It starts sometime in October. Their flower branches start off looking almost like roots.
October 21, 2007 - The stem bud is on the left.

February 25, 2008 - Growth seems so painstakingly slow. You can carefully adjust the flower stem while it’s malleable. However, it’s also very delicate and snaps easily.

You can see on the left is a casualty of over handling. Sorry plant! A new flower stem grew on the right to replace it.

March 4, 2008 - The rest of the time is just watching the buds get bigger and bigger.

April 6, 2008 - By April, they start blooming. They’ll continue to slowly open up all summer long. By the time some are still in their last stages of blooming, others will have started the process all over again.

Maybe I’ll do a year round 1 photo per month deal next time.