I’ve tried this twice before, and both times I’ve failed miserably.
I’m trying to grow the perennial known as Diphylleia grayi, also known as the “skeleton flower.” When the skeleton flower blooms, its thin white petals turn translucent when raindrops kiss them. Which, naturally, would make an incredible macro photograph.
And in the past, I’ve tried to grow these little treasures.
Back in 2017, I had them all ready to bloom, they were outdoors soaking up the sunshine – and a freak snowstorm hit the area and destroyed the plants. Ugh.
The next year, I tried growing the plants indoors in pots – and that failed, too.
And for years afterward, I checked various online nurseries for the plant, but all I was able to find were either specious-looking “500 seeds” packages (which were probably just “seeds” of grass), or archived webpages that nurseries that aren’t carrying the plant any more.
Ugh.
Then, last week, I tried one last time. I googled “Skeleton flower for sale,” and – holy crap – there’s a nursery in Omaha that has the plant. And at a reasonable price, too.
I ordered four root-stems of the plant – at $20/root-stem – and asked if I should put them in pots and wait until warm weather to transfer them outdoors.
“Don’t worry about that, Mr. Miller,” the customer service representative said. “We won’t send them to you until April. That way, you can put them in the ground and you won’t have to worry about any damage from late frosts.”
And after we confirmed that they could send the plants to me in New York (some states have bans on certain plants, so we needed to clear that up), my purchase was complete.
Now comes the next task.
Waiting. Seriously. I need the patience of Job to get these plants to grow.
And if I can get just a few tiny white blooms … just a few. Enough blooms where I can photograph them with white, angelic petals … then, after a few gentle spritzes of water, let me see those see-through petals.
Please let me have that. I need a serious photography / horticulture show-stopper for Competition Season 2025.
Chuck The Writer 
I admire your sticktoitiveness, and would simply and respectfully suggest the following:
April may be a little too early around here for planting outside. Rather, pot them / nurture, when they arrive in April, keep inside til mid May.
In the meantime, set them outside during cooler April days, to “harden” them off https://extension.psu.edu/hardening-transplants prior to permanent outdoor planting.
Good luck!
P.S. Perhaps harvest the seeds when they die off…?
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