Hi Jessiann I personally.. have found Exotica to be a very rewarding plant to grow. I bought a bulb 3 years ago and the Narcissis Bulb Fly ate it! It had one offset and I grew it on for another year with no flowers and, this year the still small golf ball size offset produced two scapes both with just 2 flowers each but they were lovely. I had great success pollenating with my original bulb and the same luck with this offset. Exotica grows wonderful seedpods and the resulting seedling have so far been very vigirous. By all means add Exotica to your collection another year, you won't be sorry! And, not to mention the beauty of the flower..these flowers were a bit paler than the mother bulb but none the less beautiful... Donna

Mom, you might want to slip over to the Carolina forum, a subset of the Southern Gardening Forum. Very active and we have 2 subforums for Conversations as well as Exchanges. Zone 7/8 in Charlotte is on the southside close to SC and also in Union County near SC. The vinca referred to is the annual flowering type, not the groundcover with the pretty lilac colored blooms(spring). My best reseeders this year have been datura (highly toxic)and perennial ageratum that blooms the same time as my blackeyed susans. The BES are thugs,spreading wildly so they cover a good 6-10 square intersperced with the blueviolet frothy blooms of the ageratum and at the same height. Good for an English garden appearance but hard to keep inbounds in a less deep border. The verbena B. comes up everywhere and grows thinly about 3-4' tall/spindly. The goldfinches adore the seedheads and watching them do their gymnastics to hold on to the swaying plant while feeding is fun to watch. Gloriosa daisy is a very dependable reseeder. My first came down as seeds from Ct. in 1985 and have moved two more times. Excellent,long lasting cut flowers but they don't flower much beyond the first flush of blooms (now). In your shady/part shady areas you can have great luck with coleus. Get the biggest plant you can find(bushy) and take cuttings and put them in plastic cups of water. In two weeks you'll have them all rooted (just plain water) and ready to put in the soil. Are you somewhere where there are deer and/or rabbits? 'wonbyherwits' has great blogs and garden photos on how she deals with the critters and a spectacular landscape.

These are propagated by cuttings taken in summer when new shoots end terminal growth and the terminal leaf has attained full size. Use only the long slender shoots. Use the entire shoot, cut the base off squarely, then make 1 or 2 shallow 1" long lengthwise cuts on the side of the bottom end of the of the cutting just barely touching the wood under the cambium I cut off 1/2 of the end of each leaf. Dip the cutting end in the strongest dosage suggested for rooting compound. (I use liquid). Provide bottom heat in sand and maintain either mist or high humidity. The process can take up to 90 days to get adequate roots. Pot up in fertile potting mix as soon as the roots attain good size and harden off slowly.

Wow, I'd urge you to remove the cover immediately. Rubber plant cuttings take off really nicely so long as you don't over-water them. I must have made over 30 cuttings from a few different plants (one in pot, two in ground) in the last couple of years, and all I do it take a cutting, remove the last leaf to make an open wound, let it dry overnight, and stick the thing in soil. I have never had one die on me or not take root. Don't remove the leaves--and rooting hormone is not necessary. I never even cut the leaves. That said, I plant, I water and then I basically don't water for about 20-30 days until it's bone dry. A couple of months of doing that and you're set to go. No need to even check for roots; you'll see new growth coming up assuming the season is right.