Bill, thanks for the clarification, I must have remembered it incorrectly. Have given the 1yr olds thorough waterings for some time now as they are in full leaf but wrongly gave Celadine lighter drinks around edge as it has almost no leafage to speak of...will do it correct from now on...thanks for your help once again. Hi Karen...yes I can see what you mean re the leaf scar spacing. Celadine has had a few ups and downs since I rooted it. It started out as a 6inch cutting, the first year, 05, it grew no leaves just stem length and roots, in 06 it lots of leaves and an inflo, 07 it grew more stem and few leaves and so far this year the top green portion has elongated and its just had these tiny leaves once again. So this is what you can see in the pic I guess. I've always used the same type of liquid fertiliser but our yearly weather conditions have been very different, for eg: last season we had almost no sun during the growing season wahtsoever....maybe that could also go some way in explaining the different growth rates? Anyway, with the help and advice above I'll take it all on board and keep my fingers crossed....tightly! Gill.

The stylists all used to do it (cut before a perm) but now have all these 'reasons' it should not be done. Why was it then OK to do it in the past?! It only stands to reason I think that the blunt cut end is a bit more difficult to roll on a perm rod than if one is trying to roll the uncut (old perm) hair on a perm rod but no one will admit this may be the reason they want to cut after the perm!

I think one of the reasons we're seeing fewer perms is a lot of salons don't even offer them anymore. After one too many butchered haircuts, I started trying higher priced salons. Two I really like, one I stuck with the longest in the past 10 years or so. Early on in my visits to each I asked about a body wave and the response was the same: 'we don't do perms, they are too damaging to the hair.' (They don't even carry the supplies to do a perm.) Part of me wonders tho, if that's just not an image/advertising thing. With the straight flat-ironed trend that latched on and has clung strong, maybe the higher priced salons want nothing but 'latest trend' cuts & styles walking out of the shop? (Nothing personal to those who have them, but I can't stand a basic bob/ends turned under cut. On the right shaped face & hair, it's stunning, on me, don't like it. But at my Chicago salon, when the bob made a big comeback a couple years ago, that's about all I saw stylists doing on their female customers. I had to tell my stylist 'no' when she suggested it. I haven't had a perm since the early 80's. My only experience is via my mother. She loved her perms, and I found a nice shop for near her home. Something must have improved with the ingredients, because she got nice curl, no frizz, and even toward the end of it's life there wasn't that nasty frizz of the past. Personally, I'm a little bored with all the stick straight no bangs styles. (Tho I've worn bangs all my life except for teen years.) I googled 'hair trends 2011' and saw a lot of the top fashion magazines showing 'runway' hair for coming spring and fall. I was pleased to see thick bangs, but casual waves and curls making a return. I've always viewed curls and waves as so pretty. But really, if it works for you (I'm a no fuss hair person too), go for it! If it's done well, a nice body wave wouldn't look salon done, but like your own hair. And put you in the very early stages of a returning trend ;)

Towandaaz: Looks like you have about the same amount of growth as I have. You've got some nice basals coming in. Our last frost date is May 8...aaaannddd...we are supposed to get snow this weekend! That's going to wreck havoc in the garden. Everything started leafing out in February. All the fruit trees bloomed a month ago. The garden looked like this yesterday, but I'm afraid what will happen this weekend. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see like rabainsz7bpnw says. Let me know how your Geoff Hamilton does. I've appreciated the photos of this rose for a long time, but heard that it is a stingy bloomer. Altorama: The soil seemed to be pretty moist when I checked it. The drip lines are running fine. The roses under the maple seemed to be doing the best.