FALL IS THE TIME TO PLANT
BLUEBONNETS AND OTHER WILDFLOWERS

Is it really bluebonnet planting time in Texas? A yes or no answer to this question depends on the answers to 3 other questions: How, when and where do you plan to plant the bluebonnets?

In years past, wildflower enthusiasts purchased bluebonnet
seeds and cast them onto a planting site. These folks were gratified to have done something wonderful for the environment. They looked forward to the beauty the bluebonnets will surely bring in the spring. But, the birds would also get excited because bluebonnet seed is like caviar to birds!

Less romantic and more practical gardeners who want to be assured of successfully planting bluebonnets can eliminate this seed-caviar from the bird diet. Rather than casting seed to the wind, rake seed into the soil. Bluebonnet seed MUST HAVE soil-seed contact before it will grow.

If you are going to cast the seed in the wind and rake it in a bit, then plant now, and use regular, non-scarified seed. The seed will lie there until enough moisture and cool temperatures stimulate a small percentage of the seed to germinate. Germination may occur this year or next, depending upon environmental conditions.

If you want a more dependable technique and are willing to invest a few extra resources such as water and fertilizer, you can reliably produce a spectacular bluebonnet planting. First, you will use scarified seed. The seed coat of scarified seeds is penetrated by soaking the seeds in acid. Some left-wing, radical wildflower enthusiasts find this technique to be cruel and inhumane. Luckily, there is not a seed rights organization!

Scarified seed will germinate within 10 days after absorbing moisture. Bluebonnet seedlings need periodic water and nourishment as any other flower or vegetable seedling. Bluebonnets are plants too, though they are classified as wildflowers. The water and nourishment provided are critical during the early stages-- especially if hot, dry temperatures continue into late September and early October. Protection against pill bug (rolly-polly, sow bug) populations will also have to be provided in heavily infested areas. These hogs-of-the-insect-world consider bluebonnet seedlings a real delight.

Do bluebonnets need to be fertilized? This is such an elementary question I should not answer it! Yet, I hear it all the time from plant "experts" who say bluebonnets can take their own fertilizer from the air. Rhizobium bacteria on the roots take nitrogen from the air and give it to the bluebonnet plant. Maybe these little devils provide some fertilizer eventually, but if you want to grow a large bluebonnet plant with a spectacular bloom potential next spring, provide a little unnatural plant nourishment at the rate of 2 pounds of 19-5-9 (slow release fertilizer) per 100 square feet of planting area. Then watch these obese bluebonnets bloom next spring!

Bluebonnets must be planted in a well-drained location which receives at least 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight daily. Most bluebonnet planting failures are caused by planting them in the shade and too much water. Ideally, keep plants moist but never continuously wet. "Too wet" will equal dead!

Colors are the next decision. Bluebonnets are now available in both seed and transplants in the colors of blue and maroon. The bluebonnet transplant can be considered a minor miracle since all of the great "experts" of years past indicated that a transplant could not be produced without the presence of mycorrhiza (certain types of fungi). Use of mycorrhiza has not been perfected so bluebonnet transplant production should have been impossible. Three years and one-half million transplants later the bluebonnets have not seen the first mycorrhiza and obviously don't need those devils!

When planting the bluebonnet transplant, be careful not to bury it too deep. You will notice that all leaves of the plant arise from a central crown-like structure. The point of origin, i.e., the crown, of these leaves should not be buried. The edges of the peat pot container in which the bluebonnet transplant is sold should be covered with soil. Removal of the edges of the peat pot may facilitate proper planting depth without danger of covering the crown.

Another advantage of the availability of bluebonnet transplants is that it eliminates the problem of waiting until plants go to seed in June before removing them. Rather than suffering with the ugliness of a dying, dying plant which can last for as long as 40 days after bloom, you can remove the plant after bloom has occurred. Who cares about the plant forming seed! You will be able to buy transplants next fall and prepare the planting bed properly to grow the largest, most beautiful bluebonnet plants you have ever seen.

The main problem encountered by most patriotic planters of bluebonnets is the unattractiveness of the plant from now until they bloom in March. To solve this problem, plant them in alternating rows with companion plants to provide fall color. Pansies, ornamental kale or cabbage, or dianthus are ideal. Space rows and transplants 12 inches apart. These will be overgrown by the bluebonnets in March as they begin to expand. At that time the other flowering annuals should be removed to allow the bluebonnets to become dominant.

