I will be thinking of you while I go help some friends clean up after a 43' crest on the river infront of their hose. I am living one town over from a FEMA disaster Zone. I think they have lost 6,000 bald cypresses on the Blanco River. some over 500 year old trees. Huge trees like toothpicks. Weather can be a heavy master.

Good to know about the mite magnets.

Robin, I hope your garden weathered the storm without too much damage. Have you ever found seeds on S. benthamiana? It looks like a nice plant.

Hi voodoobrew, (Of course I know who you are!) The storm was not nearly as bad as forecast, just a couple of broken stems. As for the rain......hardly any....and we need some...tired of watering!

Sorry.......benthamiana did not set seed here. But I acquired S. libanensis last year, truly stunning but it needs shade....also not setting seed but you should be able to get this from San Francisco BG or Cabrillo.

Hope all is well.........Robin.

Robin, S. benthamiana is a relative of S. gesneriflora in section Nobiles, with two disjunct populations. The smallest disjunct is in Mexico, with three, and the largest in the Brazilian highlands with eleven, according to Epling. A good number of them are as showy as gesneriflora.