* the tiki is not over watered, unless as I stated it is by Mother Nature herself Don't write this off as the problem. A lot of people write like zones are the be all and end all of what is going to survive where. However, any reasonable discussions of climate have to also cover humidity and rainfall. There are a lot of plants that are at least as picky over the moisture levels as they are about temperature, and E. paradoxa has always been on that list. As somebody already mentioned, this is a prairie plant that is adapted to a climate that averages between 20" and 30"of rain a year. Trying to grow that type of plant in a climate that gets twice that requires certain adjustments to thinking. In other words, pretend it is a cactus that requires chill hours to thrive. And yes, I've known people to deliberately plant things like this under the house overhangs to keep them dry.

I enjoy echinacea too. Easy to grow, dependable. I like the taller varieties and have had good luck with Ruby Star, Ruby Giant and not sure what the other tall purple varieties are that I have. I've tried a few of the newer varieties but they were not performers for the year or two they lasted and then never came back. Now I am very careful about reading other gardeners experiences with the new ones before buying them. It's such a waste of money and I get pretty annoyed that they actually sell them for such high prices when they don't perform and act like annuals. I am actually running out of room too. I also have 'Fragrant Angel' which I enjoy but so far it is shorter. I'm going into year 3 with a couple of those, so not sure what their maximum height is. I am looking for 'Fatal Attraction' because it is the variety that Piet Oudolf used in the Chicago Botanical Garden, so I figure it must be a performer. Plus I love the dark stems.

'Emanuel' is one of the very best Austin's for hot, dry gardens. 'Radio Times' is another good one, as 'The Reeve', 'William Shakespeare', 'Swan' (a magnificent Rose) and -whereas short lived in summer-,'The Alnwick Rose', 'Glamis Castle', 'St Swithun'... Many Teas and Chinas crisp relentlessly here in summer, only a few are still good: 'Mme Falcot' (ex India), 'Mrs Dudley Cross', 'Le V�suve'. 'Odorata'/'Spice' shrink under hot sun, but it's continuousely in bloom. However, some Roses seems to wait for summer to show up their beauty. I can't succeed to see a single open bloom in Spring from 'Tipsy Imperial Concubine' (I use to call her Tipsy Imperial Artichoke'!), 'Clothilde Soupert', 'Leveson Gower' and that big Bracteata Hybrid, 'Alba Odorata'/"Maria Leonida". But they are a magnificent sight in July and August. So I still grow them and enjoy them when other Roses have their bad time. I'd like to add that heat resistance in Roses -as in all other plants- is not only a matter of temperatures and humidity. The kind of soil they grow in is a very important element to consider, as it's able to influence a great number of different aspects in plant's physiology. I saw recently in a garden in Catania, Sicily, a huge 'Felicia' growing in an abandoned corner: she was in full sun, bare earth, no watering, near a orange grove. And it was early June, with average 30 �C. The plant, full of perfect green leaves, showed a huge mass of big, full clusters of fragrant blooms, as large as I only saw in England. The same rose suffered by midday in my garden in May with no more than 26 �C, watered almost dayly, and my blooms where less than a half the size in Catania. So... WHAT it was the "x factor"? The soil! And, overall, a whole different micro-climate. In Catania, they are blessed from Mount Etna influence and that means: to equal day temperatures, lower night temperatures; a rich, deep, ultra-fertile volcanic soil; a typical, very thin "mist" who lightly veil the sky in the afternoon, protecting the plants from being scorched by sun. That 'Felicia' was surely sinking their roots deep into that fertile soil, finding the right amount of water, their leaves protected by air humidity and night freshness, enjoying their settled climate conditions, whereas mine was fighting with a thin, granitic soil, under a sharp sun, and -maybe more important- with jumping climate conditions: humid nights followed by dry, windy days... what -I've experienced- the roses seems to hate the most. Hope, as usual, this should help. Maurizio

If you have a spot in open or dappled shade, I'd defoliate it completely by cutting through the leaf petiole (stem) immediately proximal to the body of the leaf. The stub will fall off in a week or two. Matters of import: * your plant will use very little water after you defoliate because transpiration will reduced to a small fraction f what it had previously been. For that reason, I would consider using a wooden dowel rod as a 'tell' - to 'tell' you when it's time to water or if water should be withheld. * If the periderm (bark) was corky and fissured, you could just site the plant in direct sun, and the new leaves would come on line acclimated to full sun. Since there is green periderm tissue that can also suffer sunburn and death there from, you need to acclimate the tree to anything more than dappled or open shade. Open shade is full shade with open sky above - like you would have on the north side of a fence, outside the northern drip line of a shady tree, or in the shadow of a building on its north side). * Fertilize when you see the tree back-budding and pushing new growth. * Let's look at the tree in it's defoliated state before you decide what to do about pruning it. 4 images from 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, or N S E W compass points, or after rotating the tree 90* between images. The tree in the most recent image you posted is actually way overdue for a pruning. The 2 branches should have been pinched when their length was about 1/2 of what it is now. Had that been done, the tree would have many more branches and leaves. For most trees as houseplants, the apical meristem (growing tip of the branch) should be pinched back to 2 leaves when the 3rd leaf on any branch is mature or nearly mature. This will help you maximize branch and leaf density. Al