Regardless of how you plant, NOW is the time to begin a bluebonnet experience for next spring. Texans who don't have bluebonnets growing somewhere on the premises should be held in contempt!

For more information about growing bluebonnets, see:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/flowers/ bluebonnet/bluebonnetstory.html

For more information about growing wildflowers at this time of the year, see:

http://www.plantanswers.com/cutflower.htm

To see some beautiful bluebonnet and wildflower photos, see:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/bluebonnetgallery/index.htm

For information about the 'Texas Maroon' or 'Alamo Fire' bluebonnet, see:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/cemap/maroon/maroon.html

And who can find the sexist mistake on the A&M Parking Tag?!?!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR
THIRD WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2002

QUESTION: I have several older pecan trees, that frequently lose limbs, especially when they have nuts on them. Is there a reason that this happens, and can something be done about it?

ANSWER: The weight of the nuts can be so heavy that it can cause some of the limbs to break. Lack of water and care seems to cause the limbs to be more brittle. Finally, injured areas in the tree from the loss of a limb or varmints like squirrels can cause an area to become weak and then when the trees set a heavy crop, they can't hold the weight and break off. There's not really much you can do about it except try to maintain a healthy tree with water and fertilizer. Pruning the weak limbs would help as well.

QUESTION: I enjoyed the article on mistletoe on your site! Could you please tell me if there is anything that can be done to the plant to preserve it through the holidays after harvesting it for holiday use? I was told that it dries out and crumbles when simply harvested, and that the store mistletoe is different from what is on my trees. However, I'm from the northwest. What is the real story?

ANSWER: All mistletoe comes from the trees just as yours does. You could increase the "hang life" of mistletoe by dipping them in an anti-transpirant such as Cloud-Cover. This slows water loss from the plant tissue. You might also want to keep the base of the harvested mistletoe in water by attaching a small container (rose bud vase or lapel vase) before hanging.

QUESTION: I have a 22-year old pecan tree (I don't know the variety but it is a good one) that has a very good crop at least every other year. This year, the tree is loaded and the pecans are regular size but the meat has dried up. It is heart-breaking to see all of these pecans falling and not one is good. We tried watering our tree all summer but it apparently did no good. What should we have done? I also have a Choctaw tree that is about 12 years old. It has quite a good crop but is sprouting before the hulls open. This is the second year that it has done that. What would cause this?

ANSWER: In a super dry summer as we have just experienced it is very difficult to provide pecan trees with sufficient water when the trees are overloaded. I suspect what happened is that the trees set too many pecans for them to carry and fill out. Commercially we shake the trees in July to remove some of the crop so that the tree can fill out the remaining nuts. Next time the tree sets this many pecans, you need to pull off as many as you can reach. Thin the clusters down to one nut per cluster. Also water as you did this summer with at least 2 inches of water per week in August and September. Generally, we get a little rain in September which really helps the trees. However, this year we didn't get any. Finally, the sprouting of the nuts in the shuck is caused by stress-- either from not enough water, or too many nuts on the trees.

QUESTION: Our pecan tree is approximately 12 years old. This year the nut meat is spotted with dark brown/black spots. Some of the nut meat has been dry, other is fine, but spotted. What causes this?

ANSWER: The spots are caused by the feeding of stink bugs back when the nut was green. The very dry summer contributed to the dry meat of some of the kernels. Also, the dry weather is what caused the stink bugs to move to the pecan trees to feed. They are normally not a problem in pecan trees.

QUESTION: What is an "old-fashioned" petunia?

ANSWER: The Older the Better
by Greg Grant

From Argentina they got their start.
In Grandma's yard they played their part.
Were tossed aside for doubles and size.
Now yesterday's goat is today's prize.

Peek into most old Texas country gardens and you are likely to see swarms of scented petunias in shades of violet, pink, and white growing in anything from dish pans to crown tire planters. Everybody seems to have them, but nobody seems to remember planting them. It's not unheard of for them to thrive even after the garden is gone. What's the story?

This hybrid swarm represents the parents of our large-flowered, brightly colored modern petunias. Although these old fashioned petunias are rare in the nursery trade, they are still quite common in old gardens. A logical explanation would center on their beauty and fragrance. However, the most like answer is their tenacity. After all, they tend to come back whether
you want them or not. Though certainly not weedy, these old fashioned petunias are prolific reseeding annuals. Reseeding annuals return each year from self-sown seed, as opposed to perennials that return each year from a portion of the same plant.

