Thanks to everyone who tried to help solve the AV mystery! Actually, Fred, it's my poor photography that makes it look like it's the wrong size pot for my AV... and while it may be a taller pot than required, it's got a nice reservoir at the bottom and a slot for bottom watering, which works out perfectly. If you could see the plant in person, you'd realize that the plant is not sitting center in the pot, thus making the shot I took seem like the plant is swimming in that pot! Thanks, though... every little bit of info helps. :-) The flowers on my AV are not a pink, but rather a violet with darker purple edges and tiny spot-like things on the petals. Exactly like the one Elaine posted, but more purple than pink. It's quite pretty, really. The leaves are a medium green. There are a couple of older leaves toward the bottom that are a bit yellowed, from age, I presume. I should cut them off. This is the first AV I've had that has actually bloomed for me beyond the blooms that it came from the store with! I've had a few others, but they never repeated the flowers that they came with. I'd get them home, and they'd drop every flower and bud, and just be green. Green's not bad, but I think they're known more for their beautiful blooms! Not sure what I'm doing different this time, but whatever it is, it's working. I keep it in an east window next to my amaryllis collection, feed it with dilute fish emulsion fertilizer, and water it from the bottom. I keep it rather moist, or I should say, I fill the pot's reservoir when it empties. I also remove the spent blooms and any leaves that die. I do have a question for all you AV Experts... when the central stem becomes leggy and tall, what do you do? I never have any luck starting new babies from leaves, so that's not an option to obtain a new plant. I'd like to keep the original plant, but I don't know how to cure it's too tall stem. How do you guys handle them when they get leggy?

The downside to limbing up and shearing most Chams. and Junipers is that over time you have created for yourself a butt ugly conifer. Along with that means getting out the shears twice a year to maintain appropriate shape. Looking at this one your looking at an all day shearing job unless you fall off the ladder. Hopefully not. Alternating the natural appearance of something to keep it around in an unnatural state is a waste of time. Cone headed conifers belong in the recyle/compost pile. .There are exceptions and Mike choose the right way to do it. This conifer,after a remake, has character and to the novice could pass as an untouched specimen. Sorry...been there and done that. Everyone I tried to improve on are long gone. Mother nature always has the best plan and first and foremost that means letting them grow in their natural state. Davesconifers

Have you weedkillered these already? They look rather distorted. The top one could be several things but the top growth seems to be atypical. The plant in the same picture top right is Phygelius. The bottom two show the same plant Centranthus ruber, aka Red Valerian, a self sower and basically a weed in the South West. This forum is very slow and if you need further ids the Name That Plant Forum is much livelier. All the best.

Because commonnand hybrid Bermudas share a name, people tend to think that they're basically the same. While a dissected blade is going to be very similar, the overall plant habit is very different. Hybrid is dense and low; Common grows tall and loose. Personally, as I like things tidy. I would not want the latter unless we were talking about for 40 acres on the farm and were going to mow it with the tractor. Then fine.