Probably grape phylloxra. Link to pictures: https://www.google.com/search?q=grape+phylloxera+pictures&client=firefox&hs=BVB&rls=com.yahoo:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yiuqUZLtNsXT0wGSkoGYCw&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=610 Here is a link that might be useful: grape phylloxera management This post was edited by fruitnut on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 13:22

Paula I think the smokebush won't be as neat as I'd like... unless I plant them close together then maybe they would form an even background, but I'm not sure how long it would last. I bet eventually one would overwhelm another and it would get thick and thin and uneven. Pencil holly... I considered that but was just too lazy to take the cuttings and wait till they were big enough. Then with my luck global warming would take a year off and they'd all die one winter (they're borderline here) Purple- I guess I see your point, but whoever follows me here is more than welcome to do some bulldozer landscaping if mine doesn't suit them.... and if I don't make it that long I'm sure the wife can dig into the insurance a bit and do the same. Life's too short to be ruled by resale or home value. I want to experiment and create something, for anything less I could just hire a landscaper for some cookie cutting. I guess some people like vinyl, others not so much. IMO it makes me feel like I'm gardening inside a human Tupperware container. Oh and I'm bad with pots.... dead plants in pots along the fence would probably not be a plus :) but come to think of it I've seen some nice fences with mirrors, garden art, pots, even complete vertical gardens.... I'll stick to the maintenance of a hedge though before I get into all that. Nice ideas though, thanks!

I used to believe that it took carnosa that long to bloom, but after Pepeuve's posts, I'm now a believer that in ideal conditions, carnosa can and will bloom quite quickly. You can see in the link below a cutting he took of a carnosa that formed 5 peduncles in under a year. I'm not sure how much longer it will take the cutting to bloom, but it's certainly doubtful it will need a decade. If you ask his advice, he says: sun, sun, and more sun. And if you go to his blog, you can see from his photos that his Hoyas, grown on a balcony in Malaga, Spain, have very very pale leaves. My carnosa is over 10 years old, however I grew it in dim light for most of that decade, because I didn't know any better. After I put it right up the glass in an eastern exposure, it formed peduncles within a year. I find it hard to believe that after 2-3 weeks in summer, your plant hasn't had sufficient time to dry out. (In fact, that sounds closer to a case of underwatering and underfertilizing). It is a good sign that you are seeing healthy roots at the bottom. If you're still seeing a decline, this is what I'd do. First, take it out of the pot and look at its roots. They should all look creamy/tan and firm. You want to be confirming that none of them look brown/black and shriveled. You also want to keep your eyes out for fungus or insects. If they look okay, then repot it with some extra perlite and/or bark like Kukka suggests, and try and step up the watering schedule a bit. The next time you're ready to water, stick a chopstick or kabob stake all the way to the bottom of the soil. This is just to confirm that the bottom of the pot isn't somehow staying damp through some miracle. It is a little weird that this pot is draining more slowly than the big one. Normally I wouldn't go through this rigamarole, but it's clear something is wrong and we have to start eliminating possibilities. Here is a link that might be useful: Pepeuve's well behaved carnosa cutting

Are you certain that is a lady beetle? I have new bugs this year that I have never seen before and they are making holes in all of my morning glory leaves. The bugs are the size of a lady bug, but they look like someone has gold-leafed their wings. I caught a pair of them apparently breeding last evening and put them in a small bottle so I could take them to the extension office to try to get them identified. Funny thing happened to them though, after they had been in the bottle for a while their wings lost the metallic gold look and turned to a deep dark red orange nearly the color of a lady beetle, but without the dots. If anyone has an answerI would love to know what they are. I handpick such critters since my garden is organic. Thanks for your thoughts on these lovely little munchers. spiderwoman