Phalaenopsis, a.k.a. moth orchid, is my downfall. Haven't tried any of the other forms except for epidendrum radicans (which thrives for me). If I want to enjoy a moth orchid, I've learned to buy an inexpensive one at the local flea market, enjoy it until the blooms are spent, and then donate it to the share table at the garden club.

Bea, I plant something once. If it doesn't do well, I don't plant it again. You know how I love my daturas, but they just don't do well here. It may be because when I moved in the soil was so poor, but that's never stopped them before (since they are technically WEEDS!). My triple yellow came up from the base this year, and I'm letting it grow, but TBH, I don't expect much from it. I'm always tempted to try again, but there are other things that are just so much easier.

I'm about to get rid of my butterfly weed, because it's always gangly and never bushy & pretty like it was when I had full sun. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff that just didn't thrive over the years, or was too labor intensive.

I always start out with this BRILLIANT plan for what I'm going to do with a place, and then find out it's impossible, and have to change it completely. Like here, I was going to grow veggies -- NOT! Not enough sun and everything I tried to grow did poorly, so now all I have is one Everglades tomato, one pepper I'm growing as an ornamental, sweet potatoes which never put out potatoes, but I eat the leaves and some tropical veggies, which seem to be the only things that do well here. I'm going to try growing some fruit trees that I know do well in FL, but if they don't do well here, they're gone too.

I usually give something I really, really like (like daturas) two seasons. If it doesn't grow well for two seasons, it's gone.

That's pretty much what I'm doing too. Actually I kept trying the daturas because that furst year in Florida they grew fabulously. But that's it. This is the last year. BTW do you still want seeds from the double purples?

oh, and I forgot one…Hamelia…i have two and they grow so so. Their problem is they die back to the ground around here and it's half way through the summer before they grow to look pretty. So I moved them to an edge of the property, watered them until established and now they're on their own.

This is why I have graduated to growing only Florida native plants.

Patty Bee, I have a few natives, but I just like to push the ticket to see how far into the tropical zone I can get. Right now, I'm planning on planting a lot of Coral Bean plants for my hummingbird. He absolutely loves the one I have, and is polinating it so it's putting out lots of seeds. I tend to like the smaller natives, like blue-eyed grass, wild petunia, and wood sorrel. I've never been much into shrubbery, more into flowers.

Even at that, natives don't thrive everywhere, such as in places that have soil that is too rich. I like plants that thrive on neglect.

There are plenty of natives that only look good for a short period of time if even that.

I kind of like it when a near-hurricane season leaves me to "start again" with a big yard cleanup and ridding of plants that did not really want to grow there for me.

Irma, I'm the same way with freezes. I want everything to die back at least once a year so I can start over. Guess I'll have to move a little further north for that, to at least 8a.

I'm in zone 9a, and I've really scaled down this year! I'm into the natives for sustainability and wanted something that was going to thrive.

My hamelia patens grows beautifully here and is about 7 ft. tall and full of blooms.....never had a problem with them. Daturas are growing, but not too sure of what they will do later on. Will post pics once they decide to bloom.

Flowersoul. I really would like to have a firebush, but I have nowhere to put something that gets that large. My hummingbirds would love it!

I am so inconsistent, I pop in and out of the garden, I don't "do enough" to really care for my garden like I should.

So I tend to just buy and try whatever strikes my fancy.

This is the reason why I don't have a garden I can video and show off, I have do close up of a few chosen plants.

What he said makes total sense, i am just not good at being sensible! Lol

I'm trying to expand into more hardy things, mostly so I can still hoard plants now that my gh is too full in the winter lol. I started up with roses again so I can have more winter color and the cold doesnt bother them. Of course, most of the plants I really like, are the ones who need the greenhouse space. They would definitely be 20% or 0%-ers without winter protection. Im not going to want to keep up w moving plants when I get to retirement age so that tells me I need to be in a warmer winter area lol.

Flowersoul, nice to see you here!

Sultry me too. I have 5 very large plants that need GH protection for winter and we have to use our hand-wheel to move them. I think my plan is not replace them if they die Even though I love them.

Hi Bea, good to be here! :)

This is the first year I've bought so few plants that I can actually count them on two hands.....LOL

I have an annual bed that I usually plant, but this year made them all Fl. natives that should return next year. So, those are the few things I purchased this year.

I still want to buy anything that hits my fancy, but I find I give second thoughts to anything new.

Hey good thinking on the firebush for hummers, I have some coral vine they love but its growing up my neighbors pines and they stay so bloody high. I have been trying to find something low growing outside of my cardinal spear.

Flowersoul I too have a hamelia patens. Planted it two years ago. It can get as big as it wants but hasn't grown much yet. Advice?

Brad, I too discovered that veggies grow better without the direct mid-day sun after a tomato plant popped up in a shade spot and bore just fine. So I stretch a 40% shade cloth over my vegetable garden May-August.

Bea, no real advice for the hamelia patens except that it seems to grow slowly at first, then it seems to burst with growth and blooms. Be patient and give it time. One of mine is in full sun and the other only gets afternoon sun! We prune it back aggressively in early Spring and it comes back so full and beautiful.