The 2 parents of these old fashioned petunias are the white flowered Petunia axillaris and the violet flowered P. violacea (P. integrifolia). Both perennials are from South America. The larger, white petunia was introduced from Brazil in 1823, while the smaller violet petunia was introduced in 1831 from Argentina.

As has happened with many garden plants from roses to daffodils, modern breeding has given us beautiful plants to the exclusion of garden vigor. I personally don't have any problem with large flowers, double flowers, or unusual colors. However, I do have a problem with high maintenance and dead plants. Old fashioned petunias were discarded because their flowers weren't large enough and their color range wasn't acceptable. But during a typical Texas growing season, doesn't a living plant look better than no plant at all? Sounds a little like kicking Michael Jordan off the basketball team because he wasn't good at baseball!

Fortunately, these petunias are still with us. We certainly don't deserve them. After all, we threw them away and have belittled them in garden literature for almost a century now. But in Texas, beggars can't be choosy. In our climate, we don't have the luxury of throwing out living, prospering plants. Actually, petunias are cool season plants. How much cool weather does Texas receive? We need the toughest, most heat tolerant, persistent petunias horticulture has to offer. And lucky for us, we've had them all a long.

The 1998 Texas Superstar ™, 'VIP' Petunia was a selection of the wild P. violacea. It's unprecedented vigor certainly showed its uncultivated ancestry. After all, it grew up without the benefit of raised beds, irrigation, pesticides, etc*. The 'Laura Bush' Petunia, another Texas Superstar ™, is the result of a cross between the 'VIP' and the Old Fashioned Petunia. With its larger flowers and prolific reseeding capabilities, it may prove to be even more popular than 'VIP'. In addition, most of the recently introduced, vigorous petunias like 'Purple Wave', 'Tidal Wave', and 'Kahuna' have these wild petunias in their immediate lineage.

So, if in your future, you're looking to plant petunias, look no further than the past. Because in this case, the older the better.

Old Fashioned Petunia seed sources include:

The Fragrant Path
P.O. Box 328
Fort Calhoun, Nebraska 68023
Catalog $2

J. L. Hudson, Seedsman
Star Route 2, Box 337
LaHonda, California 94020
Catalog $1

Retail plant sources for Old Fashioned Petunias include:

The Antique Rose Emporium
9300 Lueckemeyer Rd..
Brenham, Texas 77833
1-800-441-0002

And, in San Antonio:
7561 Evans Rd.
San Antonio, Texas 78266
(210) 651-4565

King's Nursery
Hgwy.. 84
Tenaha, Texas 75974
1-888-944-5113

'Laura Bush' and 'VIP' are available in progressive retail nurseries and garden centers throughout the state, especially in the San Antonio, Austin, and Laredo areas.

Wholesale liner sources for 'VIP' and 'Laura Bush' Petunias include:

Southwest Perennials (214-670-0955)

McHutchison (888-308-8737)

Old Fashioned Petunias at a Glance

Lifecycle: Annual to short-lived perennial that thrives during the cooler temperatures of spring and fall.

Exposure: Full sun to part shade in a well drained soil.

Flowers: Medium-sized in shades of purple, pink, and white. Fragrant, especially at night.

Habit: Vigorous. Bushy and sprawling.

Water: Deep and infrequently.

Fertility: Heavy feeders.

Care: Shear once per month during the growing season and apply a light application of high nitrogen fertilizer.

Propagation: Seed or cuttings.

Greg Grant is a horticulturist and lecturer. He is co-author of The Southern Heirloom Garden. He's also in love with old-fashioned petunias!

QUESTION: I have found many sites and information on planting pecan trees from roots to small trees. Can you tell me how to plant pecan trees from pecans? My Dad wants to plant some pecan trees near a water tank he recently dug, so water shouldn't be a problem. The soil here is the black-rich "rock-hard when dry, gummy when wet" dirt. Will this be a problem, since we know most pecan trees around here are in sandy loam?

ANSWER: "Throw a few pecans in a hole and wait for them to come up"!!! However, there are a few major drawbacks to planting nuts in place. The varmints may dig up and destroy the nuts if planted now, it is hard to control weeds around such small trees, and it takes longer to produce a bearing-size tree. Still, if planted now, the nuts will be stratified this winter if it gets cold and wet, and then next spring when the temperatures warm up, the seeds will come right up.

