I just bring my SDC indoors in the fall....throw them in a corner somewhere and stop watering completely all winter...the plants will look bad but in early spring I cut the stems back to about 6 inches, move them to a sunny window and gradually start watering...they will take off like crazy, sending up many pups....when the weather starts to warm up I put them outside for the summer...hope this helps...Brent, Windsor :)

Make sure it is well mulched with about 4" of the stuff past the drip line. The shrub should be going dormant by now so little care is needed. Just remember to water if it is a dry winter and the ground does not freeze. Under those conditions, one watering every two weeks or so should be enough. Happy holidays, mkx3! Luis

"Lumens" refers to the total energy emitted by the bulb in a narrow range centered at green. There is no practical way to measure this at the leaf surface. Just because a bulb generates light, does not mean it efficiently delivers that light to the leaf surface. To measure intensity at leaf surfaces, you would need a light meter; these measure light intensity in Lux (European) or Footcandles (British/American). Usually light meters will measure both. The light you have is barely sufficient for the area where you want to grow. You would be better off with a 100w Ceramic Metal Halide with electronic ballast. This package retails for about $150. With this light, you would get about 2-3 times the growth compared to your fluorescents.

I agree that solid privacy fence is probably the best option, even if he/she just does that one section of view. Another thought of mine was to plant a tree like swedish columnar aspen. My initial thought was that you can keep it narrow at the base and then let it grow wider near the top, but this probably wouldn't work, since near the bottom is where they want the privacy and these trees are somewhat just bare trunk near the bottom. Cedars wouldn't work as well, unless perhaps thuja occidentalis 'degroots spire' cedar but even then it would take a while to gain any height (not to mention expensive to try to make a hedge out of many of them, might as well buy a section of privacy fence). Maybe lattice and an aggressive yet dependable vine like virginia creeper? Dropmore honeysuckle? The only downside with any vine is that in early spring, late fall and winter there would be no leaves so poochie would be able to see through. Hard to believe he/she doesn't bark when he just hears the kids as opposed to seeing them. I'm no dog trainer but perhaps the owner has to get involved and start scolding him when he growls at the fence? Somehow make him understand the kids are not in his territory? I wonder if he's one of those dogs that's just left outside alone all the time, which can lead to behavior problems too. Anyways, I hope there's a solution as I can't imagine it's pleasant for the kids to be growled at in their own back yard, nor for the neighbors who probably listen to the dog barking. Glen