HI Everyone! Thanks for your help! :-) MIke! Hello Friend! :-) I spent all day yesterday looking for a post because I knew this plant had been discussed, but never found it. I was thinking I had posted it. Now I see why...lol! It was in your post. ;-) Thank you so much for the name! I hope your plant is doing well! Yes, I remember the bloom being very sweet! R~ I got the plant about this time last season, and true, the spots may have been there. It makes sense they may be more noticeable now that it's shrunk a little. Not to mention it's been tossed around with packing it away for winter, then dragging them all out. Some of the gravel spilled out. The rest of the plant does seem to be well, and strong, no soft spots. I normally do water sooner, actually most of my plants get dabs in the winter, due to us being so warm. But this winter/spring was a rough one, for alot of reasons, and my collection did not get the proper care. :-( This comming winter I will have a green house of some sort, so I wont' have to pile them all on the patio to protect from frost or freeze. I'm excited about the bud! Thank you! Norma! Hello! I did see the common name "Fuzzy Navel" which I find funny! :-) Also "Easter Lilly cactus" 22" is alot of rain! It takes us 2 years to see that much rain! I have kept my collection grouped and can just cover with plastic in the winter if it rains, but this season with the out of the norm. hard freeze I moved them all closer to the house and covered well. Unfortunately it took forever to get them back out, but they're on their way to getting back on track. ;-) Have a great day everyone! JoJo

A canna of some sort. Related but not a ginger (in the same plant order, zingiberacea with gingers, bananas, heliconia etc). There are a few species of Canna, and tons and tons of hybrids. Tim Chapman

Don't know if there are any "good" thistles. Most are non native weeds and will spread via seeds and rhizomes to cover your entire yard. Here is a link that might be useful: Thistles

Whether it's a weed or not is up to you, Jessica. There's nothing much else in that bed and a lot of empty space to fill so, personally, I'd live with the Silene and just do some judicious control. Obviously, if you have a huge plot which you can't monitor closely you may have other ideas.