound!) 2# pork bag of baking potaotes 2 cucumbers 3 onions 2 gree peppers # asparagas quart strawberries 1/2 gal milk canned mixed fruit # bananas # mushrooms garlic limes flour olive oil freezer bags pinto beans # coffee 2 boxes tea bags On the clearance shelf, we found organic pommegranate juice, V8, cherry juice and peanuts for $1.00 eash. The store isn't going to carry them anymore. So we got two each of those. And I had coupons for two free bottles of laundry soap that expire at the end of the month, so I got those now. Total - too much. OTOH, I'm set for another 4-5 weeks except highly perishable items like lettuce or milk. (Althogh I have some canned milk if I really need it.) That doesn't include the things we get for DH to take on the road as I consider his road supplies separate from my grocery budget.

As Aegis said, maturity affects a leaf's appearance but the type will not change. One problem, I think, is that the description of the plant when it is being registered is the growers. Some hybridizers are not as well-versed as others in types of foliage and blooms and may decide that their plant has girl foliage when it does not. But, then the plant must adhere to the description in FC. I would not say this is girl foliage. Some other judges may disagree. It is a lovely plant, girl or not. Linda

I bought a beautiful dark red mini at Walmart after Valentine's last year, marked down to about $2. It had about six little plants crammed into the pot. I separated out the plants and potted them up in their own small pots, about 4" size. They grew and bloomed very well last summer. I just potted one up into about a 3 gal. pot. They don't need great big pots while they're small. From a 4" pot I'd pot up into a gallon pot. Then when the plant roots fill the gal. pot you could plant in the ground or in a bigger pot. They do very well in pots. I think your thought about snipping a bud on a tiny plant with poor roots is good. It might help the plant direct its energies more to growing roots.