You can keep cutting them and they'll get bushy to some degree, but remember, Crotons are really just small trees or very leggy shrubs. I underplant them with ferns to hide the trunks. Junglegal - Yes, you can grow certain Crotons in full sun, but the leaves are going to be much smaller, the colors not as bright, and over the long term, they won't grow as well. All Crotons like "shade at noon", most prefer shade for the better part of the day. I have "Cup & Saucer" around my mailbox. The leaves average 1" or less. The same Croton in half day shade has leaves over 6" in diameter.

Well if you want to get technical about it, No Safer Insecticidal Soap will not actually burn the leaves to where they turn yellow and die per say, but it can stunt the growth of the leaves and therefore stunt the growth of the plant to where it has to put forth new shoots in order to survive, this is what happened to my plants before. The leaves will stay the same color but will look very sickly and may look burnt around the edges and tip. This is why you should take some precaution when deciding whether to leave the soap on or not. And if you do leave it on the leaves and it dries, and in the future you happen to get the leaves wet, or they happen to get damp or wet from being inside the greenhouse while its sunny out this will further your chances of burning the leaves.

Hey Andrew, I was waiting to see if someone with more experience would give you some advice...but I will Put in my 2 cents worth and try to help you with your question!!! You will probably have no problem with the new branches forming with either path you choose. If you let it decide it's natural path (to go dormant), I feel that it will form the branches where it left off before dormancy...If you choose to continue to grow (artificial lights) your tree will continue as is...Your tree sounds like it is very healthy and wants to be active right now. I would let mother nature take it's course!!! She knows what is good for the tree!!! Sounds like you do as well!!! (Either Path you take, will be the right one for you!!!) I hope this helps a little Andrew!!! Take care.... Laura in VB

Thanks for the replys, guys. Yeah, at first blush I thought it was pretty high, but the master bath accounts for about $13,900 of it. And as Bud noticed, there is a lot of cutting and detail work involved. And I forgot that in addition to the custom shower glass block walls, they are also replacing a small (maybe 3'x3') bathroom window with glass block. I'll definitely get another bid or two to compare, but glad to hear that it's not too far out of line. They said up front that they would not be the low bid, but they've been around 20+ years and came at the recommendation of my interior designer. BTW, she is just helping with design work on the whole project at an hourly rate, providing input and recommendations when I want, so I don't think she has a vested interest in recommending them. Her take is , sure, by all means get other bids, but hands down these guys will take care of you.