I think Coral Bean is a great plant to grow in your yard if you have the space. It is thorny, as you know, and can get pretty large so you don't want to cram it in too tight a space. It is a great plant for attracting hummingbirds when it blooms in the spring. As it matures it forms a really large, deep root, so it usually cannot be moved easily once planted in the ground for a year or two.

i planted morning glory seeds last year and they grew but never produced flowers. this leads me to believe that they are not morning glory's at all. I really am not sure. This year they came up as far away as twenty feet. The big ones are strong and when i pull the little ones up they seem to be connected together. also the roots are red. Are these morning glory's or something more sinister such as a weed?

Hi Sharon, That red zinnia is dahlia flowered, but if a California Giant, it is a bit off-type. Most California Giants have up-rolled "spoonish" petals, like this one.Your bushy single zinnia is an off-type Cut-and-Come-Again or an Oklahoma (which is an improved Cut-and-Come-Again from Benary). Since it is single, I would cull it, but if you like single zinnias, keep it. (A recent Burpee catalog featured a single strain of zinnias on its cover.) That purple zinnia could be a rather small-bloomed Purple Prince, or possibly an Oklahoma (which come in all basic zinnia colors). " I kind of wanted several to go to seed, but the wind has split some of the plants. Would it be better to cut the plant, or would they root where they touch the ground. I think I read that some zinnias will root where they touch the ground/ Does that mean others don't root when touching the ground. " All Zinnia elegans (Zinnia violacea) can root when a growing stem is touching the ground. For a wind damaged split plant, that is uncertain. I complain about our Kansas winds, but we don't have hurricanes here. So my zinnias haven't seen what real wind can be. Well, I guess we could have a tornado. That could compare to a hurricane. But so far my zinnia cages haven't been exposed to a tornado. And I am hoping that doesn't happen. " I also bought some Parks Whoppers for the fall. " I think that Parks Whoppers are re-named Benary's Giants. They are both good dahlia flowered zinnias, essentially the same as your first picture. I always recommend the addition of some Whirligigs for added genetic variety. I still like Burpeeana Giants as a cactus flowered variety. I am very interested in how your zinnias do in Florida. Your climate is so different from ours here in Kansas that you might as well be on a different planet. You have insects that we don't have, and other wildlife as well. You will want to become better at labeling your seeds and zinnia plantings. After all of these years you would think I would be a compulsive plant and seed labeller. Yet at no time have I been able to look over my zinnia garden and say to myself, "That was too much labeling." I have discovered that outdoor labels made with a black Sharpie pen all fade in the sun here. Ebony pencil has worked better, and my labels next year will all be done with Ebony pencil. Many years ago, in the "dinosaur days", I used to take a recently emptied seed packet and put a few pebbles in it to weight it down, and use that as a row label. After a couple of months here, that becomes just a little pile of pebbles with some paper residue in it. I recommend that you "up your game" with labeling. Next year I hope to achieve that state of "too much labeling". Keep us informed of your Florida zinnia adventure. ZM

A solid, reliable name you will never have unless the gift shop you got it from can recall from whom they got it and if in turn that nursery knows what they sent. There are simply far too many look alike hybrids out there. (Unless you obtained a species ... but that is highly unlikely from a gift shop.) As far as its care goes, it is a member of the Oncidium Alliance -- of that there is little doubt -- and its care will most likely fall under typical Oncidium care.