Seeds need to stratify for 3 months, so now would be a good time to be thinking about buying them & leaving them in some damp sand in the garage over winter. They're a really vigorous tree & respond well to pruning and root pruning. Here's one grown in the ground for 2 or 3 years & then chopped at about 2.5 m. I use a die grinder with a wood bit to hollow the wound slightly, then trim the edges of the cambium with a grafting knife sharp as a scalpel so they are perfectly smooth . Here, I've packed the wound with New Zealand Sphagnum moss to speed up wound closure: Al

This bed is between my house and a 7ft. block wall so winds won't get to it. I put it in the ground in the middle of Feb. We can't get bare roots here til after Xmas so I think I'm fine. I guess I was worried that the other bare roots were up and running (the others did have a few new leaves when I bought it and this one didn't)and this one has done nothing. Maybe I'll back off the water for a day since I've watered it daily and do the mulch around it and the paper bag thing. Hadn't heard of that, Thanks. How long do you do the paper bag thing? Only at night or 24 hrs a day?

Indeed I was thinking slugs, as my amigo Jeff has stated...Prevalent mostly at night and early morning when conditions are warm and humid or wet... Succulents with their thick leaves and abundant moisture are ideal fodder for slugs and snails. Christopher

They will branch but if higher than want pinch to force branching. Al