Paula ~ I have a few Indian Pinks... do you have any rose cuttings you can trade ? Looking for Orange or white... but Tempt me :) Let me know via Email please. Tink62

How about grow incredibly slow. Have extremely dense wood that does dull anything sharp that comes into contact with it (sometimes trees have to be cleared to make room for paths/garden etc). Have no fall color. Pop up everywhere around here. It along with ulmus alata and white and green ash have a ridiculous germination rate around my house. Even the small branches are so firm that a slight brush against my body feels like nails scraping my skin. Very. Ugly. Leaves. Very short for a long time. I would rather have just about any other tree that is growing on my property that the blackjack oak. Heck, even my much disliked ulmus alata displayed a fantastic fall show last year while the blackjack oak either turned brown and fell or fell while turning brown. Does grow where no oak should be able to grow and does provide acorns for the wildlife as well as other normal tree stuff birds love. And by the way I have not planted any lollipop trees on my property. I do have one specimen blackjack oak that is about 30 feet tall with very nice form in the open that will never see a chainsaw if that makes you feel any better.

if i had to do it .... i would get a pot.. and some cactus mix.. and transplant it ASAP ... and get it accustomed to the pot.. before the long drive home. and then i would put the pot in full shade and not plant it in mother earth.. until the leaves fall off ... trees do not like regular high peat media... it can hold too much water .. they like a drink and near total drainage ... even to be dry for a day or two .. before wetting again .... but in a small pot.. dont let the pot get too hot.. nor too dry.. while holding the plant over ... even if you have to stick the pot in the soil.. to temper august heat ... but dont shock it twice.. by digging it up.. then transporting it .. and then immediately replanting it... wait.. thats three shocks... and on the drive home.. no stopping for 12 afternoon drinks.. and leaving your pet tree in a closed car on the parking lot... crikey.. traveling with plants is worse than kids.. you just cant leave them in a closed locked car ... lol ... make sense...?? someone else can ID it for you .. but why not practice regardless... good luck.. let us know how it works out ... ken ps: i was told .. long ago.. its hard to ID oak babes.. as mature leaf form is better for ID ....but it sure does look like a swamper to my untrained eye ....

I'm sure that most of the plants on your lists are great and have some wildlife value, Anna, but the ones that jump out at me are - Castillega indivisa/Indian paintbrush - I can only drool at pictures of this beautiful host for buckeyes and fulvia checkerspots since it doesn't occur here, but it's also a good nectar plant for butterflies, and, judging by the looks of the flowers, for hummingbirds, also. It's supposed to be impossible to transplant, but it can be propagated from seeds. If I lived in Oklahoma, I'd order seeds and sow them in a meadow with native grasses - most members of the snapdragon family are parasitic or partially so on grass roots. Centaurea americana - you already have plenty of this - I'd make sure it stays! Antennaria and Artemesia - Both these are host for American ladies, and, if they're as tough as the cudweed in my area, they should be easy to grow. Asclepias, spp. - All of these are desirable, both as hosts for monarchs and the nectar in their flowers, which are real popular with all butterflies. Asters - These give beautiful flowers in the fall that butterflies nectar on, and they're supposed to host pearl crescents. I've planted some rice button asters to add to the naturally occurring asters in hopes of getting PC cats someday. Desmodium - This is the principal host plant for long-tailed skippers in my area - it's VERY easy to grow! Liatris pycnostachya - I just love this beautiful plant, and butterflies love to nectar on the flowers. Tephrosia virginiana/Goat's rue - As far as I know, this plant doesn't host any butterfly, and I've never seen any butterflies or hummers nectaring on the flowers, but it thrives on the poorest, driest, most eroded, pure red/orange clay parts of my property. The rainbow of pastel colors of the flowers is charming, and it might be useful as a host or nectar plant to something - I don't get to the parts of my property where it grows too often. Sherry