Hi, and thank you so much for all the wonderful wisdom. I planted these in April. They are going nuts. Apparently they like neglect, because theyve all but been ignored until now. I will tie them to the cable I ran and hope that it will eventually climb over itself. I really needed something to cover up the stucco wall. The house is 2 story and on a corner, so all you see is STUCCO. I have planted royal trumpets before out front, but lost them to frost. After so much time invested, I couldnt bring myself to do it again. So I figured from what I heard Lady Banks was surefire. Sure wish it was self attaching, or at least would do the coiling itself. My arms look like I was in a catfight! Thanks again, Jen

You probably have but double check to see if the rest of that missing months payment went where it should have. You might want to ask for something for your accounting records showing the amounts owed when the company closed it's books on your account.

Fond memories of a Lady Banks the grandparents had meticulously trained over their lattice arbor in Oak Cliff inspired us to try it in a couple places when we moved to Dallas. First one I toasted trying to espalier it in a dry bed on a shadeless south facing brick wall... proving they can be easily killed given a brown enough thumb. Second one thrived with 6+ hours of summer sun on the north side of a wood fence for 9 or 10 years. We took it out when we converted the pool beds to deciduous/less dense plants to deal with drought and duck problems, though probably would have gone anyway due the growing effort needed to keep contained and looking good in the space we had for it. Would use it again in a minute in the right location.

You're welcome. You may find a climber that isn't terribly prickly and not overly large for the arbor, but for the fence, bushes would probably work better. If you want a more uniform look, consider something like bushes of Iceberg with a climbing Iceberg on the arbor. Or, any other similar combination like that so you have the formal, uniform look. If that isn't what you had in mind, any other combination may work as long as you like it and they perform well where you are. Yes ma'am, even "drought tolerant" plants require water until established. They are drought tolerant for several reasons...they may require less water to remain alive than many others; they most likely have extremely deep roots, enabling them to tap into any available ground water; they probably have coping mechanisms to withstand reduced water, such as tiny leaves which transpire less water and absorb less heat; they likely have "sun block" in the form of hairy foliage or very light colored (gray, silver, etc.) foliage to reflect more light and heat; or they may go summer dormant (deciduous) as many xerophytes native to California and the West do. Many "drought tolerant" plants aren't successful in pots because of the increased soil heat potted plants have to endure and the lack of any ground water to tap into. There are ways of working around the water issue. One is to chose the right plants, but you can also amend your soil to hold more water (if needed); mulch properly to reduce water loss and overheating of the soil surface; and using gray water, either from the washer or using buckets in the baths and kitchen to capture water lost while waiting for the water to turn hot, or using your kitchen dishwater. I keep three gallon buckets in those areas and run the water into the buckets until it's hot. I save nearly three gallons of water each shower and each time I need hot water from any of the sinks. Some of it goes directly on the peach tree or tomatoes. Most is saved in a new, clean Rubbermaid plastic trashcan with a tightly fitting lid. I have no algae issues as the can is dark colored and no insects have invaded due to the tightly fitting lid. You could always use Mosquito Dunks which contain a bacteria which kills mosquito larvae or a few drops of cooking oil on the surface which prevents larvae from living and won't hurt plants as many detergents can.