Michele, Do NOT cut your older plants. You are correct that if you do, it will delay the process. They should certainly bloom next growing season if given enough sun (the more, the better)and adequate fertilizer (keep the phosphorus higher than the other numbers or at least higher than the nitrogen). Once a cutting is rooted, it will take anywhere from 1-3 years. Tony

Welcome! I'm sure you will find this forum a wealth of information plus lots of support for the build of a lifetime!!

Welcome Blondie and thank you so much for sharing with us! ((((Hugs)))) to you for what you have gone through and I wish you the best as you go forward on this project. Your building site looks gorgeous -- where is it (state)? Do you have a floor plan or finish sketches? We'll look forward to following your progress.

Hi, again. No, Kim, it's not near the lake. It's just NNW of Tahlequah. It's a single story, with lots of attic space, but no support or floor in the attic. Converting the attic is on our wish list. As y'all can probably tell, it needs a new roof, so when we get that done, we'll hopefully also be able to put in the structure needed to make the attic at least usable for storage, if not as an extra room. It was originally a farmhouse. It's mostly been in one family, which bought it several years after it was built. (I don't remember exactly when, though). The girl (She's a very young adult) we bought it from was the granddaughter of the woman that lived in it most of its "life." The granddaughter inherited the house from her grandmother, but clearly she didn't understand the work involved in taking care of a house, much less an old one in the country. That's why she was selling it. When we bought it 1 1/2 years ago, one of the front rooms was a living room, and the other a bedroom. The living room has a door that leads into a kitchen, and the kitchen has a door that leads into the second bedroom, which is extremely tiny - barely enough room in there for a twin bed, much less anything larger. Somewhere down the road, someone build a closet in or off that room. Out the back door of the kitchen used to be the back porch, but was enclosed several decades ago, maybe in the '50's or 60's, we're guessing. We tore down some drywall on the wall between the back porch room and the kitchen, to discover the original clapboards. We've timidly peeled back a little vinyl from one of the posts, but haven't seen exactly what's underneath, but there is a post there. Don't know if it's original or not. Thanks for all your comments. We can't wait till we can move there permanently! Sally