If I was planting pecan trees today, I would buy either seedlings or non-grafted trees and graft them later, or I would buy 6 to 8-foot grafted trees. The $20 spent for a good tree is money well spent.

Trees in the soil you have described will be slower to develop, but in the long run, they should make nice trees.

Guidelines for planting are located at the following Plantanswers site:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/pecan/pecan.html

QUESTION: What is xylosma and is it a recommended plant for South Central Texas?

ANSWER: After looking at the recommended plants for South Central Texas, I find that xylosma IS listed.

The following information is from Sunset New Western Garden Book. Hardiness zones listed are not from the USDA, but instead their own west coast zones.

"XYLOSMA congestum (X. senticosum). Evergreen or deciduous shrub or small tree. Zones 8-24. Usually loose, graceful, spreading shrub 8-10 feet tall and as wide or wider. Height is easily controlled. Leaves are shiny, yellowish green, long-pointed oval in shape, clean and attractive. New growth bronzy. Flowers insignificant, rarely seen. Some plants are spiny. Left alone, plants develop angular main stem that takes its time zigzagging upward. Meanwhile side branches grow long and graceful, arching or drooping, sometimes lying on the ground. Easily trained as espalier. If shrub is staked and side growth pruned, can be made into 15-30 feet spreading tree. Variety 'Compacta' grows more slowly, reaches half the size of species. Adaptable to most soils; heat tolerant; Xylosma congestum established plants survive with little water but look better with adequate water, moderate feeding. Best growth in full sun or filtered shade. Spray as necessary to control occasional scale or red spider mites. Apply iron chelates or iron sulfate for chlorosis. One of the handsomest, easiest, and most versatile of the all-foliage, landscape structure plants. Unattractive appearance in nursery cans (especially in winter, when plants may be nearly bare of leaves) and slow start in ground may discourage the gardener. Plants actually are hardy to 10 degrees F., but may lose many (or all) leaves in sharp frosts. Plant normally sheds many old leaves in April when new growth begins. Frost at that time will kill new growth. Well-established plants usually evergreen except in coldest seasons, and new leaves come fast. Use as single or multi-trunk tree, arching shrub, ground or bank cover (prune out erect growth), espalier on wall or fence, clipped or uncapped hedge (twine long branches together to fill in gaps faster), container shrub in large (18 in. or more) container."

Find a picture at:

http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi06/mi06079.jpg

Another plant that you might want to consider as a sight and sound barrier is xylosma.

The University of Arizona web site discusses xylosma.

http://ag.arizona.edu/classes/lar520/unit10/xylocong.htm

There, you'll find this description:

Xylosma congestum

Evergreen -- hardy; sun, part shade; dry, drought resistant once established; fast to medium growing; Can be trained into a tree, grows to 8 feet in 5 years; grows to 20 feet high x 20 feet wide; good by patios and pools; trim to hedge; plant anytime (best in spring) from containers;
Inconspicuous spring flower (green); disease include: iron chlorosis in heavy or alkaline soils, and Texas root rot, spider mites, and scale. Foliage is glossy bright green; bark is gray; the plant must have well drained soil. It is a large foundation or patio plant used for wide screening outdoors. It requires medium maintenance; clip any time; takes pruning; spray for mites and scale; treat for iron chlorosis with iron; water deeply; and infrequently feed. Medium to large patio shrub used for all screening plants. Espalier, woodsy.

Here is a previously asked question that might also be helpful: I would like to plant an evergreen screening hedge between my yard and my neighbors yard. What plants would you recommend for this?

And here is the answer to that question: I would still include oleander but here are others for you to consider:

Burford holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii')
Compact xylosma (Xylosma congestum)
Silverberry (Elaeegnus pungens)
Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica)
Glossy abelia (Abelia grandiflora)
Primrose jasmine (Jasminum mesnyi)

QUESTION: I am a Texan and I know when bluebonnets bloom, so please forgive me if I sound as if I'm wishing (or whining!) Is it possible that I could have bluebonnets for my late June wedding in California?
Perhaps there is a late bloomer that grows in California?

ANSWER: I am not aware of any of the native California lupines blooming that late in the season. If you are willing to take a chance, try planting Texas bluebonnets in February and again in March for bloom in June. I am not sure if the timing will work, but our experience with bluebonnets in other places, including England, indicate that if the summer weather is not too hot, you can grow them as a summer blooming plant. A seed source would be Wildseed Farms, whose catalog is online at www.wildseedfarms.com.

