Because I still get confused about whether it's a colocasia or an alocasia. I am new to this, so please be patient with the old girl! Is there any discerning characteristics that I could look for to determine if it is a C. or an A.? No, I'm afraid Thai Stick went by the wayside following my 60's and 70's years! LOL! Hmmmm. I will look for that particular verbascum. Does it come true from seed? You're right, the bombyciferus does not have impressive flowers, and they open, like, one at a time, so you never really get a "burst" of color. But, I did like the foliage, and it looked kind of majestic in my garden. But, I'm over that phase now. Just like I'm over gooseneck loosestrife - talk about a job digging that stuff out of my garden! I had to kill 2 or 3 plants in order to get the roots out. So, waiting to hear your comments on the C. vs. A....... Susan

*L* Sharon, if you can FIND the lawn amongst the dandelions, volunteer seedlings (I have a lot of fruit trees) and general chaos....you're a better man than I! ;0) You know, I have a neighbor across the street (we both have huge corner lots), and he mows the lawn every Saturday, 10 a.m., Moving from NW to SE in perfect rows. It looks like a carpet, not a lawn. I don't have anything agains lawns in general (unless you waste a lot of water on them), but really...we're firmly into the land of OCD, I think. Cheryl, I don't mind the plant (yet), but how the heck did it GET there? I don't think they're wild here in central Alberta (zone 3a), but maybe a passing bird makes a liar out of me? Hmmmm.... Still a pretty giant puff, though. And still marvellously whole through the use of that common bio-hazard, won't-move-in-a-wind-tunnel chemical: hairspray.

I'm sorry to say but one to every 500 hedge Thuja cultivars will make such a varieagation once and a while. 95% of the propagations will revert back to green. Making cuttings of grafts doesn't make difference, both ways are easy for a proffesional nurseryman. Never use a Platycladus understock for a Thuja cultivar. It will grow at first but after a while the grafting union will show complications and the graft will die. Use Thuja plicata seedlings understock, even liners of the Thuja (x) 'Green Giant' will do well for this job. Good luck and keep us informed!

I just bought three young foxglove plants for my garden on Long Island. As they have grown, I noticed that one looks normal, with separate stalks and buds forming along the length of them. The other two, however, have all the stalks fused together into one hard band. The flower buds look squashed and strange, am wondering what will happen if/when they bloom!