Oh Jodi...quit that! LOL!!! I'm the craziest hippie gardener is the truth. Sometimes I wonder why am I doing all of these. 200 plus of pots of ammies WILL give you flowers almost all year round in this zone. Most of the ones in the group shot are just my ammies from last season coming back from their winter dormancy (not forced). Each variety has their own time table on when to bloom. Some bloom earlier, some later. Your collection will be doing the same next season if you let them go dormant this coming winter. For now, just keep on taking very good care of them as you are. Remember the "After Bloom Care"...What you provide them now will greatly affect their performance next season. I suggest you let them have what's best for them...sunlight. Blanca...Keep up the good work specially with the "little ones". Most probably they might not bloom again this season. It is their growing/leafing out season right now. here in my zone anyway. Provide them with all the caring they need for they will sleep early (specially the Sonatinis), earlier than the large flowered ones. Remember my email to you? Elizabeth...Pink Star is a darling. It only gives out 4 flowers/scape but as I mentioned, it can flower 3 times/year. I just got in some bulbs from RC and in fact had another Pink Star included in it. It is a "pretty in person" variety...lol! Striped Panther...What could I say? Intriguing??? Noid Sonatini shall be named "Vanessa" for now. That's until the Dutch growers register it. Such a beauty deserves a name. There were 3 bulbs of this that came in the first shipment. Raydio and Soultan got one each. I will try to start a thread on the Dutch sonatinis. Our bloomer for today, Aphrodite. After blooming last Fall before it was put to rest, still gives out 2 scapes with huge flowers as it wakes up this season. Very reliable double even if it's flower color is temperature sensitive. Just a reminder: How to have flowers, flowers and more flowers... Here is a link that might be useful: After Bloom Care

Jim, I agree, those are probably florida grown (or worse greenhouse grown). Actually the plants I have bought that grow outside in central florida seem to be pretty strong since some (especially after this winter) as seen temps in the 20s. I think the main difference between the palms growing up here and in places like northern gerogia is the duration of the cold here. The lowest temps here are pretty similar to georgia even the record lows, but the high temperatures are lower here. This year we only went down to 14F, but that was on 3 occassions and the duration of cold was unusally long. Usually only 1 or 2 days dont make it above freezing here every winter, but this winter there were like 3 or 4. I was just extremely surprised that my weak windmill palm survived and is growing healthy leaves, and my healthy needle palm died and only one tiny pup survived which hasnt really grown yet. My sabal minor also from Lowes was protected by the same means as my pindo palm (which off ebay and was from central florida) and my pindo had no damageat all, but my sabal minor had burnt leaf tips. My other windmill palm (this was also from central florida grown outdoors) was also protected the same way as my pindo and sabal minor and that also had no winter damage unlike the sabal minor. I think a needle palm that has been grown all its life in the cold would have absolutely no probelm here because it typically does not go below 5F-10F here, but one from a greehouse has no chance for the first few leaves. If I protected my needle palm, I have no doubt that it would still be here today and technically the pups are still alive so its not entirely dead. But Im sure once all my palms get a little older the ones rated for a zone 7 wont need any protection, but I plan on always giving my pindo and medditeranean fan palm protection since they are zone 8a palms at best. Good luck!

Sorry, but I think you are just going to have to live with it :-) Removed lower branches do not regrow. There has been some success in coppicing young (two year old) Chinese pistache, but a tree as mature as yours and with that large a trunk diameter (is that correct??) is not going to respond well. Coppicing will also promote a more multi-trunked, shrubby appearance rather than a true tree form. There is a possibility that grafting could work but again success that low in the tree will be limited - most grafting is done at some sort of apical growth points. Personally, I'd suggest some patience with the tree for the time being. 13' is still quite small for this tree and as it continues to grow and the canopy fills out, the limbing up you gardener did will have far less of a visual impact than you perceive it to have now. This species is often noted as having an 'ungainly' habit in its youth: "Has been referred as the ugly duckling that turns into a beautiful swan. A very nice landscape tree when mature."

Silvia, I really got snookered (weird word, right?) by some of the posts on the [Fragrant Plants forum[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/fragrant-plants-dsbr0-bd~t_29880). I thought Tea Olives and jasminum sambac 'Grand Duke Supreme' and 'Maid of Orleans' were going to be the be-all-end-all of scented plants in my yard. They are all three fine plants and smell nice if you get right up close, but the butterfly ginger runs circles around them. Meg, it's amazing how far the scent carries. And I didn't know it would grow well in a pot. Have you had it in a pot for a long time? And has done ok? Do you have to water daily? How much sun does it get? Bea, pinecone gingers are nice, too. I have a few and like the red color in the fall. The pink flowers in the background are pentas lanceolata, commonly known as tall pentas, butterfly pentas or heirloom pentas. Once established, they grow much taller than graffiti pentas and bloom profusely. A nice plant. Not cheap for a bedding plant - run around $4.99-$5.99 each right now and usually can only be found in nicer nurseries. Have never seen them in any of the big box stores. A little difficult to root from cuttings. I couldn't get any to root when I started them in any kind of mix so I now start them in water and pot them up when I get water roots. I get about 50% to root that way. I potted up two of four cuttings today. I let them grow in the pot for another 2-3 weeks until the roots get thicker and stronger and then I plant them out in the garden. They won't look like much of anything until next year. But I keep them going that way. Sort-of. Carol