The package says 60 days but the website says 30 days. I also Googled it and got varying answers. I would think 30 days is enough. I mean, they're native to this region. I looked it up on the Florida Plant Atlas and they're native to my county and there is no way we have 60 days where it gets down to 40 degrees. I would believe 30 days, though. I might get lazy and leave them in there a little longer, anyway. I still have some clearing to do.
I may know a lot about butterflies, but I admit I have a gardening weakness and that is planning. I am terrible at planning where to put things. I've gotten better through trial and error. I mean, I'm good about knowing sun or shade or what kind of soil. I just severely underestimate how big some things get. Or how they will spread. And my unwillingness to cull plants even if it's for their own good is a problem, too. But that's why I have Dad! He has no qualms about cutting things. I've been putting him on hold for a while because I can't have him pruning things until the last frost date (Feb 15, here). With my luck, he'd cut something, we'd get a frost, and I'd lose the whole plant. He had hand surgery two weeks ago so he's kind of down for the count, anyway.
I'm also constantly fighting my brother because he mows the yard and my plants "get in his way". Like right now my Sennas are totally weighed down by seeds and they're one plant I need to thin because one plant is now seven or so. But I don't want to touch them until next month. Plus, I have to check for caterpillars before I tear anything out.
My brother already killed my dad's Canary Island Date Palm. On the one hand, it did need to be trimmed because the lower limbs were blocking our view of the street so we couldn't back out. But he trimmed too many branches, it couldn't support itself, and now we have to pull a dead tree. In good news, Dad and I are brainstorming what to plant there. I'm leaning toward something native that works as a host plant, of course. But seriously, our driveway creates this little half-circle of land out front. We had the Date Palm and since my brother kept complaining about the spines when he had to mow the grass, I asked Dad why don't we pull the grass, I'll plant bromeliads instead, and we'll make like a tropical thing out front? So that's what we did. But because of the location between our driveway and the street and the fact that it's in full Florida sun, I have to think of something that can literally take the heat. Plus, the canopy has to be big enough to shade my bromeliads but not so big it hangs out in the street. I'm going to get the books out and make lists with pros and cons.
Right now, my best thought is Hercules' Club (host for the Giant ST) but I'd have to find one that's already pretty big and that could be hard.