--Wayne A. Mackay, Research Horticulturist at
the Dallas Texas A&M Research and Extension Center

QUESTION: We have several avocado trees (about 5 to 8 feet tall). They are about 2 years old. How many years does it take for them to produce?

ANSWER: It can take as long as 10 to 15 years for seedlings to produce, and then you are not sure what you are getting. They also get to be big trees. Detailed information is available at the following Plantanswers site:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/fruit/avocado2.html

QUESTION: Any idea where I can purchase "Butterfly Vine"?

ANSWER: You will need to look for nurseries that carry such heirloom plants. A couple include:

Carroll Gardens
444 East Main Street
P.O. Box 310
Westminster, Maryland 21158
800-638-6334

Kelly's Plant World
10266 East Princeton
Sanger, California 93657
202-292-3503

QUESTION: We did not dig up our canna lily bed last season and the bulb concentration is very heavy. The plants are 8 feet tall, green and healthy, and are still producing small blooms and seeds. Should the bulbs be dug while the plants are green or after the tops die? How should the bulbs be separated and stored? Will the seeds produce plants?

ANSWER: Check this PLANTanswers web site:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/PLANTanswers/flowers/canna.html

QUESTION: Do you know anything about the Paulownia Tree (Also called the "Princess" or "Empress" tree) of China?

ANSWER: Only from a story a fellow told about a trip to China. He writes:

Any farmer who can triple output in a mere 10 years deserves serious study - if not a medal. Yet millions of farmers in the People's Republic of China have done just that, and the rest of the world knows little of it.

They have done it using trees to alter the climate at ground level. And one particular tree must be given much of the credit - the Paulownia tree. Also called the "Princess" or "Empress" tree, Paulownia is a native of China. It has been cultivated by the Chinese for almost 3000 years, although in recent, difficult times, the techniques were "lost" and were rediscovered almost by accident.

If someone set out to design an agri-forestry tree, that is, one suited to use in double harness with livestock or cropping enterprises, something like the Paulownia would be the result. It is a multi-purpose tree that fits in perfectly with a farmer's needs. Its flowers produce honey and herbal medicines; its wood is light and strong for use in fine furniture, toys, plywood and packaging; and its leaves are more nutritious than lucerne when fed to livestock. Planting in a "net" the trees also slow the hot, drying winds of China that decimate the crops.

For these reasons the Paulownia tree is rather special in China, and is likely to become so in Australia and other countries. For what the Chinese have done is to show the rest of the world what can and should be done in climate control at crop and livestock level, where it really counts.

This is the clear message I received after spending four weeks in China in the company of Mr. Zhu Zhao-hua, China's leading scientist on the Paulownia tree. He showed me a mind-boggling change in Chinese Agriculture from tenuous survival on a wind-swept floodplain, to self-sufficiency and beyond as a result of well-organized tree shelter across the countryside.

One county (equivalent to a shire) under intense study by the Chinese Academy of Forestry gave them these results:

"A three times increase in food production. Where in 1974 the county produced 3112 kg. of food per hectare, the 'forest net' and intercropping' systems produced 9360 kg of food per hectare in 1984."

The farmer using the trees for crop shelter and livestock fodder harvested about 100,000 cubic meters of wood that they could sell for income. The bulk of it was Paulownia wood that fetched around $US100 a cubic meter when sold to Japanese buyers; and,

There was also a harvest of fuelwood for the cook fires of the country - some 50,000 tons of it a year.

The lessons in this for Australian farmers are clear. Improve the shelter for crops and livestock and massive increases in output can be achieved.

Not all counties in China report a three-fold increase in food output from their growing of Paulownia and other trees. But the increases are so important to the feeding of China's 1050 million people that the Chinese authorities have set a high priority on agri-forestry development.

China currently has some 20 million hectares of farmland under agri -forestry· development. It is the world+s largest agri -forestry project, and it has been put in place, without fanfare, over the last 15 years. Indeed, so little reportage of the development has occurred that many authorities still find it difficult to comprehend.

But bee-keepers around the world certainly have felt the consequences. As the Paulownia tree has been planted more widely in China's agri - forestry, so there has been a big upswing in the honey produced from the nectar of Paulownias most attractive flowers.

In the early 1980's China began exporting the honey, and it caught the world honey trade completely by surprise.

