Yes Janet. Many perennials need vernalization to bloom. That means, once they germinate, they need a period of cold weather to set flower buds. It's a process that keeps them from being invasive, among other things. Most of what I posted in the first post should not bloom the first year, I believe. That's one reason I sowed so many annuals this year, expecting to wait a year. My best shastas were started from seed last spring. They flowered this year. All last year they were just green leaves sitting in the beds. I was so disappointed. But as you can see, it was worth the wait - over 4' tall and still growing. You can get a jump on perennials though. Sow them in the early fall instead of winter. Depending on your zone, whether or not you mulch, or otherwise protect them, they will probably bloom next spring. Neil, I'm disappointed with the castor beans too. I really thought they would be 10-12' in my zone by July. I'm thinking my tallest one might reach 8' this year and that's with lots of water and fertilizer, which I hate to do.

Andrew, Yes the neighbors moved as hell have no fury like a scored/pissed plumieholic. After the plumie tossing incident and report to the city about an illegal nursery, the neighbors decided they were going to build a patio structure. Well you better believe that she was watching and noticed there were no permits. Once the neighbor completed the patio maybe a week or 2 later, as to let them enjoy it so they would know what they were missing, she called the city and reported the illegal structure. You better believe the city came and knocked on his door. The neighbor got fined/cited and had to tear down the illegal structure. I believe that is when the neighbors had enough and put their house up for sale, supposedly it sold in a matter of weeks. The neighbor was a retired Highway Patrol officer or cop (cant remember). This was years ago and told her at the time she better watch her back, law enforcement can be worse than the criminals as they have the power. Even after they moved I was told she kept getting reported. I know though she stopped selling on Ebay and MPG, and only sells on her FB Page. Well I received a 911 call from my property manager today, she told me she was out in the front shaking out her front door mat when this guy random scary looking guy opened the gate and just walked on the property aka trespassing even though there are 2 very blatant signs that states "Private Property No Trespassing Or Soliciting, Plants are not for sale!!!!" The Prop Mgr said she informed him he was trespassing and he needed to leave. I was told she was very scared and he just ignored her and kept on looking, then he asked about the plumerias asking if cuttings were available. The prop mgr yelled at him again and said she was going to call the police, then he walked away to the sidewalk and kept staring at the plants. I was told she pulled her cell phone out to dial 911 and told him he was on Cam being recorded and pointed to the camera, then he went to his car and drove off. The prop Mgr was pissed at me stating if the plumies were not there people would not be trespassing and bothering her. So again is it the plumerias at fault or the rude, selfish idiots that do not give a s#i%. Here is the sign that is posted on the first panel of Wrought Iron at the beginning of the drive way: This is whats on the closed gate, there is a kingdom hall that trespasses all the time so I had to include them lol: Who much more clearer or ruder must the signs be? I am in the process of getting a new taller gate that only opens by key or combo. Because of someone being rude I had to rush down to the South Bay and call wrought Iron people and now spend money for a new gate all because someones too cheap to use their money to just buy plumies on their own. This post was edited by freak4plumeria on Tue, Jul 9, 13 at 20:30

AAAARRGGGHHH! I`ll wear me pirate hat matey soes ye can recognize me. Went to Emersons yesterday, he has ropes hanging from the ceiling to tie and haul the plumeria up. They cut the leaves off EVERY SINGLE plant! Haul up the big ones then pack in the smaller ones, shut the garage and don`t open it till spring. He said he loses some of the small ones every year if it gets to freezing as the garage is unheated. When he was working and in town year round he left them in the ground. He told me you do sacrifice by bare rooting them. Those grown in pots year round or the ground do much better because they don`t have to use all that energy to form new roots, plus you lose a lot of old roots when digging them up. Tally HO!

I'm originally from the Ft Worth area. I will agree that it looks bad right now, but we have a major warmup coming this week. Even Houston got down to 35. But because we're right on the ocean, and the island is only 3 miles wide, the 70 degree water kept us at 47 degrees for our low. Even though this cold front was really powerful, it cant cool the water that fast. It's another one of the reasons I will never leave the island.