Hi Though i grow PL in pots none are on the house They are located in dappled light fern bed or in the shadehouse .I use two methods one enriched soil second in sand in standing water in a shady marsh garden, They invaribly flower in spring though have noted that a temp drop will often spur flowers. Don't know if that would help you or not ?? Since I use them as garden plants they experience down to frost over the year . Seems to me they flower more heavily from this, short of a hard freeze. that is fatal. lol gary

You're welcome Kate! I fell in love with a photo of a huge brugmansia "tree" when a friend of mine in Houston was writing a book on tropical plants in about 1994. He sent me some cuttings to start here in the Seattle area. I remember calling him just thrilled when I had roots. He told me the scraps he'd had left over from sending cuttings to me were thrown in the front garden behind shrubs and were already 6 feet tall -- without even being planted. Several of my friends own nurseries in this area and after hearing "brugmansia/brugmansia/brugmansia/blah blah blah," they started growing or ordering them. Now I can buy them every spring without going through the mail order ordeal. Sometimes they winter over, but they might not bloom until August when we finally get heat. Anyway, the love affair hasn't ended and I've spent a lot of time looking at them and observing the blooming process. That same friend moved to Florida (Fort Pierce), a little south of you and wrote a book on palms.

Garden, The common name for Spathiphyllum is Peace Lily..this is not an outdoor plant for z7..it's tropical. First, there's many varieties of Spaths, from mini's to big 5'. The most common are those of medium height, about 12-16". Spaths like to be a little potbound, so if you've repotted to large a pot, you'll have to wait unil roots fill the pot, then flowers will form..What size was growing pot, and if you repotted what size pot did you set in? A good balanced fertilizer will also help. Once a month is appropriate, but follow container directions. It's said Peace Lily's can live in shade, but I disagree..in order for it to flower, it needs bright light. You do not need to set in south or west window iin summer, a few feet away fill do..an east window is ideal. When you bought the plant was it in flower? If so, then there isn't any reason other than what I mentioned above why it shouldn't rebloom. Water soil well, but allow to dry out a bit..Top 3" should look and feel dry. Some ppl wait until leaves wilt a bit between waterings. Also, make sure soil is well-draining. not heavy..Good luck, Toni

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.