The tree cover on the Chinese flood plains has, over the last 10 years, been increased from an estimated 2 per cent to a measured 10.7 per cent.

Paulownia and poplar trees have been formed into a protective network, the -forest net,+ that now covers 3.2 million hectares of much more productive farmland . So far the Chinese have planted 45.7 per cent of the flood plains of the Yellow and Yangtse Rivers to the -forest net+ system. When viewed from air it looks like a vast fishnet over the land, protecting it from wind - especially the hot, dry winds of summer, that can decimate agricultural crops.

Then there is the intercropping system of agri - forestry, in which closer rows of trees have vine crops growing at head level, and then vegetable crops at foot level. In this the shelter effect is at its best.

China's intercropping style of agri - forestry now covers 940,000 hectares or 57.7 per cent of the floodplain area suited to it.

As a result of both techniques of farm tree growing the Chinese authorities estimate that their flood plains have had an overall increase in food output of 30 per cent over the last 10 years.

It has been a turnaround from famine to plenty in some areas. It is also giving rise to a new cash crop - wood.

Besides that there has been a change in the living conditions for people. The shelter of the trees across big areas means that it's now much more pleasant to be a peasant in China.

Some 800 million people work in farming in China and, up until relatively recent times, their living has been hard.

Paulownia and poplar trees growing is now helping them to of well beyond agricultural crops and into a wider range of livestock enterprises. Among these are the raising of more goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, rabbits, poultry and fish - all of which can be fed leaf fodder either directly or indirectly (as worms that feed on the leaf fodder).

China has developed a wonderful integration of tree crops, agricultural crops, livestock and fish farming that is only just beginning to be thought about in Australia.

The microclimate effects of Paulownia agro-forestry are outstanding, although Chinese foresters ruefully admit to many early failures in the 1970's when they were still experimenting.

Now, however, the forest net technique reduces wind speed by 35%
at crop height, and increases humidity by 5 to 10% .

Maximum summer air temperature is only reduced to about one per cent, but ground evaporation is reduced by about 16%, and soil moisture increased 9%.

The Chinese thus regard agro-forestry as the best way to control their hot, dry wind that can decimate agricultural crop output. Such winds are capable of blowing six days a year, two years in every three. It takes only one or two days of such winds to reduce food crops yields 30 to 40%.

The winds are those with an air movement of above three meters a second, a temperature above 30 degrees Centigrade and a relative humidity of less than 30%.

Such summer winds are experienced in many parts of Australia. They dry out wheat crops, leaving grain -pinched and less valuable.

Now, however, they find that forest net agro-forestry cuts the effective hot, dry wind days to an average of 1.3 a year. Grain crops ripen with full heads, and average grain yields between the trees is about 15% higher.

Other counties I visited in four provinces in China reported similar results.

Indeed, in one country the forest net agro- forestry concept now meant that some 600,000 farmers were able to produce a handsome food surplus where 10 years before they faced an annual migration south to beg for food when their own supplies ran out. Other counties reported similar experiences.

Chinese forestry scientists are so encouraged by results of the last five years that they are now refining their agro-forestry techniques to further develop food production via livestock.

This is where Australia is expected to come in.

Australia's breeding sheep are wanted by China to upgrade and expand its existing flocks, some which have a wrinkly Merino look about them. Agricultural policy officials to whom I spoke in Beijing said China would continue to buy Merino rams from Australia, but was also interested in cattle purchases, for bonus beef and dairy expansion.

At present China has a livestock population estimated at 150 million head - most of which are sheep and goats. This is a little more than Australia's total sheep population and is a small number when the expanding needs of China's one billion-plus population are considered. Officials told me they were keen to develop livestock output using agro-forestry resources, especially tree fodder that was something of a bonus with their new development of the Paulownia tree.

China has now given Australia a gift of seven Paulownia species in 22 special selections suited to a wide range of conditions, from our tropical north to our cooler climates in Victoria and Tasmania. That golden gift is, I believe about to unlock a wondrous treasury of benefits for Australian farmers, just as it has done for their colleagues in China.

What is true for Australia is true for America. Since the publication of this article, China continues to make progress with their -forest net. Their Paulownia harvest continues to be purchased even before it is harvested. The Australians have begun some successful plantations for the Paulownia, and in America we too have begun to look seriously at the Paulownia tree and intercropping. Our lumber supplies are dwindling. Our farmland is becoming non-productive. The need for the tree and the technology intensify with each passing day.