I bought the same plants from Lowes earlier this spring and planted them in full morning sun til 1, dappled sun rest of day. It's doing great. Flowered beautifully and they are growing wonderfully. I recently saw them on clearance w/the flowers now spent. They didn't look 'nice' in the store anymore bc noone cleaned up the dead blooms but bc I had bought some earlier I knew that it would shape up nice. I now have 4 more ready to go in the ground and I paid $7 each just like you. I know that ppl around here frown on the big box stores but remember to save your receipt bc you can return them within the next yr if something goes wrong. Can't get that guarantee at my local nurseries (although I do support them too). Enjoy your plants bc I know I sure am :)

Our floor guy put samples of the combinations we were considering right on the floor in the room, then sanded them off after we picked the one we liked. If it's durability you're wondering about and not color, I'd ask the floor guys (assuming they're skilled and experienced).

I've got a couple of suggestions. One is to intersperse the Lowes subways with a narrow band of tiles, either small mosaic or a 1 x 6 strip. The 1 x 2's are usually considered mosaics, so they tend to be pricier than the standard white 3 x 6 subways. By going with a narrow strip in the field, you can spread out your cost. I hope I'm making sense. I noticed my Lowes and Home Depot are carrying more mosaic options in the store. I don't know if they're doing this nationwide yet. I'm in TX. Floor and Decor also have options that seem reasonably priced. If you happen to have one near you, check them out. Here's a link for some mosaics you can check out along w/pricing. HTH, Kathe Here is a link that might be useful: 1 x 2 mosaics

Where are you? What zone? How long have they been in the ground? How are you caring for them? #1, when you first plant a tree, it spends the first year mostly making roots and getting established. The rule of thumb for all perennials, trees included, is that they sleep the first year (making roots, not putting out too much top growth), creep the second year and leap the third year. #2, in this heat, some plants tend to go into what we call "summer dormancy," where they stop growing altogether. This is to conserve their energy, just like plants wilt to conserve water. I don't know when your trees were planted, but it's best to plant tree in the fall (October is the month of choice), so they have a chance to grow roots and get established over the winter so they are strong and ready to grow in the spring and summer. It's not unusual at all for plants planted in the summer to not grow.