David J Bockman wrote:
Being the nosy enthusiast type, I'll suggest trying to find Prunus
subhirtella 'Pendula' not on a standard, but growing on its own rootstock.
MUCH more picturesque as the tree ages.

What's the difference? For example, the one at FF says 'on serrula
trunk' (http://www.forestfarm.com/search/clo...lantID=prsu045)
and makes it sound like that's a good thing. The tree person at
Merrifield who recommended it to me said that I can expect it to get
rather tall - does the rootstock make a difference in size?

All Camelias, even the more winter-hardy Ackerman hybrids such as 'Winter's
Interlude', are susceptible to early morning 'leaf blast' when temperatures
dip below freezing and subsequently the leaves are exposed to early morning
direct sun. The thick leaves retain a lot of moisture which needs time to
thaw under warming air temperatures, not direct sunlight, or else the cell
walls rupture and the leaf blackens and dies.

Thanks. I didn't know that. I'll have to watch the spot more closely
to see how soon it gets sun and how long it stays there.

Don't need heavy shade per se, but any substantial length of direct sun
(say, more than 2-3 hours, less if at midday) will scorch.

That, I didn't know. I will see if I can find a good dappled shade spot
for it.

Yes, two good places to start. You can get their fax numbers and just fax
the whole list over, they can call you back or return fax availability and
prices. Best not to do it on a weekend, however. Unless you spec out the
exact sizes and 'styles' of each tree/shrub you are looking for, you'll get
whatever they have (for example, if you went with my suggestion on the
Prunus, and didn't spec 'own rootstock', you'd most likely get a standard.)

That's a really good idea. I have generally called in my requests or
gone in person during a weekday. I don't particularly care for Betty's
staff - the ones manning the store are fine, but the ones outside don't
know what they're talking about. I've never been able to get decent
recommendations out of them. For that matter, I haven't been able to
get anyone to even spend a little bit of time with me, talking about
their stock.

IIRC, you work for a nursery in this area, right? If you don't mind,
could you let me know where? Email is fine, if you don't want to put
the information out on usenet.

Suja