What about planting one or two podocarpus or pittosporum silver screens to block the two two-story monster structures and just letting them grow up like trees? We'll be sinking posts and running horizontal wires for vines for lower coverage. So we'll only need to block the upper story views. Which do you think would be better: podocarpus or pittosporum? Or maybe one podocarpus in front of the house on the left in the picture, and one pittosporum in front of the house on the right? Can we just let them grow up like trees? Without trimming? I hope they won't block the light our avocado tree gets, and this is the reason we were originally thinking of planting a companion avocado tree. But privacy is more important to us than fruit. We can always buy avocados at the farmers market. This is our fourth lot, and up in Laurel Canyon. It's a shady lot with partial sun, and the microclimate is a perfect blend of coastal marine and inland heat -- rarely too hot or too cold. If it gets more shady, that's okay with us. It's only one part of our yard, and the one farthest removed from the house. Eventually we would like to put in about a 300 sq ft home office/guest room for visitors, so we need to privatize the area now. Also, what size plant would you start with? We want to get a head start on this, asap. And in the ground before November.

You must be thinking about a different plant Ellen, Clerodendrons are propagated either by seed, or stem cuttings. This plant doesn't have a bulb, but thank you for trying to help. I think that part of the reason I haven't seen much in results in the way of blooms, is that it's a yearling plant and like pirate_girl said, it may be too young to do much blooming. Although I'm more inclined to the statement that Elsie made, that it might bloom a little later in the year, because I was looking at it this morning, and it looks like I can see a couple of little bracts beginning to come out on the tip of one it's side shoots. So, maybe I'll be getting some blooms on it this year. Thanks for everyone's input, it helps to hear others experiences with plants, and their successes and failures. It makes a difference in my way of approach when it comes to tending to my plants. Matthew

I grow this where there are winter frosts and sometimes hard freezes. I grow it outside in the summer in a shady protected area. If it is hardened off gradually the leaves won't burn so bad if they get too much sun. I bring it in before frost. The best mine bloomed was last year, I had moved and it was in the bedroom and lost all of its leaves and got watered occasionally. My Mom had had a stroke so I didn't do much with any plants til this year. I put it in a sunny window and fed with a bloom booster because that is all I had and it really bloomed and bloomed. I think maybe the rest and cutting back may have helped with flowering. It does bloom on new wood. I cut it way back a few weeks ago and it is growing again. It is easy to take cuttings, they will root in a glass of water, but soil is better. They will also set seed that will grow where they fall or can be put in pots. Jim, I have only seen one other Clerodendron thomsoniae that is as pretty as yours. It was in a conservatory that was climbing from a corner and growing along the top of the greenhouse and covered a whole wall.

Okay, here I go again, with this experiment. I'm nothin if not tenacious (not true - I'm actually quite lazy but goodness I DO WANT THIS PLANT in my garden). So this year, I've taken 6 good semi-hardwood cuttings and I note that I just happened to take them at a time when there were buds about to bloom on the stem. So these nodes are "active" so to speak. I'm excited. I think this will be the key. So i'm going to now follow the instructions above to a T, and even putting a transparent plastic bag over the top. It's been a quite warm spring/summer here in Byron Bay, Australia (zone 11), and also a lot drier than last year, so I feel like I've got the right recipe happening. Will keep you posted...