Anne, When I was in school for Horticulture, one of the things the professors hammered away at is that plants know best how they should grow. They don't need any 'help' from us. They will only do what is best for their survival. If they do not have enough energy for flowering and leaf growth, they will not flower. Foliage growth always comes before flower growth in plants as they cannot live without foliage while they can survive without flowers. There really is no need to worry about leaf growth suffering because of flowering. Sometimes, when a plant is in extreme distress, they will flower as a last resort to produce off-spring but this is not what's happening here. Many plants are manipulated for shows with dis-budding but these plants will invariably decline after a certain period of time. If you have ever been to any shows, you will notice that many growers will not take their show plants home. There are other reasons for this but one of these is that the plant will not continue to thrive. I take this hands-off approach with all of my plants and it has worked quite well for me! Linda

Kim, there isn't really even one good word for sunset, and I think "napo'o 'ana o ka la" is a bit of a mouthful for most people. Besides, they're more pink and purple than red or orange. Shiigi did a cross called 'Hawaiian Sunset', which is the other half of that really red one I made with the Arden cross. I was thinking about these today and I decided that if the brown one is 'Kona Coffee', then the red one should be 'Hawaiian Punch' (even though we don't really call it that here, just "fruit punch", but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it). I want to name a really good one after my husband too, but not one that's part of a series. He's already got my best Cryptanthus, but I'd still like to do one of each of the other genera too. I have a couple of really nice Neos that need a name, but he vetoed them as "too pink". Gotta find something a little more macho I guess. I've got that last batch all numbered and I keep thinking about just using the Hawaiian numbers as names. There is kind of a unity there since 1 through 9 all start with "E". Somehow I had it in my head that Shiigi had already used one or two of them, but I can't find any record of it, so maybe I'll email him and ask if those are up for grabs. He likes it when I give things Hawaiian names anyway because it helps establish our identity in the plant world. Only thing is they tend to get mangled by mainlanders, but I don't let that stop me! ;-) As far as "getting on the list"-- well, these guys are about 6 years old now and some of them still haven't even pupped yet, although the ones that have will allow me to put the screwdriver into at least one of their number without panicking too much. I don't release the good stuff until I've got a small population built up, and Michael Kiehl and David Shiigi have both expressed a desire for these, so they are #1 and #2 on the list. So...... I estimate maybe another 5-10 years before Michael will have some to sell, but that's not really that long in dog years! In the meantime, see if you can track down some of David's crosses, he's way ahead of me. Where did you get yours, diggety? Kim and gonzer can take a drive over to John Arden's. Talk about a candy store!

Happy Mother's Day, Lucy... and all the moms out there! It was tempting, but no, I came home. As soon as I got home, I hit the ground running, editing the shows. I should be at the office now, but I'm just so tired. I also should be out cutting the grass, weeding, fertilizing, cleaning the pool... on and on. I have so much to get done, before going out of town again on Saturday. Just don't know how I will do it all. But I do peak in here, every so often. Hope everyone is doing well. I got some of the photos, from Ireland, into Photobucket, and will post them here soon. Bob

Hi Avedon. do not despair of Devoniensis. It supposedly takes eight (8!) years for them to bulk up inot large bushes, but they eventually do. And the blooms are indeed to die for. Maggie's blooms look like WS 2000, but WS 2000 likes to have these very long canes instead of the nice scrubby shape. Beautiful bush, and beautiful bloom coverage. Even my baby Maggie has that nice shape which I really like. Belindas Dream is a beauty! Another lovely southern rose. Yours is way ahead of mine this year. All the roses in the section with WS2000 at a year old. All in all I think Devonieies is my favorite of these gorgeous roses. The blooms are achingly beautiful. What a lovely rose! And who wouldn't love a Texas bluebonnet? kay And that beautiful soft apricot of Pearle D'ore is lovely. I also really love Lady Ann Kidwell.