IF you have any more seeds to the MFV, I sure would appreciate some. Per the photos on the internet, they are a beautiful flower and attract many butterflies. charles....

Grant - Thanks for the link. I'm bookmarking it for now since I don't want to murder anything else in this heat. If I still can't find any here early this fall I'll take the plunge and order them then. Maybe even seeds... if I feel particularly brave. I've only grown really simple things from seeds... like grass, lol! Pagancat - Have you been peeking at my backyard? I've got the shadecloth draped over both the chairs and fence - it's working fairly well. They're wilty but hanging on. I think some of the problem is shock because I still have one in a pot that I put out there and it's actually doing a little bettter than the planted ones. *sigh* I took all five vines that they had at Rillito (in Tucson on La Cholla near Orange Grove). I think they only started with 16. I don't know if they're getting more or not but for months all I heard from various nurseries was that the suppliers didn't have them. I appreciate all your help, folks! Jen

I've got one of these in a planter growing on a trellis by the front door. I planted it last summer. It's grown pretty quickly, has been in constant bloom, and taken little care. Once in a while I cut off the dead flowers and give it a little help climbing in the trellis. I'd definitely plant it again, but it may be a completely different story if it were planted in the ground where it could get out of control. The frost in dec. did a little damage even though we covered it, so I'd think that would keep it in bounds. The butterflies love it!

I have a Mexican Flame Vine in a pot that I bring in for the winter. I don't think they are winter hardy in the DFW area. I wish they were, as mine doesn't bloom nearly enough under these conditions, but it does bloom for a while. Queen's Wreath is one of those borderline hardy/not hardy plants in the DFW area. I haven't grown Queen's Wreath at my house, because my trumpet vine won't let me - won't give up the space, but we have one at work. It's growing on a fence in full sun sort of out in the open. It's on a chain link fence near a corner of the property, that divides our property from an apartment complex, with a concrete wall perpendicular to the chain link part. There is grass on the apartment side of the fence, and a mulched herb garden on our side, with a concrete parking lot on the opposite side of the concrete wall. It's kind of hard to describe. The reason I'm boring you with all this is because I can't decide if it's a protected spot or not. It may be shielded from the wind by the apartments and that wall, but it's also very much in the open being on the chain link fence. Anyway, this Queen's Wreath has come back the last few years, and is spectacular in the late summer. I think it might be worth a try. It will die to the ground in the winter. Mexican Flame Vine and Queen's Wreath have very different looks. Both are good for nectaring insects, and the Queen's Wreath attracts hummers, too. Sally