diff -urN xfce4-genmon-plugin-3.4/panel-plugin/main.c xfce4-genmon-plugin-patched/panel-plugin/main.c
--- xfce4-genmon-plugin-3.4/panel-plugin/main.c	2012-05-09 22:22:14.000000000 -0400
+++ xfce4-genmon-plugin-patched/panel-plugin/main.c	2015-06-15 15:38:54.507214200 -0400
@@ -217,6 +217,25 @@
             p_poPlugin->acValue);
     }
 
+    /* Test for period change */
+    begin=strstr(p_poPlugin->acValue, "<period>");
+    end=strstr(p_poPlugin->acValue, "</period>");
+    if (begin && end && begin < end)
+    {
+        char *buf;
+        float value;
+
+        /* Get the text */
+        buf = g_strndup (begin + 8, end - begin - 8);
+        value = atof (buf);
+        g_free (buf);
+
+        if (value<0)
+            value=30;
+
+        poConf->iPeriod_ms = value * 1000;
+    }
+
     /* Test if a ToolTip is given */
     begin=strstr(p_poPlugin->acValue, "<tool>");
     end=strstr(p_poPlugin->acValue, "</tool>");