Neelgrandma: Something truly life-altering happened to your peach tree over the winter. A tree that has not bloomed and leafed out by this date in NJ is dead, regardless of whether some of the twigs look green. Look very carefully around the base of your tree for something like borers, or injury from voles or other animals. If you seen nothing abnormal, then think real hard about what could have happened to place great stress on your tree over the winter. There has to be some explanation for this. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Bougie, There are plenty of places to get most of the ones you list above. Some you might find locally - check from spring until fall at local nurseries (especially the ones that carry begonias) and the big box stores - you never know if and when a shipment might come in with a few begonias. I've picked begonias up at Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. My local Ace Hardware was one of the best places I ever picked up begonias but they went out of business twice now (different owners). I cited several mail order places in another thread on this forum. My recent purchases were from Accents for Home and Garden, Taylor Greenhouses, and Logees. Prices vary but if only one vendor carries the plant you want then you can either pass it by or pay up. Most plants will be on the small side when buying mail order so treat your new plants like babies when you get them until they get some size on them. Come to a convention if you can manage. It is an expensive way to get plants when you add in transportation, lodging, meals, registration but it can be fun and you will have a ton of begonias to choose from at very reasonable prices (cheap prices really). This year's convention is at the end of this month and is in West Palm Beach, FL. It sounds like there will be over 100 different varieties to choose from plus one trip is to Palm Hammock Orchid Estates which is a regular smorgasbord for begonias.

Well, Now that you ask that question and I think about it, I haven't had much success getting several of the smaller flowers to grow many healthy green leaves let along bloom again! Now, don't go by me since I don't have all that many smaller flowered bulbs, just Emerald, Graffiti, Joker, Lemon Sorbet, Trentino, (which never bloomed) and Green Dragon to name a few off the top of my head. But, on the other hand, I have two Mistys that plumped up considerably this summer,as well as Lilystar, Amoretta and Neon Rose and the few cybisters that I had, (I bought a few more this season) other than Emerald, also plumped up considerably..so I guess it's too early to predict doom and gloom for these small flowered bulbs. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say on this matter..You may come away from this discussion with several smaller flowered bulbs that are good doers for most of us. I don't know whether Jewel is considered a small flowered varieties, but my bulb just about doubled in size. Donna

Thanks everyone! Very helpful! Melikeeatplanrs... maybe in SJ it was a mild winter, but as you know we have several micro climates here in the Bay Area. It wasn't a frost that ruined the blooms... all in the same week, right after it had bloomed... we had a weird blast of extremely high heat, then a weird last frost, the a wind storm with 65 mph gusts. The wind storm was crazy. It blew my super heavy pots across the yard. It blew my heavy metal spark arrester cage off my chimney and into my neighbors yard. It tore trees out of the ground. It wreaked total havoc all around here. I'm lucky just a few branches off my mature trees and not more damage. It had blooms, but I think that was the final straw for this young tree because after that storm it had none and it hasn't set anymore. :-( I will go ahead and prune it a little after spring and take care of it as usual, then look forward to the blooms next spring!