So I've finished my comparison between the following "sweet" cherries: 1. Sunsugar (hybrid; SS) 2. Sungold (hybrid; SG) 3. Ambrosia Gold (OP; AG) 4. Big SunGold Select (OP; BSS) All were grown from seed and then transplanted in ground with similar soil conditions, sun/shade, watering. Ranking data is below with the best listed first. A. Germination success: SS, SG, BSS, AG B. Productivity: SS, AG, BSS, SG C. Growth: BSS, SS, AG, SG D. Flavor: AG, SS, SG, BSS E. Brix: SS, SG, AG, BSS General observations: GERMINATION: As expected, hybrid varieties tended to show a lot higher germination rate than the OP varieties. That being said, germination is also a factor of seed harvesting techniques, storage and age. I don't have any information on these characteristics, but it would be interesting to note if my germination for the OPs goes up for seeds that I saved and grew out next year (I'm betting it would be a lot better). Take home message, when growing the OPs from seed, make sure that you plant more than you need due to germination success. GROWTH: All varieties grew at a similar pace indoors as seedlings all showing good strong seedling health. As I recall, none stood out as particularly better or worse than others during the seedling stage. Once transplanted BSS definitely observed the tallest plant with thick strong limbs. There was not that much difference between SS and AG. For some reason I always see SG as being more wisphy and frail and this occurred again this year. PRODUCTIVITY: SS was the best with productivity generally showing good strong trusses and generally observing good success from flower to fruit. AG was a very close second. BBS came third and SS was a distant fourth. As noted in the pics below, BBS is indeed a large cherry (1-2oz) and is easily double the size of the hybrid varieties. AG came in second. SS tended to be a bit larger than SG, but they were relatively close in size. As noted by others, SG tends to having more cracking/splitting issues vs SS. AG and SS tended to hang on the vine the longest. BSS showed some cracking, but not as much as SS. In terms of coloring when ripe, SS tended to have the strong golden orange color. SS was more yellowish orange while both AG and BSS were a deeper red when ripe. FLAVOR: Flavor is of course very subjective. My personal favorite was AG, not b/c it was the sweetest, but b/c it has a noteworthy complex flavor. It definitely has sweetness to it, but it mixed it with a tang/acidity which I quite liked. SS was also very good, but it had more of a linear sweet taste which I like (as well as my kids) but it didn't have the complexity of AG. SG came in third. SG tends to be a little more variant in it's taste. Sometimes sweet, sometimes slightly sweet like it was not completely ripe even though it appeared to be the case. BSS was by far the least flavorful. BSS had a somewhat bland tomato taste, which was not awful, but was definitely not sweet. BSS would be fine in a garden salad and is obviously the largest of all cherry tomatoes evaluated, but if you want to get a nice large cherry with good taste there are others that are better (like Gardeners Delight which I also grew). BRIX/SWEETNESS: I thought I should mention this since after all these varieties are supposed to be "sweet" cherries. SS was by far the sweetest. Although I didn't actually do a brix test, I'm certain the sugar content would be the highest. Next up was SG, but as I mentioned above, it's sweetness tended to be hit or miss. AG came in third with a pleasant sweetness but not overly sweet. BSS was not sweet at all. CONCLUSION: I have grown SG for many years and for many years it has always done well. SG always germinates well and is a solid producer as cherries go in my garden. That being said, SS was hands down a better hybrid. It produced more and the flavor was more consistent. It was definitely the sweetest of all cherries that I grew and stayed longer on the vine and split less. As mentioned above, I also really liked AG and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and productivity. It was my personal favorite of all four. It observed many of the same characteristic as SS, but was larger and had a more complex flavor. I was very happy to note these attributes especially since AG is an OP and the seed can be saved and regrown year after year. BSS was a dud. But only b/c of its flavor. I suppose if BSS were marketed as a large cherry with traditional tomato taste, I would grade it much higher, but as a "sweet" OP that was supposed to compete with SG/SS, it wasn't even in the same ballpark. That being said, you definitely get your biggest bang for the buck due to its size and growth. .

Currently there is no equalizer line plumed between the pool and spa, the water level in the Spa is about 3 inches higher than in the pool when both are filled properly. Is the maintenance on the chemical dispensers really more than having to check the Chlorine and PH levels of the pool and spa are daily and adding the right amount of liquid chlorine? That's what I do now. The reasons I'm wanting to redo the pluming on the equipment pad are: there is no room for solar valves between the filter and heater or a salt cell; the pump sits less than 2 inches away from the 3-way pool/spa inlet valve; all the corners used are the short radius 90 degree kind; and pipes go from 2'' to 1 1/2'' back to 2'' on the pad. I figured that for 200 bucks on piping parts at the local hardware store I can redo the pluming, have a 10 inch straight pipe in front of the pump intake, use large radius corners where possible and have room for the solar valves and salt cell. Hopefully saving me on operating costs for the pump long term. Of course those savings are based on having a VF 3050 pump or using a flow meter to setup to VS 3050's rpms for the correct flow for my piping. As for the EasyTouch, I hadn't really considered it since I was looking at the IntelliTouch. If for some reason I decided to stick with the VF 3050 after all would you be able to setup different flow rates for different functions on the EasyTouch? I'm thinking I need these: 1) pool recirculation 22 gpm (gets me 1 turnover in 14 hours) 2) pool skimmer ? gpm (I'll have to experiment with this to see what works) 3) pool sweep ? gpm (I'll have to experiment with this to see what works) 4) pool skimmer + sweep ? gpm (I'll have to experiment with this to see what works) 5) spa recirculation 10 gpm (gets me 1 turnover in 40 minutes) 6) spa jets 80 gpm (ideally this speed would be adjustable or there would be more than 1 preset speed) 7) solar pool or spa ? gpm (whatever is required by the solar panels I end up using - suggestions welcome) Currently without solar my pool temo is usually already in the 90's cause of a bubble solar blanket I keep on the pool, so in practice I think the solar will only be in use in the spring and fall or on days when the solar blanket is off the pool for a long time.

My Gold Line GLX-PCB-PRO board will not keep the clock set if the power goes off, reverting back to Sunday at midnight. The pool guy says replace the board - I saw a separate timer module listed somewhere. Of course the board is slightly over 3 years old and I am the second owner. GRRR. Am I stuck for a new board?

aw jeez .. lol ... here is how to do it.. at the link ... i tookl the latin name you gave ... googled it.. and added ANNUAL GROWTH RATE ... second link says 4 to 8 cm per year ... and that is pretty useless ot me.. lol ... so i went down to the 3rd.. it says 6 inches.. whats that all about ... the 4th says 3 to 4 inches.. which at least puts it somewhat in line with all but the one above ... then i flipped to the IMAGES side of google... and making sure the pic matches the name.. the second pic clearly shows at least 3 inches.. and not yet any buds set .. soooooo ... i vote.. at a mine ... at least 3 to 4 inches ... and in my world... that would be.. ta da ... a foot every three years or so .... or in ten years... 3.3 feet or so, above and beyond the foot or 3 you started with.. and subject to getting established within a year ...... subject to location of course ... so back to your number.. the 6 x 4 seems a bit generous.. but within reality ... and 20 x 10 is other worldly ... if you have any labeled arboretum in your part of the world.. visiting them ... can give you a great idea on how much a cultivar might grow ... if they happen to have what you are looking for ... ken CARP: forgot the link: link