Growth habit is dependent on fertility, moisture, rain patterns, irrigation, fertilization, whether the plant was potted or B&B, the time of year the plant was planted, the number of times it was transplanted, the latitude, prevailing winds, near-by shade, near-by wind breaks, the type of propagation (rooting or tissue culture), pruning and dead heading, the type of nursery the plant came from (cold house, hot house or cold frame) and pinching and fertilization schemes that took place in the nursery, and last but not least, the color of the thumb of the person who planted it. Even, with all of these factors the same, adjacent plants will grow differently. It may depend upon obscure factors such as the number of leaders each one has or the size of the cutting used originally. Frankly it is a miracle when two plants of the same cultivar are similar in height. So, as with most everything else, there is the nominal height and width at 10 years which is usually quoted and there is a wide variation from this in actual practice. About all we can do is go by the nominal numbers quoted and note such things as their sensitivities to fertilization, irrigation, light and shade, pinching or pruning, etc. For example, on the East Coast it is considered a drought if it doesn't rain for 2 or three weeks. On the West Coast it is considered normal to not rain for 2 or 3 months in the summer. Hence, people who irrigate will have different results from those the don't. That is one reason why people on one coast will get completely different results from people on the other coast. Of course people in the North get different results from those in the South also.

Hi, all, It's a rainy morning in South Alabama, and I am dreary from the rain, too. Looking at the pictures of the beautiful rocks (we always called them West Milford stone) makes me homesick all over again for my old home grounds. I miss the terrain.. hard to explain how all this flat and tropical combined with farm fields and huge live oaks and pecan trees still just doesnt feel quite like home some days. I guess this is one of those days. On a positive note, our garden is blooming and producing like crazy here. We ate our first sweet corn 2 days before Memorial Day, and harvested just a mess of green beans, yellow squash and zucchini. Tomatoes just covered in blossoms and green tomatoes. My cosmos daylilies, petunias, mandevilla, bachelors buttons, sunflowers and zinnias are blooming like mad. I hear a rain frog outside croaking ( little funny green ones with webby feet) and my tiny pots of herbs which I started from seed are loving the rain. For once it isnt a frog-strangler. Seems that is all the kind of rain we get down here.. tropical downpours that pool on the flat ground and run into the shallow ditches and finally make their way to Mobile Bay and the Gulf. I ramble. I am homesick today. Thanks for the pictures.. keep them coming.. anyone here from Sussex or Northwestern Morris county? Happy gardening, Windyone

Actually, there are two annual peepers threads going this year, either of them works. It's good to know the poor things didn't drown in Portsmouth in all this rain. Although I guess tree frogs can handle a lot of water. Anyway, I added your report to the First spring peepers reports FAQ. Thanks, Claire

I am a Jersey Girl. While we've been married we've had two shore houses: one in Deauville Beach and one in Ocean Gate. Since we live in PA we were always feeling guilty when we weren't there. We did rent to a family for about 4 weeks each year. Then we unexpectedly stumbled upon our current 7 acre property for sale. We knew we could sell the shore house faster than our current home where we had lived for so many years. So we bought this quickly, sold the NJ property and put in a pool at our "new" home. Though I really miss the beach, I love being able to swim every day in the summer. I love not having to clean two houses. Or pay the taxes. Or feel that every vacation has to be there. Or be guilty when we can't be there. Or spend every visit there fixing something. We may buy another vacation home someday, but for now this is great. Our country home feels like a retreat. But there is something about that salt air and crashing of the waves to make you lose all common sense...... Boby