If you have clay or not really good draining soil, you may have problems with HC plants. I ordered from them once and received very nice plants that never really thrived for me and only one made it through winter and I really do love that one plant! My soil is clay that has been amended over several years but not enough for HC plants. HC delievered very good plants, most just aren't suited for my area. -Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have a really beautiful Sphaeralcea on it's third year.

When I tell someone the age of my plants, I always count from when I planted it no matter how old it may have been from the nursery. I'm sure the trees I've bought weren't in their first year when I bought them, but I call it their first year in the ground. As for whether the lupine will bloom, I bought two potted ones at a nice nursery near me. One of them bloomed that first year but the other one didn't. They were fairly small when I bought them. So based on my experience you have a 50/50 chance.

Prairiemoon, I decided not to make more comments on delphiniums. There will always be somebody new, who will drag it forward again anyway, so there is no sense in it. Second language??? English is actually my fourth language and I'm selftaught. Nevertheless it was assessed to be good enough to appoint me to be a global moderator on an US-based international forum in another branch. And let me tell you: although the Americans are in minority there, it is the most offended group of all (Australians runner-up). Nothing is too small to feel offended about,it seems like they love to feel offended. Nothing is too small to cause a stir. No opportunity is missed to feel offended, no matter how small, it's like they are fault finders or something.They try to find something that is not there. And then they use half an hour to tell each other what they actually meant and what they did not mean. Nobody else does it. The Dutch ones do not even have a word for sorry. So no, you are not right even on this account, either. And they remember being offended like elephants: til the day they die. As far as the Kevin's attack on me is concerned: it surprises me that you cannot see that it was totally unfounded and out of place. You seem to only notice "my sins". This post was edited by wieslaw59 on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 1:20

Grief, I HATE that whole dwarfing thing going on - bad enough that plants are selectively bred for innate height restriction but mucking about with gibberellin inhibitors to keep plants small (for a season) really infuriates me beyond reason. Why? The plants invariable retain large flowers on a stunted looking plant (the travesty campanula lactiflora 'pouffe' is one that makes me desire to crush it under my heels). I am always on the lookout for tall graceful perennials but will accept that people like little cushiony ones too (I like the little alpine pinks and armeria, androsace, aubretia, as much as anyone) but a plant such as platycodon is disusting as a squat little thing when, left to its own devices, it will gain a height of 70cm (2.5feet), swaying gently while still remaining utterly self-supporting - what could there be to not like about that?