I seem to recall seeing one at the National Arboretum some years ago, in the Asian Valley. I wonder if it's still there. It's kind of pathetic they don't have their collections database online, but many congressmen want to defund the whole operation so I guess we should be glad we have what we do.

How many plants die from Armillaria in FL? Have biopsies or postmortems determined that they are really dying from that, and that something else isn't starting the process first? I thought this was mostly a problem of plants in maritime climates. From the various advanced gardeners I know in the mid-Atlantic and upper South, I've never heard of anything dying from it. I hope it doesn't spread north. Maybe we should saw your state off from the rest of North America.

"I seem to recall seeing one at the National Arboretum some years ago, in the Asian Valley"

Be worth checking its identity too; it might be hardy that far north, but I'm not sure. Of course if it's gone, it might have been a bad winter got it, though pine wilt nematode will also be a high risk.

"I thought this was mostly a problem of plants in maritime climates"

Well Florida is maritime, if subtropical maritime. For what it's worth, Armillaria is certainly frequent in Britain.

"Maybe we should saw your state off from the rest of North America"

Sea level rises will do that before long anyway!

Resin

Very handsome. The needles droop similarly to my Himalayan white pine, which, IIRC, you sent me, salicaceae!

Armillaria is common everywhere. It is especially cmon here in oak forests, but in northern areas and the Rockies, it's a problem on conifers primarily. There are different species of Armillaria in different areas too.

Resin,
loved your response, but come on now, Florida is not at all "maritime" in the sense employed by the world's horticulturalists. In fact it's almost the opposite of it, enjoying less moderation than its position would suggest. (Key West has never had a frost, but the rest of the state has. And 90F/32C Gulf waters don't provide much cooling compared to even what Brisbane probably gets.) Even the slightly ridiculous Koppen system doesn't agree with you.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_climate