I LOVE this rose, and here's why. Yes, it balls horribly...but if you cut those blooms, and bring them indoors, they open beautifully and last---no kidding--two weeks in a vase. It is absolutely stunning indoors. I planted Auguste about 6 years ago, in a mostly shady spot, and it grew through the plum tree next to it--about 15 feet tall. It made the plum tree look like a camellia! The canes were huge, and I had very little winter die-back, even in years when we had late frosts and extreme freeze thaw cycles. We're planning to move, so I transplanted this monster this summer. I don't know if it will survive the move, so I started searching for another A.R. to replace it, and only found one source. Just my luck that so many of you are getting rid of it! boo hoo! I tried taking cuttings and so far, none have made it. I cut very few of my other roses because they last so much longer on the bush, but this one lets me have flowers on the table without feeling guilty. As far as humidity goes, outdoors, the rose balled even in our dry summer- but didn't in the house,(which is at 42% humidity) so I can't explain the cause. I'll see if I can find some photos for you. cindi

I've grown Acalypha wilkesiana since I arived in Florida 25 years ago. They take full sun to 1/2 day shade. And yes, they can freeze back in tempatures that dip around 32 degrees. In south Florida, they can reach upwards of 15 foot. but here in St Pete, 6 foot is more like. I have several around my yard. My big red one - "Louisiana Red" stops traffic. The white one named "Java white" always gets an Wow! And don't forget about the chenille plant, it's in the same family, too. I think they're very easy to grow. If you can grow a hibiscus, you will not have any trouble growing one of these. Does anyone know the name of this one? http://community.webshots.com/photo/85749816/102335439FbLFIe Here is a link that might be useful: Louisana Red

Almost a year- cafe brown Silgranite color goes all the way through so scratches should not be a major problem. I would recommend the sink grid. I don't store mine in the sink but when I wash heavy pots(seldom as almost everything goes in the DW), I use it. I figure dropping a 10 lb pot on stone is not a good idea(or any sink material)

I live in NE Tampa about 4 miles south of the Pasco County line. I planted my Royal Poinciana 15 years ago when it was a twig a few feet tall. Only once had it bloomed in the past, in 2006 it had just a few flowers. Every winter I would wrap the trunk with bath towels as high as I could reach when a freeze was predicted. I think it was in 2010 when we had multiple freezes, sometimes 3 nights in a row in the mid 20's and one night down to 22 degrees! That year I lost the only two large trunks that split as Y, and had to cut it back to green wood at about 6 feet high. It was very discouraging, but now the tree has a spread of at least 40 feet and is at least 20 feet tall. Since the freeze in 2010, each winter during a freeze I would put six tiki torches under the canopy about 5 feet from the trunk. The torches would burn for 8 hours, so I would watch the thermometer and light them when it hit 32. My neighbors probably think I am crazy, as I would be out there at 2 in the morning lighting them and then getting up at sunrise to make sure they were still lit. Well, the efforts have paid off as you see from my pictures. Last year I was sure it would bloom but I made the mistake of fertilizing it very heavy in the spring. I didn't know that this would counteract any flower blooming. So this year, being the 2nd year in a row without a substantial freeze, I didn't fertilize and it has blooms in all areas of the tree, mostly on the southern side. I guess because that side gets the most sun throughout the year. I travel a lot and I think I may have the northernmost mature flowering poinciana on the west coast of Florida. The only other northernmost tree I have seen is off of I-275 at Sligh, with others near downtown Tampa. I was hoping for more flowers, there are at least 10 areas of flower buds, but I am ecstatic with the results. There were actually more buds but my lawn company fertilized the yard and we got a heavy rain a few days later, then I noticed several buds turned yellow and fell off. Oh well. I think as the tree gets bigger the better the chances that it will survive forever unless we would get a super devastating freeze. Regarding roots, they are raised up out of the ground at least two feet from the trunk. The tree is about 20 feet from my pool patio and house, hopefully that is enough distance to keep any root damage from occurring.