Yes, of course, my "common sense" approach to the burning of grasses would preclude doing it under conditions of "red flag" fire warnings and the like. I hope that went without saying. So there! ;) Overall, I've got to say that over the past couple days, this thread degenerated into one of the stupidest ones I've seen on GardenWeb in quite some time. And sadly, I feel my contributions were to blame for that stupidity more than anything else (except possibly for hortster...). So, I'd like to extend a sincere apology to all y'all for having dragged you down to my level in this fashion. On Holy Week, no less! I'm sorry. I wish you all the best on this Good Friday, and a happy Passover, et cetera. Cheers!

I have a similar problem. The bottom half of the bush is dark red, the top half is green. 2 winters ago rabbits chewed off most of it so I pruned it back to shape in the spring. It was smaller last year but it turned red. Last winter was very mild and a few branches dried out. This spring I cut the dead branches off. The bush pretty much exploded and had a great growth this year, it's about 6 feet tall. It's not looking very nice but I wanted to leave it to grow for now. The bottom 1.5 foot is dark red, the 2 branches that were chewed off and didn't really have a great growth, and the top part does not look like it is going to change color, which is where all the new hight happened this year. Not sure what to do with it. I was thinking that it is a hybrid and some branches reverted back to the original colorless state? If that's the case I would have to cut all of the green off, but I don't know if burning bushes are actually made hybrid. I will wait confirmation on that before I get to it with the branch cutter again. I will attach the picture I just took. The red leaves are falling off now too. We had the first frost a few weeks ago.

1. I pour brittle onto a Silpat - the brittle won't stick to it. Silpats, what a wonderful invention. I'd also suggest using the quick microwave method. It rarely fails. 2. You will get lots of discussion concerning "sugar" for making candy, but during a candy-making class the "expert" (in this case, she owns and operates a candy-making shop) said to use pure cane sugar instead of sugar made from sugar beets. I've successfully used both. My sister-in-law used to make jars filled with shards of various colors of "Stained Glass" candy. She also swore by pure cane sugar. 3. After boiling action ceases is the time for adding flavoring in order to avoid a lot of rising steam. 4. Oiled surfaces, such as a cookie sheet can be used, but the surfaces can also be dusted with powdered sugar. 5. "When a solute such as sugar is added to water, the boiling point increases. The extent of increase in boiling point depends on the concentration of the solution. The larger the number of particles of solute (sugar) in the solution, the less the escape of vapor (vapor pressure decreases) and the higher the temperature needed to produce boiling. Boiling sugar solutions do not reach a constant boiling point. As water evaporates, the remaining solution becomes more concentrated, and the boiling temperature increases until the melting point of sugar is reached and decomposition changes occur in the sugar. If heating continues too long, the sugar caramelizes, and eventually, only carbon remains. Because sugar solutions do not reach a constant boiling point regardless of concentration, you can use a thermometer to tell when candy is done cooking. You know that when a sugar solution reaches a desired temperature, it is at the correct concentration. If the temperature goes too high before a pan of syrup is removed from the heat, it means that too much water has evaporated and the solution will be too concentrated. If the temperature is too low when a pan is removed from the heat, the candy will contain too much water." (information from a class I took on candy-making) 6. You might want to try making lollipops as well as molded hard candy as something fun. 7. Store your filled jars away from heat and humidity. The candy WILL start to stick together if you don't. I'd also suggest using pint jars, rather than quarts. -Grainlady

Thanks Alexa and Annie! There's plenty of it left :). I'm nibbling on a few pieces right now lol. The one neighbor/friend tried it and liked it, regardless of the lack of flavor. I hope to get more sugar here soon so we can make another batch. The next time, it'll be orange flavored! Brad AKA Moonwolf