hi karyn; My double purple dat goes dormant, losing all its leaves and looks like a dead stem in winter. The first time I thought it was dead but didn't throw out the pot and was suprised to see it resprout from the stem base in the spring. Kind of like my hardy hibiscus. In fact they come back at exactly the same time together every year lol. I live in Lake Havasu City, AZ. It is on the calif /AZ border on the Colorado River. It is a desert climate for sure. But lots of water sports and such. Sorta a hot dry desert Oasis lol. Nice winters though, and pretty scenery. Lots of older folks come here to 'snowbird' (stay for the winter from colder areas). We also get a spring breaker crowd. In the summer it is too hot so they all got home lol (who could blame them). In Bullhead City (BHC),AZ that is north of us by Laughlin,NV they get up to 130's in the summer. I remember seeing a news report a long time ago when I lived in Phx about an 80 yr old man who would regularly go jogging in the 130 temps in BHC! Crazy lol!

This year IâÂÂm growing a SunPatiens Compact Lilac and 2 SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange, each in a pot. They have not liked being in direct noonday sunlight in Raleigh NC. WeâÂÂve had some really hot days. They demanded so much watering that I moved them to partial shade, with an hour or so direct morning sun. They have liked that much better, but they have not produced the bountiful blooms shown in the marketing pictures even though I have fed them lots of bloom booster fertilizer and gave them a really nice potting mix. For whatever reason, the Lilac grew faster and larger than the Electric Oranges. The Oranges are just now catching up in size. Tomorrow I plan to move the Lilac into deeper shade to see how it responds. I need some color in that spot so this will be a test to see whether I should consider planting Compact Sunpatiens there next year. IâÂÂm also planning to try Dragon Begonia in that area next year. Think I wonâÂÂt use the Lilac with the red Dragon Begonia. Anyone have suggestions for other Compact Sunpatiens colors I could use with the Dragon Begonia?

Karen, when you put your plants into the ground the roots will reach out to food sources. When plants are in containers the roots are limited to the side of the container and what is available in the container. Even though you fertilize the pot frequently, your fertilizer may lack the micronutrients your plants need. If you let a plumeria stay in a small container for a very long period of time the roots will grow in circles. Even when you transplant them to a larger container, if you don't comb down the roots they will continue to grow in a circle. It becomes a habit for the plant that is hard to break. I wanted to pick up on something that Bill said. If you leave your plants in the ground and it stays cold and wet for a prolonged period of time, you can loose plumerias just as easily as in a freeze. Wet, cold conditions promote rot. Older plants have a higher tolerance for wet conditions than younger plants. As an example of the roots seeking out their food source, I read on another forum that the owner of Florida Colors advocates using Dynamite Time Released Fertilizer because of its micronutrients content. He makes several holes at the side of the pot and drops the granules in. This promotes root growth as the roots work their way toward their food source.

The deer seem to like some of the plants from the Lily family. I'm growing several different Lily varieties, including the 8 foot bushy Breck's LilyTrees and found out that the Dial soap in the colorful socks seem to keep them away from my flower and veggies. The deer seem to pass up my area when passing through the evergreens and other trees behind my house. But, they visit my neighbors yards and wander through them and cross the streets via same, but, not mine... When I lived on a couple acres in a heavly treed area area beforehand and had a veggie garden 120 feet long by about 30 feet wide and had a 4 foot fence around same, they would jump the fence and visit my 20 foot long raised beds that were full of veggie crops. There, had raccons that gave me some competition and would even beat me to my corn when it was ready for picking and the like along with some other crops too... Now, in a senior citizens development and container gardening. This year, have 10 containers alongside the house/building that contain Lily flowers and a few veggies in the 30 to 50 gallon Rubber Maid type containers, both circular and oblong. Drilled holes in the bottom of the containers for drainage, and bars of Dial soap in the socks near all of them, and hanging off of the tomato cages etc. I like to use the Square Foot Garden method in the containers. THE PHOTO: Had just planted veggies last month in these 4 containers and have netting across same to keep the birds away from the newly planted herbs and veggie plants. Note the bar of soap hanging off of the waggon wheel. Added more of same to this area to keep the deer away... Have the Pink Flamingos "on Duty" in NJ... This post was edited by Oceanpeg on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 7:26