It depends on how much you are harvesting and what sort of weather is in the near future. As fluffy as they are when ripe they could really hold a lot of water on them, that could make drying without mold difficult...you would want a thin layer (1-2cones deep)with a moving air (fan) If you have a lot of them that turns into a tremendous amount of space, they will dry off faster with no chance of molding on the plant, then you can keep them a bit more piled while curing. But if they are already ripe/overripe and no decent weather in the near future....I can see the temptation to work with them wet as a last resort.

Mindy--Thank you so much for posting this. What a sad surprise! Fred McGourty used to write a lot for the garden magazines, especially Horticulture, back when they actually had substantive content. I believe his book is actually a collection of some of these articles. I learned so much from him. Dragged my husband on a pilgrimage to Hillside Nurseries once and bought some plants I still have. He and his wife were both there and could not have been nicer. It was a real thrill for a garden groupie like me! I have often wondered what happened to him. From being so prominent, he sort of dropped off the radar screen some years ago, tho I see his wife's name here and there. How sad he is gone. One of the best gardeners and garden writers of the second half of the 20c.

Your roses are still beautiful even when rain-drenched and I love the color of Bon Silene. I really like your abutilon and wish I had one. I hope your Pineapple Express decides to come down our way also (I'm assuming you're on the west coast).

Nancy, I am so impressed with what you have done but also know how much work it must be to maintain that set up. I love Hawaii - we have been 4 times in the past 4 years - we basically just discovered it. The plumeria are so awesome there - but it is their natural environment. I also am trying to grow them here in Eastern NC - but my conditions are a little better than where you are. We cannot plant them in the ground because we do have snow in the winter - and low temps - but not always. Still - impossible to predict from year to year. I keep them in the garage and have a small space heater when it gets below 36 degrees. Mine are only 2 years old - and they dropped their leaves over the winter when they were dormant. They are outside in the yard now and showing signs of growing. I really do admire your efforts and hope you see flowers soon! Denise