not growing it, but you got me interested in trying. seems like a fun experiment. my guess is that you will have to have or create an area of EXCELLENT drainage. did you see that gardenweb post from the person in lebanon? temperature lows may not be a problem, but moisture and low highs might.

but to summarize what i read on teh interwebs:

buy seeds from multiple sources. some seem to have low germination.

plant on a sunny rocky sandy hill in the spring.

I have one large plant (purchased), one new seedling, and more seeds just started. I plan on taking cuttings from the larger plant.

Mine are all container grown and I can place them under cover so they don't get too wet. I know there are growers in california (including commercial growers) although I know the sun intensity is much higher there. I can bring them inside during the winter (under lights) if necessary.

So far the large plant and seedling are doing well. They are pretty plants and well worth trying.

where did you buy your plant?

I bought mine from http://www.willowcreekgardens.com/ in California --- had to wait a couple months until they got it back in stock. Just checked and it doesn't look like they have any now.

If all the cuttings root when I take them, I'm open to a trade.

Last year or earlier there were flowering specimens in local garden centers. This year a friend found one around here somewhere, I think (he also orders things like this through the mail and tries them in his Seattle garden).

Has your friends capers survived outside?

He just bought it recently. If you have the 2007 Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK plant is in there, they zone it Sunset 8 - I would plant it against a sunny south wall if I were trying it.

Has anyone tried the idea of using nasturtium pods for pickling as "pseudo" capers?

I grow nasturtiums too. The purpose of growing capers is because it is an uncommon plant in this area - and the flowers are very nice. I'm also growing cinnamon, cloves, carob, cocoa, black pepper, cardamom, vanilla, macadamias, etc. (after all, al gore promised we would be in zone 10 by now :-D )

I'm not even especially fond of capers --- although I may like them more when I try them brined and packed in salt without vinegar (I don't like vinegar / sour products)

My caper bush is now 2/3 the size it was this morning (hopefully the cuttings will root quickly)

I saw capers growing wild when I was in Greece. Apparently they like gravel and a long, hot grownig season.

Have you considered growing Nasturtiums and pickeling the seeds while they are still green? A bit larger than capers, but quite similar in taste.