Yes. The first is no doubt Leucophylum, I have two of them 'cause they look a bit like Aussie natives and I've planted them in my Aussie natives gdn - although the flowers are not as conspicuous as yours. And, the second, definately an ivy but my experience with other than English ivy, is that the Canariensis variety is/was (only ever) varigated. But I'm sure there must be an (un)varigated form. Mind you, it is a bit rampent in this climate.

There is no way to tell you without complete info. First, most builders don't know plants. Second, if your irrigation company won't answer your questions you need to find a new company. Third, plants die. I don't know why but it seems atleast 10% of nursery sold plants just die, improper handling, etc. Another issue is that many plants must be planted at different depths to survive, and builders, and many landscapers, scary as it is, don't know this. Step one is find someone with references to take a look. Next, how many gallons per minute does your system flow? Most drip emitters yield 0.6 or 1.1 gphour. Actual sprinkler heads come in nozzle sizes of 0.5 gp minute to 10 gpm So 5 minutes may yield 2.5 gallons or 50 gallons. So how could we tell you a specific schedule? Next, what is your coverage? It should be uniform overlapping coverage. many builders space out the heads to save money and you wind up with dry spots. Also, every house is different, from soil mixture to contaminants, to plant types, layout, sun exposure, wind exposure, flow rates, spacing. and the big killer, since you rent, is animal urine possibly from the previous tenants pet. As far as different water needs per plant...If you have a drip aka micro-irrigation line, you can easily set the watering time based on gpm and plants most fragile in regards to frequency. Then, for the plants requiring larger amounts of water, add, or switch out the emitter to a higher flow one. Which would water like this...Once a week(drought tolerant yard with established plants) for one hour. Say you have 1 gallon per hour emitters. if placed properly each plant is getting one gallon, If you have 2 emitters near a plant it's getting 2 gallons, etc. Now, If you have sandy soil that water just goes straight into the ground. as an example, if i'm running and you throw a glass of water at me, i may catch a mouthful. If i sit at a table with that glass of water i can drink the whole thing. sorry for a bad analogy. I will also put the drip pipe in rows so that 1 emitter lines up on each side of the plant. this is important or half of the plant will brown out. spacing should be 1 foot with drip since a single emitter in avg conditions will spread 6 inches each way in a circle, hence 6 plus 6 is 1 foot, and they meet in the middle. additionally if the drip pipe emitters are spaced 1 foot apart on the actually pipe you will have 2 rows of 1 foot apart emitters, 1 foot from the other pipe, giving you a 1 foot wide path of irrigated soil as long as your rows. Ideally, with your plants smack in the middle. Find out the actual gallon needs for the plants. looking at the soil is pointless, except in placement of heads. you want to be just outside of the root to promote growth outward. You may check the soil and find it to be damp, but then an hour later because of climate the top inch or two evaporates from wind or heat. Then what you thought was a correct schedule is still leading to dead plants. Now, many drought tolerant plants are damn near impossible to kill, after all they live in the wild. But you have an established issue of dead plants. And yes less often, deeper waterings are better to prevent plants becoming dependent on constant waterings due to shallow roots. however some plants will always have shallow roots naturally, and need less water more often.(again factor in soil drainage rate) So, if you feel confident enough to find out what you have, what you need, and the smartest way to get there, then go for it. But if you take advice and try one thing at a time, maybe you will fix the problem on the first try, maybe you will spend money on 10 different suggestions and still kill your plants. I HIGHLY suggest finding an irrigation guy with recommendations, and if he sounds like he knows what he's doing, and you trust him to do it right, just have him fix it. saving a buck on a guy who doesn't speak english and kills plants isn't saving a buck. And make sure your landlord is reimbursing you for repairs before you waste your money on a rental. Additionally, Hunter makes a weather station based on your specific micro climate. it's about $600 retail and puts a value on every variable possible. you tell it the soil type, amount of wind, plant type and age, angle of slope of hills, amount of shade, etc. and it reads rainfall, temp, evaporation rates,and can calculate the amount of water on your plants vs. the amount needed. It knows that you got an inch of rain but 1/4 evaporated in the sunny spots and decide if more water is needed. It has wiltguard that knows if the temp is too hot for the plants, and will turn on the heads to water down the leaves and give them a break from the heat. You will never underwater a plant, and you will never over water, saving money on your water-bill.

I have some red yuccas that I gathered seed for when I was living in Oklahoma. i've since moved to England and my mom to Lebanon. Both of us have sprouted some red yuccas and have them in pots. Mom because she only has a balcony garden and me because I don't have a good place to plant them out yet. They are 3 years old this summer and while I'm not too fussed about the blooming, my mom wants to know if they have to be a certain age before they start blooming? My climate here in England is mild and wet (surpprise) and they are doing ok. I should bring them in out of the rain really.. Mom's climate is cold but not freezing, wet winters and very hot often humid summers. She has been watering them along with other plants every other day as it's getting up between 25 and 30C now. I've advised her to water them less often. Do they like very free roots? Would they prefer a large pot or a slightly cramped pot (like cactus) Any and all advice welcome. Regards.

we have rocks, they are just ground up really tiny and called sand LOL! Rocks and cupcakes, now those are trades! Jim is as excited as I am about the rocks. Forgot Lisa on my list! How did that happen? Ya`ll weren`t gonna tell me either, they are my cupcakes, mine! all mine! I`ll share. Lisa: cupcakes FOR: whatever you want!, take it all! What can I dig up out of the yard for you? Tally HO!