I grew my Gaura from seed so it's just the plain Gaura. I have it in a pretty root congested front border (I water pretty regularly in our hot summers),but because of all the other plants there is seldom any excess moisture that accumulates. The fact that it grows with all this root competition impresses me. I cut mine back after it's first bloom cycle in mid summer or so and it flowers again in late fall for me. This might not work however for those of you in a more northerly climate where summers are much shorter. I've also tried the pink Siskiyou but it kept reverting to the species so I pulled it. I want to try the Crimson Butterflies this year. There are many varieties to try if you get hooked. Here is a link that might be useful: Gaura Varieties

It's not the rough roads that would be a problem; it's whether the leaves will get blown around a lot. Putting bamboo in the back of a truck and driving down the road at normal speeds will cause dessication from the wind whipping the leaves around, and they will dry out and fall off a couple of days later. There are two solutions: 1) Use a station wagon or van-type vehicle so the bamboo is not exposed to road wind. (For a tall culm, you can put the root ball up toward the front and tie twine to the top end; then, carefully bend it in a U-shape, and tie it to the inside of the vehicle to keep it in place.) 2) If you can't get the culms inside the vehicle and need to use a truck or trailer, take a long length of twine, tie it to the bottom end of the culm(s), and then start wrapping spirally upwards so the branches are tightly compressed against the culms. Work all the way to the top (it helps to have two people do this), and then tie it off. It won't hurt the branches and will prevent the leaves from getting whipped around.

I'm getting ready to buy 65 "one-foot" tall sourwood trees in quart-size containers from Greenwood Nursery in TN in Nov for my bees to feast on in July here in central Alabama. My natural soil pH is 5.4 with a loamy clay base. I plan on subsoiling down 12 inches and tilling in some high quality organic compost I'm getting from GEC Organics which will be loaded with microbes. I'll also have a spray jet irrigation system in place to water when necessary. They will be planted along a 500 foot fence on the south side of a 100 foot tall treeline to give them plenty of afternoon shade. Like my bees, I want to spoil these little trees so they will grow big and strong and produce a bunch of tasty nectar. Am I missing anything? Is Greenwood Nursery a quality nursery? Also, does anyone know how many feet per year sourwood trees grow? I'm having a hard time finding any detailed specifics of growing these trees. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

So... Assuming I wanted the best chance to save these 5 trees (if that's at all possible), should I replant them early this year? Or, leave them be until later in the growing season to see if they green up, and then transplant them before they get hit with road salt next winter. I guess my first priority is to establish some more road salt tolerant evergreens like Austrian Pine in their place. Also, should Greenwood nursery still be responsible to send me 5 replacements at 50% off, even though I placed them in harms way? There is nothing in their advertising to suggest that they should not be placed near road salt. It's a shame because I have neighbors with "Arborvitae like" lush green privacy rows along the same road, which is what gave me the idea in the first place. Thanks. -Ian