Well, thank you to the both of you for responding with such wonderful information and pointing out further sites for me to explore! I now am certain that I have a Vr. Splenriet who is producing two more pups in the center rosette. I was so excited about this that I went back to the store where I purchased this plant and bought another one who is producing three pups in the center cup. Fascinated by this but wonder how in the world to divide. You sure can not find much information on line about Vrieseas. I did find quite a bit of info. on aechmeas. I also ordered a book today that was recommended by the Hawaiin Bromelian Society for beginners. I am excited. I have a small green house attached to my house and I have collected orchids, Tillandisas and stag horn ferns for awhile but I am new to many of the other bromeliads other than Tillies. Paul I jumped over to your site-WOW-wonderful. I will spend some time tonight looking over your beautiful site. I love to read and research so if you have any good books to recomend or other sites to share, please let me know. I do not like to lose a plant so I really try to have all the info. I can on them. I live near Columbus, OH and I am fortunate to have a southern exposure sun room for my plants. I imagine like MI, we do not have a lot of sun shine in the winter. Before I had so many plants, I would more them around the room following the sun in the winter. Now I have too many to move but they do pretty good. We will see what happens this winter with all my new bromeliad purchases. I need to stop.....but just can not seem to say no...Thanks again to the both of you, Cat.

First plant is aloe Vera, not an agave... The plant in question looks like San Pedro, does it have roots?

All my hollyhocks are perennial. It's usually the oldest varieties that are biennial and even that isn't true if you're in a warmer zone. A lot of this has to do with the time it takes the plant to mature and in warmer zones this doesn't always happen at the same rate as other zones. Same goes for being annual. Yours may bloom the first year but turn out to be annual just because they may not survive the winter to come back again. But I doubt it. Hollyhocks are really tough plants and can grow in some of the harshest conditions. The only way you're going to know is to wait and see what happens. You can cut them back in the fall and they should be fine. If you leave them standing you will probably just lose what's there to the cold anyway. They may even disappear completely for you. I'm not sure so maybe someone in your zone can answer this question. Mine bloom the first year they sprout so I usually end up cutting them back to about 2 feet in July. Then in Sept. they are up again, not quite so tall but bushier and full of blooms. I actually like the smaller size and shape better than when they are tall as they are right now. After their fall bloom I just cut them back to about a foot and wait for next year's show. : ) I agree with deborah, the small bush one may be a malva. They are really pretty, too and don't have the flopping problem that some HH have. And your post isn't long! good luck and let us know how things turn out. : ) Diana

As joan754 says, it's a Northern Flicker, and it looks like the yellow-shafted eastern bird. The western birds are usually red-shafted. see AllAbout Bird's Northern Flicker page. Very pretty pic! Claire