Nell, Great Post! Did you know that Vitex is an herb? It was anciently called the Chaste tree or Chasteberry tree. It was a well-known and popular herb used to treat "woman's complaints". Even today, it is used for increasing fertility and regulating menstrual cycles, and relieving PMS symptoms, such as headaches & mood swings. It's also good for pre-Menopausal and post Menopausal women. It works by acting upon the Pituitary gland, stimulating the production of hormones, both Progesterone and Estrogen. Rather than taking replacement therapy hormones, it stimulates your pituitary gland to signal your body to produce it's own hormones in the balance your body needs! It relieves hot flashes and regulates menstrual flow. Because of this, it can aid in conception, so is used for the treatment of infertility by Holistic practitioners. It's a great herb, as well as a beautiful Cottage shrub. I have a gazillion seeds I got in a trade from a sweet little gal in the Southwest, but just haven't gotten around to starting them. I didn't know that they grew that fast! It is on the recommendation list here in Oklahoma for Natural Habitat plants and trees. Like all herbs, it likes ample water, but good drainage. Don't plant it in wet, soggy areas. I had one at the back of my property in Louisiana where it was elevated from the rest of the property. It was huge and bore blue-violet flowers. I never did anything to it, but it bloomed every year. And just as several of you have stated, it was always right around the Fourth of July. How patriotic can you get! I didn't know they grew so easily from cuttings. Hmmmmm. There is a huge clump on an old abandoned homestead just up the highway about a mile from here. Maybe I can get a start going from that one. It is in bloom right now, just in time for Independence Day. ~Annie

Had the pleasure of a guest from this forum to my house today. Lycheeluva and I did an extensive walk thru the yard checking for new developments.....especially on the lychee front. It looks like the rest of the mangoes that have not bloomed, are almost all beginning to push their annual buds. Yes, even the miraculous Chou Anon is going to now bloom. There's no point in deliniating any further between the next to bloom. The late varieties such as Keitt, Neelum, Kent and even Valencia Pride haven't begun pushing bloom as of yet, but they will be shortly. I am also awaiting bloom on a couple of mango seedlings that I have never had fruit from. Mangoes survived the freeze very well here and we should have a very heavy crop (barring any more ridiculous Arctic oscillations). As trees set their crops I'll post pictures.

The humidity and the intense sun are just too much. I hear by the weekend we will have much cooler temps. Poor daylily foliage is looking like it is going dormant from lack of enough rain. I'm trying to get all the weeding done so when it does rain, the plants benefit instead of the weeds. Debra: The darn Houzz system just kept trying to load my first try to post. Perhaps too much traffic for their system. Nancy: Yes, I saw your post on my other thread. I have about 5 or 6 of Lori's intros. As you say, nothing fancy but I love the tall scapes and color variety. Mine are monsters already. Kay: I'm trying to decide mostly on which ones to move over to the garden wall area, backyard bed and which to let go. I won't add any daylilies this year till I get the beds reorganized. I am so grateful that you shared a couple of fans of your CLOWN PARADE. It has done really well here over the last couple of years. Many thanks. Sherry: I am bugging my husband about getting several trees planted in the fall. The maple tree we planted in our backyard 20 years ago, is dying. Problem started last year and is getting worse. I've notice others with similar issues in different parts of the area. Also a pine tree in the backyard got damaged with the snow/ice storm and we had to have it taken down in the spring.

Maryl - The main reason I bought Judy's Jewel was to cross with former Valentine Sweetheart. It's in the same color class, but larger. So the fact it doesn't multiply much and isn't very tall isn't important to me. It's a big fader too, where former VS holds its color much better. I'm trying to get a taller Val. Swhrt with a bloom size of 7 inches or more. I have some buds on JJ, but I don't know if they'll make it in this heat. I've also crossed it with Dancing Flamingo both seasons. Debra