On Jul 27, 5:14*am, Sean Houtman wrote:
Lester Welch wrote in news:232ea5b1-137f-499b-
:





Sean,...Thanks for your answer. *One out of three Rhus trilobata is
still showing signs of life - so maybe there is hope. *All three were
about 10 inch saplings when I received them. * Other NM plants
(because of my "roots" {pun intended}) I'm watching are a Pinus edulis
(pinion), a sapling which I planted ~ 10inches tall and is in its
second year and Curcurbita foetidissima (buffalo gourd, grown from
seeds) which is also in its second year. *The gourd is in a big pot
but hasn't bloomed yet. *Prickly pear cactus and yucca (variety of
species) are native in SC and are very common around my area.

I'm also interested - in retirement - in growing very rare native SC
plants - Echinacea laevigata (smooth purple cone flower) and Ribes
echinellum (spiny gooseberry).

Any thoughts about the chances of the gourd if it remains in the pot?
(20 inches diameter and 20 inches tall)

The buffalogourd may take several years to flower, they tend to grow
huge roots, and that little pot isn't going to handle what the plant is
going to try to grow. It might be ok though, but watch out for a tap-
root escaping from a drain hole. You do see a few buffalogourds growing
near water, so I expect that it will survive there. Remember that it is
dioecious, so with only one plant, you will never see gourds. You will
have either a male or a female plant.

Sean

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Sean,...Are you sure about "dioecious"?

According to

http://medplant.nmsu.edu/buffalo.shtm

"The flowers are monoecious (both sexes are found on the same plant),
which are pollinated by insects."

A check into the local botany "Bible" Radford, et.al., "Manual of the
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas" reveals that all 8 of the locally
viable species of Cucurbita to be monoecious.

Thanks for the advice,...maybe I'll try to transplant it.

In thinking about pinions and where they don't grow...what do you
think of the following hypothesis? Squirrels, I would think, would
find pinion extremely nutritious compared to other pine seeds and
hence select them out for consumption. In NM I don't remember many
squirrels. My hypothesis is that you won't find pinions in an area
where there is a significant population of squirrels.