Here's what one source says about 'Homestead': "Aesculus x 'Homestead' (A. flava x A. glabra) bred at South Dakota State Univ by Dr. Norman Evers, leaf color dark green, scorch and mildew resistant, flowers creamy yellow much like A. glabra, fruitless and therefore mess free, fall color dark red to orange shades." One Ohio nursery owner I've spoken to feels Homestead may have the best foliage of the Aesculus he's grown. I haven't seen it for sale here in SE Michigan. One of the local growers in my area has 'Autumn Splendor' in his fields - my observation has been that fall foliage quality and color is not as good as advertised. Another species you might consider (that I've seen at 2 different locations in NE Ohio) is Aesculus chinensis. I haven't seen it in flower or in fall, but the summer foliage is very attractive. I've heard that the flowers are outstanding. Not sure about hardiness farther north. Others may have more experience with/input on chinensis. It is probably one of the most impressive of the Aesculus, but it may be difficult to obtain.

I just remembered something. I'm not real familiar with the creeks and rivers in the Picayune area, but pawpaws/Asimina parviflora grow on the bluffs of most creeks in south Mississippi. You might see some rare zebra swallowtails, so keep your eyes out for them, Mary! I saw one along a small creek that flows into Black Creek once, and they've visited my garden once or twice since we've lived here. Sherry

Very intersting that old topic back from 2007! Till now I always had in mind that there are 3 differend yellow needled Pinus parviflora cultivars: 'Dr. Landis Gold' 'Goldylocks' 'Tenysu-kazu' After reading the old topic I found out that David Verkade told us that these are 3 cultivar names for the same plant. 'Goldylocks' is a English translation from the Japanese 'Tenysu-kazu' which was brought to Canada by the late Dr. Henry Landis. 'Tenysu-kazu' is the name we must use for this cultivar because it's the first cultivar name given to this plant. It's the same story with the Metasequoia glypt. 'Ogon' which is the true cultivar name for the other English cultivar name 'Gold Rush'... Another thing is if 'Tenysu-kazu' is written in the good way because David Verkade mentioned 'Tansu Kazu' while Bob Fincham mentioned 'Tensyukazu'.

Keep the potted plant in partial shade/sun (east facing, under a shade tree) all this year. You can feed it lightly with 1/2 or so recommended concentration of mir-acid every couple weeks. Those two things should help tremendously. Top soil, cancel that. The stuff is gooey. You want a real lightweight mix and adding peat moss is a better alternative. You can add your sand too. If you have clay, do not ever add sand, just the peat and compost's. Top soil is good for filling in a hole in the lawn, per say. Also, and lastly, you should remove by hand all damaged needles as this is only taking away from the plant natural ability to regenerate damaged growth. And remove those dead branches, always. Take care, Dax