Nyssa sylvaticas are absolutely beautiful. They are not grown here in western Wa. state very often. I'm going to have to shop around and see if I can acquire one or two. I have some wet ground that just might suit them. Thanks for the posting Treeguy ny

Hi, You are in the right place. Welcome to the forums and its always nice to have more people to share photos, stories and info with. IÂm in Zone 6 as well and its a pretty decent zone for JM's. You may hear some people say they pot their trees in any size container but I bet most of those people use a fast draining mix. I would go with a pot that isn't too tiny so it doesn't dry out fast but not so large as to make the plant look tiny in it. I have my ebay first year grafts in a gallon pot and they are just fine. Next year they will get a 2 gallon if the roots are doing well. Drainage and aeration are very important in growing a healthy JM. Do a search on the forum here or the container gardening forum for Al's gritty mix, its wonderful. If you can't find it, ask again here and we can help you out. For a small batch, you could get Schultz aquatic plant soil in a 10 pound bag from home depot(maybe inside the room they keep the orchids in) This aquatic plant soil is also known as turface. Perlite is something you could get from almost anywhere and/or some crushed granite grit from a feed supply store that sells chicken feed,etc. and a aged pine bark from home depot as well. I use the bark mix they call "soil conditioner". Its just aged pine bark with a bit of gypsum, very nice results with it so far. If they are going to be kept in pots for awhile you could bring them inside to overwinter once the temps drop below freezing and bring them back out when you see the daffodils blooming or after the last frost. Just make sure they get there dormant period where they stay 30-42degrees for 6 weeks or more. You don't want to keep these babies in the house, a protected but not heated location works great like a shed or garage. I use KLH rooting hormone on all of my repots and planting but just once and only if the trees are not dormant. Right before bud break and its pointless. I am not familiar with Miracle Grow rooting hormone but I use half of the dose the recommend. No fertilizers, especially a high nitrogen one should be used at planting time. Trace minerals are ok but don't want to burn and shock them with high nitrogen. Next year you can use a timed slow release or liquid fert after bud break. I like the Dyna- Gro fertilizer and line of products such as Pro-Tekt. The shade should be fine for the JM's. It will definitely be good to keep newly potted JM's in the shade to acclimate. Your red JM's may not produce as nice of colors without much sun though, especially in the summer and fall but they should thrive in the shade, just not quite as stunning. Gotta run, good luck.

Your kempas has much the same coloration as your fir, which I bet is long leaf heart pine and not fir. How are your stairs constructed and from what wood? Wood usually looks good with other wood, unless it is colored to look unnatural. What wood you choose and what color you go for is your decorating decision. Good luck.

One time I was trying to diagnose a pest by searching on the computer. I wasn't having any luck so I decided to scan in the eggs on the leaf like the above. I was going to post the pic and ask if anyone knew what it was. I went outside and found a leaf with the eggs and put it face down on the scanner. As it so happened, eggs were in the process of hatching. The bugs were literally hatching and walking off the scanner bed as I scanned them, LOL. Hey, guys, wait up! That was one of the coolest, funniest garden experiences ever. Cher p.s. Isn't gardening learning about how the natural world works together? Thus if we indiscriminately kill insects without knowing what their purpose is, we are not learning--merely culturally reacting to what we've been taught ahout bugs (ick,eww). It breaks my heart when I see cans of spider spray in the homes of my well-educated friends. Spiders are the best!