Re: Early germination, what to do?

> Interesting that they are hardy here. Is this test area in a sheltered area?

Nope.  Pretty much an open field by some corn.

> Or some microclimate environment? Have you gone over there to see if there
> are seedlings around the original plantings currently? Any chance you could
> talk to someone from there and inquire if the seedlings do appear yearly now
> and do make it the following spring...

No seedlings come up around there, although they mow regularly and there's 
not much bare soil.  The guy who trials these is a good friend of mine and 
he's been watching these grow since they were planted.

> Since it appears that most info on this is wrong- from germination to
> hardiness- I would keep a detailed journal of your experiences for future
> reference. 

Definitely.  :)

> Why not put some outside, just plunged, some in a protected environment
> outdoors (cold frame if you will), and some in the garage and house. Would
> be interesting to see the results. Personally, think they will make it right
> now outside or they will have to be indoors for the winter. Doubt they can
> start growing and get enough hardiness to them to put outdoors for the
> winter once the frigid weather begins....the root system will not be
> developed enough to take it here in zone 5. But I have been wrong before!

Well, right now I want to get enough growing well enough that I can 
redistribute the plants.  If these survive and are growing well I'll
spend more time experimenting.  It's also hard to move them around since
they're all in one flat.  :)

> I never seen one of these trees up here, but do remember them in the smoky
> mountains...maybe...could be confused.

Are you thinking of Paulownia tomentosa instead?  Those things seem to be
everywhere in the Smokies and they're having a tough time eradicating 
them.  The plants are marginally hardy here and are *not* flower bud
hardy, so there's really no point.  :(  He does have one out at his test
plots also, but it never blooms and is generally pretty unhappy.  

That's one thing that I want to consider with the nursery venture -- I
don't want to sell plants that can cause problems.  For example, I'm 
carring a true dwarf burning bush, but only because I've confirmed that
it's nearly seedless (on the order of a handful of seeds produced over
15 years watched).  I don't ever want to carry problem plants or sell
them to areas where they're a nuisance.

Chris (who's tired and rambling)

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