Conifers are brittle, and I wonder whether that's an adaptation to heavy snowfall; better to have one branch break off than the whole tree damaged. They tend to be northern species, after all. I'm trying bamboo wigwams this year, same as for the sweet peas. I'm only planting a few Purple-Podded and Ne Plus Ultra, to try some and save the rest for seed. I planted them in pots yesterday, and found I had roughly twice as many seeds as it said on the packet, so I won't be too badly off.
