In my experience they like to be crowded. It depends what you want in a plant, I can't aford the space. When crowded they will offset sooner. I would also double pot. Do this only when the weather is warm, like right now. Nick I don't know where you live or the weather conditions. Your large one may be what they call 'Skyline' I've seen them with 14 leaves, it needs a 5 gal. container. I grow mine hard, if I don't they rot. So always be careful with watering even in the summer, keep water away from the bottom of the leaves. Great you are in a warm zone. Be careful because we may have an early winter. Some San. need sun others will not tolerate it. A good way to tell is if they have a soft green apex it will need more shade their leaves may also be thin and not thick, and if it has a dried white or tan tip more sun. Not complete shade unless you know which one, like S. Masoniana will appreciate it. I don't grow my plants lush, I want them to look like African plants, it's a matter of choice. I just naturally know what to do, I read my plants, it is instinct with me. 'Skyline' can sun burn, if put suddenly in the sun for the first time, but it will take some sun, and it will help it to flower. I don't know it all, even though I have grown this species for the past 30 years. Norma

Hi landdawg -- I wish I had some input on the burning bushes for you regarding the diminished foliage. I have a few that are about 5 years old that get lightly pruned throughout the year when I'm taking cuttings to root, but I have never noticed a difference in the amount of leaves they put out. They seem to be faring better in this drought than some of the other landscape shrubs/trees so I haven't given them much attention -- they just don't seem to need it. Just mainly wanted to say "welcome" to the board and hopefully someone else here can chime in to better answer your question. Sincerely, Danielle

Stolon, you got it. that's EXACTLY what it looks like. Well, not entirely because its not a big shrub anymore. At all. And it amazes me because, dang, they dug down like 5 feet in that corner of the yard. And then we dug again when we put up our privacy fence. **sigh** the biggest problem we have on our hands is that the shoots appear to be coming under the fence from the other side....my NEIGHBOR's yard, specifically. neighbor and i get along good enough. but he's rather stubborn about his yard. i asked him 3 times last year to PLEASE cut down the poison ivy vine growing up one of his trees (that hangs over into our yard). he never did it. hubbie wound up on a ladder cutting down any tree limbs hanging over into our yard that had poison ivy leaves on 'em (since they were hanging right over our patio area). moral of the story? i can try to keep it out of our yard. but if he has no problem w/ it growing on his side of the property, there's not much i can do but try to keep it back from our side of the property line, i suppose.

I think by the end of break (whether it's Christmas, spring or summer) both the parents AND the kids are ready to get back into a normal routine. My SS was off for Christmas for 3 weeks (he goes year round, so he gets long cycle breaks) and my DD was off for 2 weeks. I had a great time over the holidays but trust me--this past Monday I was more than ready for them to go back! It wasn't that I wanted them out of the house--just that I was ready for life to feel more structured! My DH took a week off, so he was home a lot, and he is like another kid, with his video games and messes! LOL. It is hard to get stuff done around the house when the kids are there all day. I get what you mean about the WAHM stuff. I tutor part time, but I also list cars online and do some title work for my DH's car business. Normally, I try to put in a good 3 hrs every AM working on his stuff---but it was tricky with the kids home all day and I am now playing catch up. We did a lot of fun things over break (movies, my DD went to a spa party, we went to a childrens' museum, lots of family gatherings, etc.) but there were times the kids were just bored and nothing, not even their new toys, could entice them. When they get like that, I usually just say "well, you have lots of books and you have movies and games and this and that...find something to do!"