It was much too windy here on Sunday to work outside.

I lost my Cordyline banksii a couple of years ago from a 12ºF freeze. My Butia I gave to my sister in law, who lives in Belfair, died last winter either from the weather or my Sister in laws brown thumb. And my Banksi marginata died back to the snow line in the winter of 06-07. So I think you have a great place to grow marginal plants.

Thanks for sharing.

I'm excited for my first Grevillea and what it might do this coming year. Just visited the San Francisco Botantical Garden and they had many beautiful Grevillea.

Recently I noticed there's a Zonal Denial garden right next door to the fish hatchery in Issaquah. Lots of gums (eucalypts), probably these like what is likely to be some hotter days out there than in close to the sound. But then there will be those lower minimums...

That's my garden. You should have stopped in and said hi, either at my house or at the hatchery office, where I work.

Sorry Brian for throwing in some of my pictures.

I enjoy testing the limits of various plants and have been pleasantly surprised by the hardiness of many plants. I have also been disappointed. I have been growing eucalyptus since 1982 and know what to expect with them. A few that I planted back that early are still alive after the 1989 and 1990 freezes. And if they die, so what, they grow so fast that in a couple of years I will have a tree again.

John

Many of my semi-hardy plants do fine now, but as you know (even right on the water), after one of these winters there will be a lot of dead stuff I will have to dig out, or chop down. As the plants get bigger, the job of removal will of course be bigger after a severe arctic blast. Not looking foward to it one bit.

Hi John. Don't be sorry, I always love looking at pictures. Fantastic Tetrapanax you have there. Is it 'Rex'? I have never tried one, but I have always thought they look very really cool. If I am ever up near the fish hatchery I will make sure to swing it and say hi, if you don't mind. Take care.

Brian,

You are more than welcomed to stop by, even if I am working, most of the time I can stop long enough to give a short tour of my collection. If you stop by, I have some Tetrapanax potted up that I could give you.

The one in the first picture was from Plant Delight six years ago. It has never sent up root sprouts, but the plant in the above picture which I got at Steamboat Island Nursery, outside of Olympia, sends suckers up all the time. I don't know the reason, whether it is genetics or environmental that causes that. The PD plant is on the north, shady side of a tall P.n. 'Henon" bamboo grove planted in loam, while the S.I. plant is in full sun and sandy soil. Might be the difference. Also the PD plant has never froze back to the ground, while the SI plant has.

I bought both plants as 'Steroidal Giant'. I know the British call a similiar looking plant 'Rex', but I can't tell the difference. If you know what the difference is, please explain it to me, I would like to know.

thanks,
John

We also saw the native garden, Garry oak and stripebark maples.

There used to be a champion-sized 'Dolgo' crabapple elsewhere in town but it appears to have been removed.

I remember letting some people into the locked lobby. If the person letting you in was a white haired guy with glasses it probably was me.

As for the "No Trespassing" sign, it is there so the police can legally remove the people going behind the hatchery building to do drugs, sex, using the brush along the creek as a toilet, and other nasty things.

I'm looking for a start of the Tetrapanax. Any chance I could get one from you?

Best Regards,
Jim Eichner
Woodinville

Come on down, I have two potted up. One in a one gallon pot and another in a three gallon pot. And there are a whole bunch of suckers in the ground. I plan on leaving them there until late winter - early spring before potting them up, since I don't have the room to over winter them indoors in pots. But if you want one of the suckers I could pot one up for you. My email is issaquahfish at msn.com. You can have one without a trade, but if you have anyone of the hardy Schefflera's I would be interested in a cutting or a start. They are very hard to find in North America. They sell them in Europe but for someone like me, it would be impossible to get. Crug Farms out of Scotland sell numerous species and about half of them they credit Dan Hinkley with introducing into the trade. It's too bad he wasn't able to do that here for whatever reason since he lives in Washington State.

Next year I probably will be more aggressive in removing the suckers before they get any size since they are interfering with my collection of hardy and semi-hardy banannas.

John