Hi Alina,

I would think that the SDBs would already be blooming for you, but I'm not all that familiar with your zone.

I drew up this silly thing a while back for another forum member and it might be of use to you.

{{gwi:1012311}}

The stalks come from the center of the fan like this (this is looking down from the top of the fan at the swelling stalk inside):
{{gwi:1015063}}

Thanks, this is helpful! Your sketch is very clear. I remember someone on this forum mentioned that the fan will probably bloom if it has 5 or more leaves. Most of mine do have at least 5 leaves in their largest fans.
I will look for stalks in the middle of fans now :o)

If you feel the base of the fan you can feel a thickening of it where a stalk is starting. Feel several and you can tell the ones that are not going to bloom or haven't started a stalk. Some cultivars bloom earlier than others.

Mike G

Thanks guys! Just inspected several plants. It is already too dark to check all of them.
Some of them do have stalks! I am especially thrilled to see the stalk on 'Pirate Ahoy'. Hope the blooms will look like on Blyth's pictures.
I also found some fans that feel "pregnant".
It is so exciting!
Thanks for your help!