I would guess that they are frozen solid now and never will flower or get any bigger! Sorry, just couldn't resist. Do they grow the several sets of leaves after you set them out, or does growth stop when you put them out? If it is after, does the growth occur at a reasonable pace or does it take the full summer to get that much growth? Do the leaves have a healthy green color and normal size or do they look stunted or have discoloration or marks/damage? How did you grow them indoors? Were they in plastic 4 or 6 packs? Were they in peat pellets wrapped in plastic netting? Cardboard pots? If the leaves look healthy, maybe a bit dark or stunted, then I would suspect something with the roots. It almost sounds like the roots may be bound in the soil they were seeded in and don't grow out into the rest of your bed, which would result in insufficient root area and continual drouthiness and stunting. Eggplant are closely related to tomatoes, so I would expect they are susceptible to the same root diseases as tomatoes, and if your tomatoes do fine, root disease or soil insects probably aren't the problem. Nutrients probably aren't the problem or the tomatoes and peppers wouldn't do well, either. Same goes for salt content of your soil, and if the compost was made from material treated with some kind of herbicide with residual, it would be expected to affect the tomatoes similarly, so that shouldn't be it. You might try growing a different variety from a local greenhouse and see if it behaves any differently, and plant them side by side to compare. Also plant a few extra plants next year and after the growth has stopped for a couple weeks, pull one up and examine the roots closely to see if you can find anything--root bound, discolored from disease, insect damage, etc. Also examine the undersides of the leaves closely and see if they may be getting a bad case of aphids or spider mites. Last, there could be the usual possibilities of being planted too close to other plants and getting crowded out, overgrown with weeds or something that way that is out competing them. I would doubt that you have enough weeds to be a problem, though. Good luck.

Did you have any weed & feed or pre-emergent herbicide products put on the lawn prior to your attempted seeding? Did you seed with KGB (Kentucky Blue Grass)? If yes to the former the grass will not grow (the herbicide is doing its job of preventing germination). if yes to the latter it may just about to sprout (KGB has a very long period between seeding and visible grass). Other than that I have no idea. Even on poor soil and not great watering practices you should be able to see a couple blades coming up. I don't really like the idea of mixing soil + seed before spreading for small areas since you will get different depths of seeding (too deep and it won't grow, too shallow and you run the risk of drying out if/when you miss a watering). Ideally you want the grass seed to be very close to the surface but still covered for water retention. I seed and then lightly topdress by hand with

Hi,some times,they do not bloom the 1st. year.Be patient. Margaret

Hi everybody. I guess I should have looked for help here a long time ago, but since I have yet to kill the tree living in my house there's always hope. First off, let me say that I am COMPLETELY IGNORANT about hibiscus. I do have halberd-leaf mallows in the yard, but they're native and don't ask me for anything. The trouble is this: I have a hibiscus that was given to me as a cutting when I was a sophomore in high school, and it has patiently suffered my ignorance for 20 years and is now a 6 foot tree. My lack of knowledge has only slighly improved since I learned just last year that it is a hibiscus schizopetalus after spotting one in a butterfly park down south. It did bloom nicely as a young plant but since then has maybe put out one or two blooms in the past 5 years. Other than keeping it looking a healthy shade of green I am sure I have been doing everything wrong. What do I need to do to coax this plant to bloom? Here's what I know about it: started from a cutting in 85 Transplanted only when it began to show signs of serious decline I live in southern Illinois--it gets put outside in the late spring and brought back in this time of year. We live in deep woods so full sun is a rare thing...good for ginseng, not for hibiscus! In winter it gets a sunny window when indoors. Our house is kept at around 70 during this time. Space is an issue so I was forced to dramatically prune it back every so many years. Currently in a pot approx 13-14 inch diam. Rarely fertilized except at transplant time and then lightly I spoke to a horticulturist at the butterfly park where I spotted this growing and was told never to prune after February. Not a single bud this season. This is almost like a part of the family now since it has made it this far. We decorate it for Christmas for Pete's sake. I just wonder what to do to get it to flower again.