Lovely photo! Thanks for sharing! One of the things I love about Hippeastrum blooms is the impact they make! The flowers are so large and the colors so wonderful, that you can forgive the fact that they only bloom once a year, for a short period of time. You're lucky to have a scented Apple Blossom! Not all have scent, and not very many Hippeastrum varieties have a scent. Jewel is one that supposedly has a nice aroma, though I don't have one yet, so I've never smelled it. I would say that only a very few hybrids have a scent at all... among them, Jewel and Apple Blossom... scent is just not top on the priority list when breeding them, I guess. I'm glad you've come out "lurk" mode! Welcome, and do join us often! This is the slow season right now, so posts will be sporadic, but it will pick up considerably once fall rolls around!

I have two big old spruces in my front yard, with several hostas under them both, and I NEVER water. As a matter of fact, I deliberately planted a 1 eye Gold Standard division in the darkest, deepest corner, just to see if it'll cope on its own. Rabbit nibbles notwithstanding, it's growing just fine. Not fast, but definitely increasing year on year, and the colouring's fine. All the others are getting a little more light and probably a little more natural water - but more light means faster dessication, so it's probably all the same for the roots. I also have hostas under pines, maples, and cedars, and I NEVER water these either (my watering policy is to water herbaceous transplants for the first couple of weeks only, and trees or shrubs for the first season). I DO water those perennials that obviously wilt in the heat, like astilbes or primulas, but not hostas. This approach probably wouldn't fly south of the border, but up here in Canada hostas kept in even shade do just fine with what nature provides; "...water, water, water" would be a huge waste in our climate.

Hi LAura, I swear, you and I are always on the same page! You had mentioned wanting another CS...I want one as well. I still remember that post a while back comparing the size of the CS flowers with some other plumies. They were...AMAZING! It was great chatting with ya....glad we got the RIP list straightened out! Kind of reminds me of that whole "GOld Rubio" situation...LMAO!! I also would love another Jeannie Moragne. I was VERY impressed with it's flower color and.....THAT FRAGRANCE WAS AWESOME!!!! Oh...BTW....I can now confirm that my Sariah Curly Pink from Sonia is producing its first inflo!! I am so excited/thrilled by this, I cannot even explain! Just to have some nice blooms this time of year. I am going to have to do some researching of the older posts after I post this response. I do not remember if it is fragrant at all or not. Next year ought to be one heck of a year for me...at least I hope. I bought/recieved so many plumeria last year(thanks to you Laura, and to all the others who gifted or traded plumeria with me!) and because most were unrooted cuttings, I didn't see blooms. This year I am looking forward to J105, Elsie, and so many more...especially my V.R. that I bought from Jungle Jacks. You know you have to many plumeia when you cannot remember what the intitials stand for..LMAO! I know that the last initial is rose, I wanted to say Venetian Rose but that's not it. It was the pic I sent to you of Sonia's. The plumeria had these bright pinkish/red flowers and they were doubles. Well take care everyone and Kevin, sorry for going off topic with Laura! I can do that when I get too excited about my plumerias! Please keep your plumeria pics coming! Andrew

Very nice. Here is what I got going in my garage. It's not much but when it rains and is real cold outside my plumeria love this space. Plus it's good for my cutting I trying to root. As you can see my big rainbow cutting has just taken off in this space. You can't see it too well but there is a 12"x48" heat mat on top of my surfboard sock and it keep the bottoms nice and warm.