Question
Hello Tom!  
I came across your discussion about growing ocotillo from seed in the KC area.  Did you have any success?  I'd like to try it in Lawrence if you did...

Answer
Hi Aileen,
Thanx for your question.  I have not tried the seeds yet.  Thanx for reminding me.  I got super busy after I received the seeds and I never had the chance to plant them.  I've done some research on ocotillo and I used to live in the SW many years ago and I've seen ocotillo growing in parts of Arizona and New Mexico that get very, very cold.  I do believe ocotillo would survive here if planted in a protected area that gets full sun.  I'll give you some out-of-zone plants I have growing.  Vitex agnus-castus also known as summer lilac amongst other names.  This plant is like a tree in Mississippi.  It grows like a large shrub for me.  Every year, it dies back to the ground and and in the late spring, it starts sending out new growth from the main limbs and has a beautiful spray of purple flowers in July.  There is a Magnolia grandiflora growing next to a bank in Kansas City, Kansas near 7th and Central Avenue.  The tree was planted against an east-facing wall and so it is somewhat protected from direct north wind.  It is only about 20 feet tall and has been there for years.  That's pretty good considering the M. grandiflora is native to the Gulf Coast and reaches heights of almost 100 feet down South.  If you've got some ocotillo seed go ahead and try it.  I'd love to hear about it.  In the meantime, I'm going to hunt my seeds down and try them myself.
Take care.
Tom