B. - you got it right. wash your tuber, put it in a zip baggie with a barely moist vermiculite or sphagnum moss - and put it somewhere where it can get light, but not direct light - if it won't revive in 6 months - that's it. Just to be sure keep it for 6 more months and then chuck it. Since the rest of your treasured Sinningias speciosas have the same age tubers - restart them from a cutting - just in case - you will have a young plant to replace an oldie. The easiest way - is to take a tip cutting - old tubers usually produce more than one stem - you take one off and root it in a moist soil under the baggie. You can do it from a leaf as well. Irina

Belated Greetings...planted spring 06...has never bloomed Betty's Pick...planted fall 06 Blue Eyed Curls...planted fall 06 Bridgeton Ivy League...planted fall 06 Christmas Is....planted fall 06 Dena Marie...planted fall 06 Divinely Blessed...planted spring 06 Dreams of Heroes...bloomed last year, not this year Emmaus...second year, no blooms Emperor Butterfly...now growing in too much shade, apparently, plan to move it Etched Eyes...bloomed last year, not this year...clump looks fine Evelyn Kloeris....planted fall 06 Frilly Bliss...planted spring 06, hasn't bloomed for me Hint of Harmony...planted spring 06, hasn't bloomed for me Innocent Blush....bloomed last year, not this year (planted in 05) Jellyfish Jealousy...planted spring 06, hasn't bloomed for me Lace Cookies....planted spring 2006...hasn't ever bloomed; however, developed rust last year (first plant to show it)...and has had to recover from that...looks good now (fingers crossed) Lavender Crinkles...planted spring 06...hasn't ever bloomed for me Lillian's Sweet Thang...planted spring 06; bloomed last year...doesn't seem particularly happy here...maybe next year will be better Living in Luxury...planted spring 06...bloomed last year...not this year Marie Hooper Memorial...planted fall 06...no blooms Mildred Mitchell...planted spring 06...bloomed last year, not this year Missouri Memories...planted fall 06, barely hanging on this year Moon Over Monterey...planted spring 06, bloomed 06, not this year Nano Probe...planted 05, bloomed 06, not this year Olallie Keith...planted 06, bloomed weakly (new plant)...nothing this year...still hopeful as it is a late Orchid Blush...planted 05, bloomed last year, not this year Orion Sky...planted 05, bloomed last year, not this year Over Achiever....planted spring 06, bloomed last year, not this year Overall Winner...planted spring 05, bloomed last year, not this year...struggling Patsy Carpenter...planted spring 06, still hasn't bloomed Savannah Banana Split...planted 05, has never bloomed, don't think it likes it here Sheer Excitement...planted 06, no blooms Siloam Extra Special...planted 05, bloomed 06, no blooms this year Simply Glorious...planted 05, bloomed 06, no blooms this year Southern Made...planted fall 06, no blooms Spacecoast Extreme Fashion...planted 06, no blooms Spanish Wedding Gown...planted spring 06, teeny tiny fans...still tiny, never bloomed, about to give up on this one Spegiel...planted fall 06, no blooms Star Wishes...planted fall 06, no blooms Stargate Portal...planted fall 06, no blooms Stars Over Alabama...planted spring 06, bloomed 06, no blooms this year String Bikini...planted 06, no blooms Strung Out...planted 06, no blooms Swallowtail Kite...planted 06, very small, so not unexpected it didn't bloom Tuscawilla Snowdrift...planted spring 06, bloomed 06, no blooms this year Ultimate Perfection...planted 06, no blooms Uninhibited...planted 06, no blooms Vanilla Fluff...planted 03...growing in shade; moved it, but not soon enough, maybe next year Watchyl Purple Pinstripe...planted 04, another now in shade We Thank Thee...bought blooming in 06, no blooms this year Wedding Candy Truffle...planted fall 06, no blooms You and Eye...planted spring 06, bloomed 06, not this year Looks like a lot, but out of (at the time) 700+ daylilies, wasn't so many. In my case, I get about a 50% average of first year bloomers...and that includes fall plantings as well...For me, settling in can take a while (it appears), but I rarely fail to see bloom on established plants. I can usually point to a reason, e.g., too much shade, recovery, etc. So, for my garden, it appears, at least a year is necessary for "established" plants. And, too, there are plants that just don't appear to do well here...fortunately, those plants are in the minority. I would also say, in my garden, that first year blooms are not necessarily indicative of establishment. However, to the topic (as I think it is), I, too, saw a lot of bud drop in spring and reduced bloom on some. I'm thinking, in my case, lack of water was probably an issue along with heat. Looking at my spreadsheet, it appears, to me, that truly established plants (not in shade...lol) did pretty well, regardless. It's always disappointing when one doesn't bloom. When you've waitied a year to see it bloom and then it doesn't, well, it's hard to be cheery and say, "There's always next year". Seems pretty far away. However, I grow a lot of different things and there can be off years in all kinds of plants. I do think that lack of water and extreme heat have an effect, no doubt.

I'm in Tennessee and I just bought one at a local nursery. She had them outside in large 3 gallon containers. They are now getting buds. Here's a photo... I hope these bloom more reliably than the old fashioned hydrangeas. Maybe someone who has had one bloom 2 years in a row could tell us more...Please!

Depressing March. Magnolia Spring Snow never had more buds, but everything was zapped during two weeks of January weather in March. Earlier daffodils were zapped. Many tulip and later daffodils look stunted because they had already grown a lot in February, were three weeks ahead, and then got stunned with nights in the teens and some highs not above freezing. Daylily growth looks awful, but they will come out of it quickly. We will see what happens with a stretch of above-normal weather, forecast for next two weeks. The month reminds me of Housman's poem "Loveliest of Trees." "Loveliest of trees, the cherry now/ Is hung with bloom along its bough." In the second stanza, the speaker tells us his age: "Now of my three score years and ten,/ Twenty will not come again." And at the end, we learn that the trees are not only hung with bloom: "And since to look at things in bloom/ Fifty springs are little room,/ About the woodland I will go/ To see the cherry hung with snow." Well, we didn't have snow; zapped buds are not that picturesque. I read that about half of the cherry blossoms in Washington opened too early and turned brown. And alas, I will not have 50 more springs. What can one say? One bright spot: Tweety Bird, which started blooming in February, still looks good. This picture was taken on February 24, and today the blooms still were sturdy, had good form and had good color. (Not saying they look as fresh as this, of course.)