Hi Lena! These tropical hibiscus (hibisci?) don't grow as large as the hardy varieties, especially in my climate. but mine are off to a good start i must admit, this one is the smallest of the bunch, there are a few that were sown on the same day and they're twice it's size. i do have one i bought at the store which is getting huge, in spite of being told it wouldn't grow much because the dutch growers who sell them treat them with a growth retardant hormone... i think they missed mine for the dose lol i'd like the seedlings to get big, and the store one not to get any bigger, if that makes sense :) about the amount of substrate for adeniums, yes it does give them more stability and consistency of moisture, that is exactly what i was aiming for. low amount of nutrients and moisture but in a greater volume, it stimulates strong root systems for them, though it may not be the most ideal situation for root training. but i don't even think of root training in the first year so... I've found that measuring adeniums in age is less precise than measuring the growth spurts or phases they succesfully went through. for instance my seedlings sown in autumn didn't have a single true growth spurt with the cold winter as their first 6 months. it reduces their "adjusted" age as i like to call it by about a half. a seedling sown in early spring that goes through two or even three growth spurts in the warm season usually looks twice the age of a similar seedling that had a months of cold weather. if that makes any sense (second time :)) ). anyhow, here are a couple more pics with interesting developments from my herd :) this is a pair of twin seedlings (two embryos from the same seed). They are highly unique in leaf form and branch development in my collection. One is a slower grower than the other but otherwise they seem identical. They have poor caudex deveopment, but the overall plant form is very interesting to me and i'm willing to forgive the lack of chubiness :) this is what the larger one looks like now, notice there are bud clusters on every single branch tip. i can't wait to see the blooms,and later hope the smaller one will bloom to compare. two arabicum seedlings. i have a whole tray full of similar plants, loving how their form is developing. all of them are going into hibernation, thank god, so i can put them away and free more space on the windows. grafts. first one was incredibly hard to set up,the scion is a few mm in width and the rootstock is very young. seedling grafted onto rootstock notice how it is pushing out root nodes. i have no idea what to do with it. maybe try and airlayering setup and see if it will really send out roots to then detach it from the stock. two seedlings on one rootstock. i removed the stock bud you can see on the side, to keep all nutrients going to the scions. this plant looks pretty ugly now. i let it grow out because it will be trained in a cascade style in spring. pretty young plant, around a year old now.

Thanks all for responding: Erin, thanks for the great ID on the Senecio radicans, I'll get that labeled, kinda similar to the 'string of pearls' I guess you could say. I think they are cool too. Erin and Nancy, on #5 this Aloe develops differently than the usual Aloe Vera, I love the way it stacks on top of each other and the really sharp spikes. It was really left in the dark and not watered at HD, and I rescued it just in time. Nancy, would this be a kind of Aloe vera? there must be so many different kinds. Both of these are differnt from the Aloe vera that I already have. Even the 1st one has very thick fleshy leaves, slightly more than the common one and lighter in color and more white markings. Really great ID's PUGLVR on the Hoya DS -70 and the Hoya compacta. You are really right on about the Hoya DS-70, the website you provided shows the exact plant. I was really happy it was blooming. Do you have many Hoyas? I agree Penny with you on the curly leaves of the Hindu Rope, really neat, Thank You all for you time and information, have anything you'd like to share with me? Any of your Hoyas or Aloe's. Micki

Lykaon, What a beautiful yard you have...it makes me realize I should really spruce up my edges...mine is way more "rustic", so to speak. I say "YES" to your idea on future hosta beds, you have such an excellent backdrop there for beds. What are your flowering shrubs, Viburnum? Not sure on the Thunderbolt question, it doesn't look quite like mine that I can remember (I lost mine.)....I think mine were more blue, but someone else may have a better thought. Thank you for sharing! Your beds are beautiful! I finally bought Regal Splendor last year after having it on the wishlist year after year...can't wait to see it furl out now! (Eyes are only just now popping up this week here.)

Looks like your plants are doing well. Did you make your labels? I sometimes cut up plastic containers and lids into label shapes. Yours look similar :)