Jane McG wrote- paraphrased: ARUM I think many gardeners avoid them because A. italicum is viewed ... as a trash plant. >One weedy species can condemn an entire genus in the minds of unadventurous >gardeners. Ornithogalum and Muscari are good examples (though the latter >has more than one weedy member). Some gardeners here feel this way about >Anemone nemorosa, > Aril-bred and oncocyclus iris ....Junos >I think (a) they are hard to get and expensive, and (b) as Jim noted they >require special care, which here would include overhead protection in >winter and constant spraying to quell the leaf pathogens to which they are >very susceptible in mild, wet weather. Dear Jane: location, location, location ( to borrow from the real estate market) Here most gardeners are still marvelling at any Arum even A italicum. Almost no one grows any other, yet some do quite well here; even those I got from you. No one that I know or can imagine would consider any Arum a 'trash' plant. I totally agree with you that one species can "ruin" ones view of the whole genus and Muscari and Ornithogalum (as I mentioned earlier) are excellent examples, but NO Anemone fits that description here. Few people even know let alone grow A. nemorosa. Even the most vigorous cvs stay well contained in small ephemeral patches that seem like they could never encroach on another, the plant equivalent of the proverbial "flea"*. I have to physically dig and divide a clump to re- establish a new planting. Can't imagine it running rampant ever. Although some Arils and Junos ARE expensive, Some good ones are not at all: As Jim McK suggests, the Regelias I stolonifera and I hoogiana are cheap and available widely and among the easiest.( As an aside, membership in the Aril Society allows you to purchase Aril iris from their annual sale with MANY excellent species and cvs as low as $3 each. Some amazing plants) Among Junos I bucharica, magnifica, and graeberiana also qualify as cheap and easy. Back to location- here they grow in the open garden, do NOT require overhead protection and I have never seen virus or other leaf pathogens (disregarding late freeze damage). Here. I know they are much more difficult to grow in the Pacific NW, and they are more than challenging there. As Jim McK also said, and I fully agree, many American gardeners are over influenced by the pronouncements of the British garden publication world and would sooner believe Gertrude Jeykll than the personal experience of a grower down the block. The US is far from uniform for growing conditions and many of my most challenging plants are weedy on either coast. As I continue to garden I learn to appreciate more fully the unique Mid-Continent climate here that allows me to grow some plants that are a challenge on either coast. I guess the lesson is 'Grow locally' And I must respond positively to Diane's comment about plant variations and need to grow lots of stuff. Having studied a variety of plants in the wild from Asia to South America and much of the US, it is very obvious to me that many plants in gardens represent a very small piece of the total variation in the wild. To some extreme extant I have seen people argue that plant "X" should be considered a separate species because it is so distinct from plant "Y", yet in the wild both "X" and "Y" freely mingle interbreed and represent just 2 points on a wider range of variation. We often have a very limited gene pool for cultivated plants and we tend to focus on just one selected form as typical of a variable population. Yet another good reason to grow more. Get rid of every inch of lawn and grow every possible wild collected seed you can lay your hands on. Sorry to babble so, but I encourage everyone to try a plant even though "everyone' says you can't grow THAT HERE. Location is only one part of the success or failure. There is also dogged, stubborn enthusiasm. Best to all especially Jane, Jim McK, Luc and Diane for their 2 cents worth. Jim W. *As in "He wouldn't hurt a flea" -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +