SC - Help with roast duck

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

>Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 23:50:54 -0600
>From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>
>Subject: SC - Period plant sources
>
>Laurene writes:
>>You can buy the PLANTS through Raintree Nursery, in Washington.
>>http://www.raintreenursery.com/
>
>>They have several varieties of strawberry plants (they also sell a Medival
>>MEDLAR tree that I am anxious to purchase!) including the White Alpine
>>strawberry you all are talking about so much.  Their catalogs are very
>>informative and fun to read.  I'm sure you won't be dissapoint to order
>one!
>
>While I would very much like another medlar (I had a fruiting one at my
>old house), I am very hesitant to pat the kinds of prices commercial
>nurseries are charging (plus shipping).  Medlars, I understand, like
>pawpaws do not transplant as well as most ordinary fruit trees unless
>they are rather small.  What burns me is paying $24.99 for a bloody
>rooted twig! 

   I know...  I feel the same way.  I have found another nursery that has
considerably lower prices, and their catalogs are valid for TWO YEARS
running.  Another VERY informative catalog, that carries almost exclusively
imported varieties.  It is one of my favorite catalogs to read.  They have
a NEW web site.

http://www.exoticfruit.com/

In the catalog that I can find from them, grafted Paw Paws are $19 each, or
$10 for seedlings.  All Medlar varieties are $18 each.  They have 33
varieties of figs, ranging in price from $7 to $22, with most varieties in
the $15 range.  Shipping costs approximately 12% of your total order.  They
are located in Grants Pass, Oregon (just north of the CA border) if you
happen to live close enough to drive and save the shipping costs.  I live
about 6-7 hours from there, and don't know if I will ever get to see their
nursery.  This nursery carries an INCREDIBLE variety of edible plants,
trees and shrubs.  I'm sure you will not be disapointed by ordering a catalog.


 I do however have an alternative route to try.
>As a landscape architect, I have wholesale sources for seed of
>several expensive or hard to find species.  Would anyone on the
>list be interested in splitting pound lots of seeds for the following
>species?:
>Asimina triloba (pawpaw)   28.00/#
>Cornus mas     (Cornelian cherry)  12.00/#
>Crataegus monogyna (English hawthorn)   15.00/#  (rosehaw jelly)
>Crataegus laevigata    (English hawthorn)   18.00/#  (rosehaw jelly)
>Mespilus germanica  (Medlar)    21.00/#
>Pinus pinea  (Italian stone pine)  12.00/#   (pinenuts)
>Taxus baccata  (English yew)   28.00/#      (herb garden edging)
>
>Minimum order for me is $50.00 plus shipping and
>the prices are from the 1999 catalogue so they may
>be a little higher.  I find that growing from seed gives
>better plants that can be transplanted in quantity when
>small, resulting in a faster maturity than planting a larger
>nursery grown plant.  The larger ones often take 2 years
>so just to recover from shipping and transplant shock.
>This is  the way to get more plants very reasonably.
>Most of these are true to seed except medlars and cornels
>but all of the named varieties are mostly modern and
>very few in number.  I don't think there will be any adverse
>differences in non grafted seed -grown plants from
> any period types anyway.
>
>Akim
>"No glory comes without pain"

I have tried numerous times to grow a paw-paw from seed.  I actually
accomplished germination on 2 out of 15 seeds (that is a VERY poor
germination rate if you're cointing ratios!) and both of my seedlings died.
 These are TERRIBLY difficult plants to grow from seed.  I have reached the
point to where I am ready to just order the plant someone else has grown to
transplant size, just so I can get my PawPaw fruit!  I desparately want to
grow these!!!  You must have two different grafted varieties, or two
seedlings, for pollination.

I thought $18 for a Medlar was a pretty good price.  Shipping makes it more
expensive of course... but I don't know anywhere here in Portland that
sells them.

I do admire and encourage people to save and grow plants from seed.  I have
saved numerous seeds myself!  I have a whole box of them!  I haven't looked
at them in about a year, so I hope the moths haven't gotten to them and
ruined any of them.  Seed Exchanges are an excellent way to obtain exotic
seeds and be rid of any surplus seeds you don't want or need.  I found a
couple of Seed Exchange web sites a long time ago, I'm sure there must be
others.  $50 is a lot to pay for seeds you don't need or aren't going to
plant!!!!

I did a search on INFOSEEK and found a couple sites:
http://www.naturenode.com/seeds/seeds.html

http://nwgarden.com/exchange/secondhandintro.html

There were 555 hits with an average of about 1 useful link for every 10
displayed.  So there are BOUND to be more out there!
I suspect you can find the seeds you want simply by sharing some of the
seeds you already have with someone else!  Costs you only as much as the
postage for mailing your envelope.

- -Laurene