Lorraine, it sounds like she did just the right thing. When you get a cutting that grows very fast--and many of those cuttings they sell in Hawaii are fast growers--it's always a good idea to put a stake in the pot. It doesn't need to be tight against the plant but close enough to help prevent that limber wood from bending severely. I would say that after three years the trunk at the base should be pretty woody, and she should notice the trunk beginning to get harder along the length each year. You can see the gradation here between maturing wood to very green new growth: The center is still green enough to bend on that cutting, which was rooted last spring and has tripled in height. The stretch marks are quite normal. On the left is a nice example of mature, dry wood on a several-year-old seedling: Let us know how her flowers turn out!

Did you check for any life anywhere in the bark up and down the tree? You can use your fingernail and check for any green, but actually with Japanese maple you can see if the tree is alive as it goes from green to brownish-red where it is dead. If it has any life, you might be able to save it but may need to cut it back quite a bit and protect from direct sun. We had two in a pot on the deck that burned and leafed out again when moved to our garage to recooperate. Good luck, let us know what you find out.

Let me tell you that if I saw pictures of my DH in bed with another woman, even fully clothed, he'd have lots of explaining to do. But, after finding these pics and seeing as how she was hiding her phone and finding out why....I'd just wait it out and see what her future and current behavior is. If she has plans, meetings or outings that are out of norm for her, I'd check those out. If her appearance changes as far as weight, hairdo, clothing...I'd look into the reasons why. If she went looking elsewhere because you're stubborn and a non- talker, then change your style because it ain't working for you. If you want things to work, then you both need to meet in the middle. She may have slept with this man. but if she did and you love her and don't want to lose her then just deal with it. It may have been just a fling to prove that someone else found her attractive because you didn't make her feel that way. if she's got what she wants at home, she won't go looking elsewhere. Hope it works out for you.

I love this thread....and I will confirm that the era of the big material discounts for GC's has been over for a long time. We don't have an account that offers us a 10% discount. We do receive the occasional early pay discount of about 2% and I can assure you those vendors are paid before the ink on their invoices is dry. As for contracting your own project I can tell you this story. We were contacted by someone who was moving into our area to do some minor work. We did the small project at cost hoping for future work....she kept calling and asking for information and referrals to our subcontractors because she wanted to "save the markup". So we gave her some names. She calls back a few months later with an emergency water leak on a Sunday....we headed down to her house which is an hour drive each way, found the leak, shut down the water and went home. She calls the next day and wants the name of our plumber to "save the markup". Our plumber was busy and couldn't accomodate her needs that day so she calls us back complaining and we bail her out again by calling the plumber and having them onsite in an hour. The moral of this story is....with a GC you are getting long term relationships with the subs and material suppliers not just a friendly face on the job. Without our connections the response time is slower and the job isn't as efficient... not that subcontractors are unresponsive to homeowners but their bread and butter is GC's In closing...the client is still calling and asking for information. We have spent countless hours on the phone with her explaining construction process etc and helping her to "save the markup". Do you think our unbilled for time will pay off someday? Good luck!