Well, I've grown a few Rudbeckia's, so I'll jump in here. I'm assuming that you're looking for perennial, but I think that, in many cases when one wants long season bloom, sometimes an annual is the way to go. I had Goldstrum for a while - I didn't care much for it as in my garden it seemed to struggle and the blooms weren't as large as I thought they'd be. It bloomed quite late, and it also never got more than 12" tall as I recall. It was just kind of there, not a knock your socks off plant and I either tossed it or it died its own slow death. That was a number of years ago and I've never had the desire to replace it. An annual Rudbeckia I grew last year was Corona and although the catalogue says it gets tall, in my garden it stayed short and would be a beautiful border plant (I may grow some this year for that purpose). Nice big blooms, but not as big or floppy as Indian Summer, and really sturdy (maybe 12-15") stems. Another nice shorter one is Toto Gold. The annual Rudbeckias just keep blooming and blooming and are quite frost tolerant. They're easy to start from seed and if started a little earlier, it's easy to have blooms from July until hard frost.

Okay I'm just learning about these Hibiscus. I have a few but don't know if they are the variety rosa-sinensis. I would like cuttings of EVERYTHING you mentioned. I have a violet hibiscus Pink hibiscus Dbl Pink, these are all the kind that have leaves that are sorta scalloped and get woody, they are hardy here in NC. I have some other Hibiscus but they are REAL hard (for me) to start from cuttings. Luna Pink (only grows 2 1/2-3') Luna ruby Red (only grows 2 1/2-3') Brandy Punch Let me Know if we can trade Thank you Sharon Cash Zone 7

Thx Sharon for checking them out & reporting back here. I took a look & they have a few I Hoyas don't have yet. When I'm back to work again, I'd like to try this, monetarily, it sounds quite worthwhile. Esp. for me as I prefer to start w/ small cuttings & grow them on, partly for the experience, partly to conserve space. But I think a 1-3' cutting could yield lots of cuttings to grow into a full pot or 2. Thanks again & to Billy Rae for sharing the info in the first place!

Samantha, Absolutely, lack of expansion joints could have also been the part of the problem, which is unrelated to grout joint size. When installing, manufacturer instructions comes first, then the standards second if there is missing or conflicting information and instruction. If there is a failure, an inspector (or a court) will first use manufacturer specs and instructions, because they are the liable responsible party in a claim, so their information takes presidence. Thats what installer must follow first if there is conflict, and if there is missing information, the TCNA/ANSI standards come in. Now, many manufacturers refer to the TCNA/ANSI standards. Additionally, some manufacturers do not offer all needed information which then the TCNA/ANSI standards kick in. Every installer should be well versed in both. There are many tile and stone manufacturers who still allow for ultra thin grout joints. In regards to the standards changes you mention in grout joint sizes, indeed the TCNA/ANSI has made recommendations for the first time concerning grout joint size and spacing. To completely understand the new changes you have to understand how recommendations are made. When they say "in general", these are not absolute standards. Simply guidance lacking any other source taking presidence. When they say "absolute", these are standards that are never to be strayed from. The new changes on grout joint width is an "in general recommendation" or situational recommendation. Ultimately, the project owner should choose the grout joint they desire. -from the TCNA website. Please view the TCNA link for more information. It explains it pretty well. If you have tile cut or manufactured to tight size tolerances, you can have any joint size you wish. Of course, as I stated before, not all tile is able to be installed with the ultra thin grout joints. Again this is situational. There is no absolute standard for tile joint width. Tile it is a finish topical product, relying on the subfloor/framing/substrate structure for rigidity and in-range deflection for its stability and structure. Now if you continue to believe otherwise, that the tile system itself aides in overall system stability and structural integrity and/or that grout joint size matters at all when tile sizing is withing parameters, I really dont know how else to convince you. Since this obviosuly matters a great deal to you, I would suggest you buy a copy of the standards. Its relatively inexpensive. Then you can read for yourself in context. Also I would suggest that you start reading up on tile manufacturers installation guidelines and instruction for various products you may be interested in, as they take presidence, although they usually are in line with the standards. Here is a link that might be useful: TCNA Standards For Grout