Hi gamewarden5, Welcome to Garden Web and the plant Exchange! I thought you might like to know there is no email link on your member page, thus no way to email you. To set up your email link, just go to the bottom on any page here, and click on Member Pages Then click on Edit your Personal Information, Page, and Preferences You will then probably be asked to login in again. Then check the box Allow other users to send you email via forms at our site. That will place a link on your member page, making it handy for members (potential traders) to reach you in the future. While there editing, you might want to put your state abbreviation in the zone box along with your zone. Some members (myself included) don't reply to trade posts, if we are clueless where a member is located. It is a postage cost, days in transit, hardiness, thing that is often considered by 'seasoned' traders. Happy Gardening and trading. Sue

Thanks for the comments! Xica, it gets full bore full sun all day every day. Amazing. I water it two or three times a week in summer and then once every week to ten days in winter. It's done great for three years now. It DOES get pretty large. The little rosette is now a 3 foot tall shrub that's probably 4 or 5 feet across. I love it, although if I had known it would get as large as it is I would have tried a different spot for it, but as it is I'm leaving it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?? I agree it's fun to see what sort of new-ish plants we can grow here. I also agree that focusing on low water plants is best. In Southern California these plants thrive with very little irrigation, which is why I wanted to give it a try here. I've got a few fun Grevilleas growing and blooming too, another low-water staple from So Cal. Of course, for every success like this Pride of Madeira, I have three or four disasters that melt in summer, or winter, or never grow at all, LOL, but it's fun to experiment a bit, as long as the bulk of a garden is composed of work horse plants that love it here. Thanks to folks who looked at or commented on the pics. I'm going to harvest some seeds in the next week or so and see if I can get some seedlings. I'll try again in autumn too when it's easier to keep seedlings going outside. Take care all, Grant

Hi, FlowerLady. I looked them up and found they are both common California plants. I'm so glad to know what echium is...I saw it all over San Diego when I was visiting my daughter. It's gorgeous! It looked like some kind of lupine on steroids. I really don't know anything about growing these, but I do know that many California plants fail here due to our high humidity and rainy season. They are growing in very dry, arid conditions in San Diego, but would have to adjust to different conditions here. Some plants can do that, and others not so well. But I'm guessing since I've never really seen them here, that they might belong to the latter group. Anyone have any practical experience with these two gorgeous plants? I'm curious as to whether or not they would thrive here, too. Marcia

hi, I bought seeds recently from www.oztion.com.au It's a fairly new auction site but its free to list so is fast growing and friendly. There is a nursery on there called Burrendong gardens, very friendly, very cheap. They have all unusual type seeds. http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg111832252419.html?4 This is the actual site for their sale in 2 days of Echium candicans seeds � Pride of Madeira 20 seeds for $3 Another place I've seen them advertised is Diggers Gardens but everytime I tried to buy they were sold out. It has been a few years though Good luck.