I've had P. Nigra (Henon) since 2000, it barely spreads, but if we don't get down to 0 in the winter, it does great the next year. But if it goes below zero, it dies to the ground, and then comes back wimpily next year. We have really hard clay soil, but doesn't faze it too much. It's not spreading real fast, but we are zone 6a after all. It doesn't get much shelter because we live on a ridge. HTH! :)

I have a very nice gas powered wood chipper/leaf shredder that can chip limbs as large as 1.5 inches. Bought it years ago from Home Depot for $675. I used it maybe 5 times and it has been just sitting in my shed for years. After all that sitting it will probably need a tune up. I am in Northern Virginia and would like to trade it for anything useful. I am interested in material to make a water feature, landscape blocks, edible plants, light fictures for my seed starting shelves, bee hive or will consider any trade offer. I don't want to ship it so you need to be within driving distance, i.e. virginia, maryland, DC, west virginia. Do you have something else you can throw in to the trade to get closer to the value of the chipper, like heating pad, large pots, worm factory, or anything?

Hi Tricia.. That is so sad to hear about the cherry trees and the turtles. I just came in from outside and here in zone 6 Massachusetts it feels to be about 55 degrees. It was 48 degrees on my back porch at about 9am this morning before the sun was really up much. I've had my bedroom window open all afternoon. Right now it is very sunny and warm with a little breeze. I walked around my yard to see if Hellebores were budding since I keep seeing photos online of early buds. No buds on my Hellebores, but I did take a few photos of what is really a rarity here. I never have had foliage on so many plants into January, including two rose bushes..which I am told is not that unusual. Here are a few photos... lupine w some digitalis and anthemis foliage... pansies.... Red Bor Kale, which would normally still be doing fine...

Wow Lenore, you've really been thru it!! That must have been just awful, knowing something was wrong but no one believed you. It infuriates me that we walk around in our bodies and know our bodies, and they tell us nothing is wrong! As it turns out, I have multiple problems: Kidney stones in both kidneys (which I'm passing--yes, painful, but at least no surgery for them), a large cervical growth which was causing lots of bleeding, breast lumps in both breasts (isn't it nice how my body does everything symmetrically??), and diverticulitis, which they say is causing the intense pain I'm in. Dr. Harris wanted to schedule surgery right away for the cervical polyp, but he told me I'd just have to learn to live with the pain from the diverticulitis. Live with the pain???? Well, Dr. Harris quit me because I wanted to get more info before jumping into surgery. I actually panicked at the thought of surgery. He told me I would bleed to death if I didn't have surgery and he wasn't wasting anymore time on me, I should promptly find myself another doctor, he quit. I was mortified! I saw an herbalist who prescribed something that stopped the bleeding for 21 days, and greatly decreased my flows. Now I have very minor spotting between periods, but sometimes no spotting at all. So it was over two months after Dr. Harris quit me before I decided to see another doctor. I was so afraid of surgery and so afraid of insensitive doctors, and I just almost didn't see one. I saw an ad for a free mammogram thru the YWCA Encore Plus program and I called them. They scheduled everything, and They are paying for my doc appts and mammogram and any biopsies I need. I saw a nurse practitioner last week. She verified that I several lumps in both breasts that are of concern. I have a mammogram on the 25th. She also said my cervical growth could be cancer. She actually said the "c" word, which freaked me out and I was crying there in her office. But she didn't get upset and quit me. Instead she tried to answer my questions. She wanted to schedule me an appt with a gyne and I told her I wouldn't see anymore male doctors! So she found a female gyne for me. I go see her on the 29th. I worry that it's cancer. Everyone I know who had cancer has died from it. And I know if I have it, it's pretty far advanced. So it scares me. But it's possible I can just have a hysterectomy and be done with it all. I have found no joy in being a woman all these years. Painful heavy periods since I was 11, migraines, etc. are just no picnic. But surgery terrifies me. The last time I was in the hospital was 19 yrs ago, giving birth to my only son. I guess I'll do what I need to do, once I find out what that is. People tell me the not knowing is the worst. But actually, I find that ignorance is bliss. I'm not sure I want to know. Casper