Even though this is an older thread, I thought I'd comment on my experience with these plants, since it came back up. My Alocasia amazonica 'Polly' haven't been finicky for me. Mine have tolerated some neglect last year. Two of the bulbs went dormant through the winter, while the other two kept their leaves. Despite not getting watered as often as they should have. Now that spring is just around the corner, the two dormant bulbs are sending up leaves, while the the two active ones are shedding theirs. They may be going dormant, but I suspect it won't be for very long. I have since bought yet another one that my local garden center had just gotten in their latest shipment. I was planning on repotting my Alocasias anyways. So I'll be adding the newer plant in along with them into a larger pot. I absolutely love their interesting foliage. I haven't found them to be difficult to grow either. They have been very tolerant of my neglect. As for Anthuriums, they don't have any form of bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes. So they do not go dormant and continue actively growing throughout the year.

Ok, what is it with these plants - more often than not, I see a nice photo of a beautiful evergreen and it takes my breath away! I'm liking the looks of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'glauca pendula'. It doesn't look particularly blue in the photos I've seen. Any thoughts on how it will look next to this pyramidalis stuff? Gosh I would love to get rid of those (they don't take my breath away!). The textures seem like they could be too similar. Green arrow is probably a bit too narrow - but maybe it is just because I am seeing pictures of juvenile plants? I will definitely have some mini conifers in the area in front of the house. I have been known to leave the nursery with those cute little ones that fit great in a winter pot (but get quickly buried in a summer pot). Maybe someday my 6" dwarf hinoki nana lutea will be big enough to go in the garden... I saw a Picea Omorika "Riverside" a few weeks ago. It was a nice tree, but it looks like the spread is up to 15, which might be a bit much for me. A lady I was talking to at the nursery said she really likes the Vanderwolf Limber Pine. It was a very soft tree, 15-20 high x 8-10 wide the tag said. I've been looking for pictures of some of the cedrus deodar narrow forms - in particular, quiksilver was one I read about but haven't seen anywhere. What about cedrus atlantica's here in the PNW? Do they do ok? I see the weeping blue atlas cedar everywhere, but fastigiata looks interesting... So, I have to laugh about the "how to move a rhody" discussion. I have never been "gentle" to them when moving them. I stick that shovel in wherever I can get it through the roots and then lever them out and drag them across the yard by whatever means I can to a better spot. I started out moving them in the fall or spring, but have done a couple in the height of summer. I swear you can't kill those things here. One of them blew over in an ice/wind storm while I was out of town and was sideways for a couple weeks before being put back in the ground. It didn't even blink. I have to believe there are people in the PNW that consider them weeds they are so tough! And I love them for that!

Well, the nursery woman is partly right. The plants are grown under ideal conditions, and generally farther south, so they will be two to three weeks farther along when they are for sale than the same plant would be if it had wintered over here. The nursery I used to work at got their shrubs from North Carolina mostly. It sounds like you are supplying appropriate cultural conditions. It may take a couple of years for the plants to adjust to being transplanted and to their new environment. Also, are you in a part of the country that had drought problems last year? That can set plants back A LOT! We had a flowering almond for years, and it was covered in blooms for weeks every spring, until it succumbed to a severe drought several years back. I'm not a shrub expert, but I'm wondering about the fertilizer you are using. If it's high in nitrogen, you may be getting more leaves at the expense of flowers.

I thought my house was funky, but yours is even quirkier. I would not fight the funk- I would go with it. Instead of trying to make it look traditional, which won't work with that roofline, how about going modern/Frank Gehryesque? (Not that I know what that is.) Here are some outside of the box ideas: 1. Change the front siding to match the sides and attic (?) area. 2. Change the garage door- maybe to a modern barn door look with two doors. 3. Replace the attic windows with a series of identical clerestory windows from side to side, about eight of them. Big wide trim around them. 4. On the second floor, continue the window pattern that's over the garage all the way over (probably mean adding three or four more). Wide trim around all. 5. Metal or galvanized tin roof. 6. New door: single light french. 7. Depends on what rooms are on the first floor, but I'd put another two single light french doors, sliders, to the right of the front door. 8. Pergola from end to end of the house to define the first floor, with a solid (galvanized tin?)roof over the entry door or maybe all the way across. With a patio outside in front of the single-light slider. 9. Paint: charcoal gray with black trim, or dark purply-brown with plum trim. Or warm tan with white trim. Or...? Landscaping: tall spiky things. Good luck. I have had a heck of a time working around the bizarre add-ons on my house. Each part of the house still has different siding. So I am in the same boat- except that I have only one story to contend with, which makes it a little less daunting. In any case, it will not be cheap.