I have not seen Pride of Madeira for sale where I am (inland UDA zone 9b, Sunset 15). I am looking at Sunset Western Gardening Book now - "biennials or shrubby perennials. Striking form and flower clusters. All take full sun, do well in dry poor soil, but need good drainage. All are excellent for seacoast gardens. Very drought tolerant in zones 15-17, 22-24. Attract bees. Flower spikes can be killed off by spring frosts in inland areas". PoM is Echium fastuosum. Coastal climate here is cool summers and very mild frost-free winters. I agree with windeaux that it is probably very difficult to find another area suitable for growing it. Masha

Your mature plant must be beautiful in bloom! The flower heads should be removed just below the head as they become spent, but this plant does not respond well to heavy pruning (especially below foliage). Planning for size at planting is better than trying to contain them with pruning. It is generally recommended to allow some heads to drop seeds for replacement plants, or to purchase new stock, so they become established as the original plant reaches the age of decline. Then remove the older plant. If I recall correctly, there are some cultivars that are more compact.

Something very strange has happened to my purple hibiscus. Every year new baby plants grow, so I replanted some to an area about 20 feet away - same exposure. However, one of the new plants has white flowers on it. Also, the purple hibiscus has five petals, while the white flower has only 4 petals. The leaves are slightly different. I don't know how this happened and searched this site. So I guess I did get a different colour flower - only have no idea how this happened. Any ideas?

Thank you, alabamaav! The distinctive stripe patterns had me suspecting it could be a chimera, but as I'm not familiar with the phenomenon it's incredibly helpful hearing opinions from more experienced growers. :) This bloom stalk has one more bud about to open - should I wait till it opens to cut the stalk, or is there an "optimal time" to harvest a bloom stalk for propagation? The tiny leaves (bracts) are so very tiny! The individual flowers on this plant tend to last 3-4 weeks before fading, so I have a bit of time. Thanks again for your help!