I eat a fair number of loquats from trees in 25 gallon pots. Loquats will stand a pretty light soil (lots of perlite) so the pots are not to difficult to drag around.

Want to expand your z5 semitropical and "tropical" options? Indiana Rick's website is inspirational! So many usefulul ideas there. I agree don't give up until you've tried it 3x and tested some tricks! Hardy Tropicals for Zone 5 !!!!! http://www.manchestergardenclub.com/rick/Tropicals/Tropicals.htm ________ Mulched here now in my more "gentle" z8b, until I have a backup clump stored to go "cold turkey". No the impressive Canna 'Durban" = 'Tropicanna' doesn't throw lower red spires! That's a compact Lobelia 'Starship Red' which has nice contrasting rich green leaves. This Cardinal Flower was easy to grow from seed* (as are Canna) and gets the hummingbirds darting all around to enhance the tropical theme. I like L. 'Vulcan Red' as well to for contrast. Dark maroon leaved and also more compact than L. 'Queen Victoria' with no staking needed. * After using many over the years, the best seed starting method that I've used over the years is a biodome and sponge block system or similar. Works best with heatmats and bright plant light. Effective, efficient, durable, flexible, and small footprint. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4412727/looking-for-a-reliable-seed-starting-system

I always liked having my profile up there for other members, too. I thought it was a nice way to tell other people about my approach to gardening, things that had been successful for me and those that had proven troublesome. I was always fine with the "send me an e-mail" aspect, too. I knew from whence the message originated and was able to keep my e-mail private unless I replied to the message (which I generally did). After the hand over, however, I had to REsubmit my information to the powers that be. In spite of opting to have my address remain hidden, there it was, BOLD AS BRASS for anyone to see/use/ ABuse. Naturally, I was blissfully unaware until the volume of messages in my in box increased markedly... . I was BULL----. I was not the only one, as I soon learned. More than a few "regulars" from other forums thought everything was OK, too... only to realize that the "changes" took time to percolate through, and what they thought was hidden, WASN'T. I complained, too... and received an anemic reply/apology about 4 days later. I was less than impressed. It was then that I decided to eliminate the entire profile. And I "flushed" any e-mails from places I didn't recognize; it still bothers me that "regulars" probably felt "blown off" (but I had no way of "recognizing" them via the subject line)... the very people I would have happily replied to had things not take the turn they did. I wasn't really interested in giving personal drapery consultations FOR FREE... in the past I had welcomed questions, requests for clarification. It will be a long time before I'll be able to rid my mouth of that bad taste.

Steve, thanks for the tip about lancifolia. I recall some discussion before about the change of classification on some hosta, so I get antsy using terms. My mind is not able these days to incorporate or SAVE corrections to past info. I call it "confused" not "demented." :) And thanks, BK. I give credit to the plants themselves. And maybe the weather, which is balmy and so very beautiful this week.