If the person who sent you seeds had open pollinated Magnus coneflowers they probably wouldn't come true. I guess open pollination is the chance we take when trading seeds. But then, sometimes commercial seeds don't always live up to their claims either. Which is why I have orange nastutiums instead of scarlet.

Foxgloves are a biennial, but that does not mean you won't get foliage. What will happen is this, year one you plant the seed, they grow, but just produce foliage. The foliage dies back over winter. Year two, the foliage comes back, and the plant puts up a stalk that blooms. Usually after that the foliage dies for good. Now in my area, my foxgloves that were first year last year, did not come back. This means they died over winter, could be for a number of reasons, but I expect that it was just to cold for them here. If you have dead looking roots still, my instinct says that the plant is gone. HTH Jenny P

Let the seeds ripen on the plant. We're still a ways away from that happening. I started collecting mine last year in late August. The goldfinches will let you know when they are ready. :) Then, wintersow them. 3" of dirt in a container with holes for drainage. Pat them into the soil. Cover with holes to allow for air and water entry. Wait til spring for new plants. Chances are they won't bloom the first year, so hopefully, your current plants will return. I just sowed seeds Janie sent me today. I should have plants large enough to overwinter by the first frost. They'll bloom next year.

I moved one last week when we were having a mini heat wave here in So.Ca. I did as shadyindylady (cute name) said and watered it well for a few days. Now it's on the regular watering schedule as the rest of the bed and doing just fine. I have another one to move, too. We are significantly cooler this week so I'm expecting it to not miss a beat. Are you in one of the cooler zones of the bay area? If so, I wouldn't worry about it. If you are more inland like Steven then I'd still move it and water it well until you see it looks like it did before the move. Make sure to get a good size root ball. Good luck! Remember, they are tough plants and grow natively in much tougher enviros than SF. : ) Diana