I did not mention, the four that I found at the nursery later after my earlier started cuttings had just begun to root. One of the four I purchased at the nursery looked like it was struggling at the time I purchased it. It clearly had a thcker trunk and was about 8 inches tall. I brought it home and transplanted it to a 3 gallon pot. It too has been growing under the oak tree. Now it has abundant and nice dark leaves, and its main leader trunk is about 1/4th inch thick. All summer long its flower buds just dried up. I think that might have been due to the amount of shade where it was located. when I purchased that larger one, I also found three more that were in 4 inch pots. Their trunks are about 1/8th inch thick now, and have developed lots of dark green leaves and has bloomed a little under the dappled afternoon shade of the oak tree. At Ken's advice I took those 4 young potted starts out and set them just south of some taller azaleas, west of a still young camelia, and a few feet just east of my house. It seems reasonable that they will survive the winter if I dump them out of the pots to plant and over winter them in that location. But I am still concerned about the rooted cuttings that have been staying alive in 6 inch pots under my oak tree. They look healthy now, and I know I need to take them out from under so much shade. The fact that their main leader trunks are only about 1/32 or just slightly thicker, makes me doubt that they can survive our outside winter condtions, even when they go dormant. I do not have a greenhouse, but should I find someone with one, who is willing to over winter these 4 smallest ones in their greenhouse for me?

It is a pretty little plant. I purchased a 5 gallon this spring and I was NOT disappointed with the show. Did it not have a tag on it with the mature dimensions? I think it something like ~12-15' tall and 5-8' wide off the top of my head. Not a fast grower either. It is gonna take a few years to reach the top of that fence. I would not rely on this particular plant for privacy purposes alone, but it does have merit for the pretty flowers. Perhaps you could plant something columnar maybe evergreen near the back of the bed to provide a solid background her and would do a much better job concerning privacy issues. How much sun does it get? I see it is in shade in the pic. Too much shade will produce leggy growth on her. John

Hi, I forgot to click the box to get e-mails of responses. Please go to my member's page and e-mail me if interested in a trade. Mary

Hi, I used to have a Hibiscus Syriacus Blue Bird. It lived maybe 8 years in a sheltered spot, but then the winter was hard and I lost her. She was out of her zone I'm sure, as this was the only spot one survived. I have tried a few babies of her, but they don't seem to winter over. Does anyone have seeds of a similiar colour (mauve-blue) and height- 8 feet or so that is a hardier variety. I am technically in 5A for Canada. I would love to send a SASE and acquire some seeds from someone who has a hardier variety in the mauve-blue colour. Much appreciated, Mary