I was surprised that rudbeckia Goldsturm did not come back for me. This is one that people swear will take over the world, but I lost it. Well, actually, the weird thing is, I planted this literally 12 years ago or so. One of the first plants I ever planted. It grew and bloomed for about two years, then that was it. But, even now, 12 years later, I still get about two or three leaves that come up, but no buds or blooms and it hasn't spread in all those years. It's in an area slated to be redone, so I've never bothered with replanting, but I'm always amused by those two or three leaves. I've also lost a few hostas, which is really puzzling to me! And luckily, I did try - as a beginning gardener - I did try to plant chameleon plant (houttuynia - sp?) THREE times and all three times it died.... thank goodness! Now I know better and do a bit more research before planting, but I am really grateful for that failure! Dee

Dee, Sorry, I don't have Purple Dome, so I have no experience with it to know if it is normal for it to start blooming in July. It is a very pretty aster, do you enjoy it and does it perform for you? I don't repeat cut the mums, because it's just an extra thing to do that I don't need. I wait until the end of June and then cut them once. I found one mum in the back that I missed this morning and it was over 2 feet tall and had buds on the tips, but not close to opening, so I am safe to wait for end of June to trim them without fear they will bloom before I cut them. That might be different for the variety you have. I cut them back leaving the lower two sets of leaves. This year I had help cutting them back and trying to speed it up, I told them to take handfuls and cut them, rather than one stem at a time. When I came back to look at it, the entire middle of the plant had bare stems with no leaves. But now they are producing new leaves and are going to fill in just fine. Yes, that is Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea next to the orange mum. Unfortunately, it didn't make it through last winter and now I have a bare spot there that I haven't figured out what to do with yet. Too bad, I really liked that combination and would have added more.

That's so cool! I'm glad it survived for you. Palms are always full of surprises. I would never get rid of a palm that's green because if they stay green for that long then they must have some sort of life in it. I hope your mule palm takes off this year although I must admit considering it hasn't grown in almost 3 years, it looks really great! Keep us updated! -Alex

Chad: bismarcks, royals, spindles, foxtails, Christmas all do fine in metro Orlando. Even this year which was coldest since 1996, the neighboring rural areas dipped as low as 15f, Orlando recorded an official low of 30. Heat island does a lot here. I have several coconuts growing happily on my tree in my back yard. Granted Coconuts and bottle palms will need protection from frost here in inland Orlando, the species I mentioned above really grow worry free for those within the orlando heat island canopy here.