Hi, I have found that you can still stagger them a bit by keeping them in the dark and not planting them, but you really do have to keep an eye out for the 'more than the tip' of the bloom showing. If you delay too long, you chance the bud being deformed or aborting. When you see the thicker portion of the bud, you definitely do need to pot it up and give it some water. I have purchased some at discount at the end of the season. Some had deformed blooms, but to my surprise, many of those produced a second bloom. Some had not bloomed at all yet. Those were Minerva and Red Lion. HD had them for $1, so I bought lots. As you can tell by my zone, they grow in the gardens here, but despite a large collection, I still tend to bring most of them into an enclosed porch and patio area and enjoy the ones that decide to bloom during the winter months. I keep them outside as long as possible. Our first frost is often Thanksgiving week, and I'm scrambling to start bringing them inside. Some I cover with a blanket and do not bring in until later. As long as they are protected, the leaves do not totally melt (some are tinged). This tends to prolong the time until they bloom. By Christmas time, we usually have another hard frost/freeze and those that are indoor bound are inside for the rest of the winter. Most bloom inside, except for the Johnsonii which are in the garden. Johnsonii bloom after the last frost which is normally mid March or April 1. I think that you will find that the bloom time is not precise, so you most likely will get staggered blooms. Some blooms will last longer than others. Some will produce a second set of blooms. Good Luck and enjoy! I don't think I have 50 varieties, but I have many. Most are hybrids. Many are doubled. I have just started collecting diploids this past year and hope to purchase more this year.

Another update. Just to clarify: I do not surface-feed; I bury the food at 2 litre (+-2 quarts) ice-cream container sized locations. As mentioned earlier, I worked out that I needed to feed 42 (6x7) times before I got around to the first location again. It turns out that I sometimes have more food than 2 quarts, in which case I feed two (or even 3) locations at the same time. So last week the feeding "wrapped around". The food in spot 1,1 is completely gone except for the corn cobs. There are lots of cocoons, some (about 20) of which I moved to the side to see how they mature. I really would like to see and hopefully photograph a "birth". I also can't wait until all the cocoons have hatched so I can start processing my crass clippings. Some other critters that have taken up residence: 1) mites - are still around but not in huge numbers 2) spiders 3) a small caterpillar 4) a single ant The rat is definitely history. I left the bin open to dry it out a little and the next morning the newspaper on top was completely undisturbed. That's it for now. Alex

While I agree with others, that price/sf isn't always reliable, I think it gives you a starting point to decide whether it is worth moving forward paying for preliminary plans & bids. If the average price for new construction in your area is more than $150/SF, I wouldn't waste time or money having plans drawn up or getting bids if $470,000 is your max budget and you need 2800-3000 SF. A lot of builders charge for estimates because--if they do them right--it takes time and effort. I think it cost me $2500. While I think touring models in master-planned communities is good, I think you'll get more realistic prices for build-on-your-own-lot-construction if you visit places like America's Home Place or Schemaucher Home's model home centers. (I don't know if they have locations in Charleston, but similar builders.) You can get prices on several of their 3000 SF homes and calculate your own average. That is what I would use as a MINIMUM price/SF average. If that doesn't fit within your budget, don't bother with custom. Even if the other builder tells you it will be cheaper, you will get hit with extras throughout construction and the final price will go up, up, up! In my area, even though my builder said B&B siding was cheaper, I found brick to be cheaper once I factored in exterior paint for the siding. That is something my builder failed to mention when he was giving me $/SF of siding vs brick during the preliminary design phase.

The prices I mentioned that homes are selling for new construction is builders selling homes on select lots in private gated communities. So this has nothing to do with the appraised values nor selling price. It is the price the builder is selling the lot and home for . My lot is a gated horse community , all lots are 4 to 20 acres. Every home is very custom. Some of the lots that are available are bought by custom builders who build a home and sell the lot with the home. Also no finance involved so not sure what you mean by needing to bring extra money to table to close for a custom home.