The ultra dwarf on flying dragon are described as slow growing perhaps getting to 10 ft if I recall correctly. Many times only up to 7-8 ft. I'm hear it can make the fruit 40% smaller not just the crop smaller. After much reading I just bought 3 in san diego at pacific tree farms. They have a 25% off going out of biz sale. They were $32 before discount. I wanted to choose trees that fruited at different times so I can have fruit all yr. I got the cara cara navel orange. dec-mar kishu dwarf mandarin oct-dec And one I may return. Its the honey tangerine. I was told it could hold fruit until july but no sorce on the internet agrees. It also has many seeds. It turns out the pixie is the one I probably want. It is seedless, holds fruit until around july and is supposed to taste great. That should just leave me fruitless from aug-sept. Any good suggestions to fill that gap :) ? I still need to find out what roosstck they use on mine. They are from durling nursery. So consider fruiting time in your decision. I didn't want just the best fruit but the best fruit at any one time of the year. 600 lbs of citrus all in jan probably wont do you alot of good. Damon

oburn said; "Acttually,once the pepper flowers the flowers become the "sink"(repoductive phase) and the plant wants to make seeds instead of leaves stems. This is why the plants are dwarfed." i used clones this year and by plucking the blooms i got the plant to be pretty large. not at tall as last years plant but bushier and higher yeilding... which the pepper maggots seemed to be happy with. imo it seems to be alot environment, unless dwarving is different than bonsia. by leaf/branch/root pruning and small pot you can get most plants to be grown small from seed. i have yet to see dwarving from cuttings but i have a 3rd gen cutting going now and i think i have time to cut from it and then again from that so with luck i can put one outside next year that is a 5th gen cutting. not that i will but i might. Michael

Thanks amysrq and ellabee (Ella is my 7-year-old's name) for your advice. Countertops for the island are my biggest concern at the moment, since the island will also contain the sink and dishwasher, it will require plumbing, and I am trying to schedule all of the different jobs and keep things moving! The backsplash will likely be fairly simple with some subways, so I feel like I can postpone that for a little while. We have so many projects going on with the house and would like to have enough "finished" to move in the spring, so the sooner we can get this done, the better. And honestly, I have been thinking about all of this for so long that it is a relief to just make some decisions, just to be able to move forward! Resale is not too big of an issue, as our house is pretty "niche" to begin with. It is an old (ca. 1843) mansion with lots and lots of character (stained glass, elaborately carved wood, murals on some of the ceilings). The kitchen will be nice, but definitely not the main reason someone would be attracted to the house. Anyway, we are renovating it top to bottom, and as much time and money as it is going to take, you will have to drag my cold, dead body from it to get me to move again! Soapstone seems to fit the era, but i am worried about softness. I would probably be ok if I can find one of the varieties known to be a little harder. I love my Corian in our previous (well, actually current, as we have yet to sell it) kitchen, but I am looking at a darker color (soapstone-like), which I am afraid will not be good at all for showing scratches on a primary work space. Granite and quartz are out. Too hard and modern looking for my tastes and the feel of the house. I also really dislike cold countertops. Decisions, decisions... Thanks for your ideas!

somehow.. i suspect that sidewalk is part of the problem ... these plants.. properly sited.. probably should have been planted 2 or 3 feet from such ... i like to say.. get them dormant.. and keep them dormant.. thru winter .. a large heat sink.. like the cement.. can repeatedly thaw the soil.. and if the roots keep going in and out of dormancy.. during winter.. sooner or later.. stuff happens ... is the walkway in full sun.. all day ..??? finally.. any use of salt or ice remover.. due to some bizarre NC winter event???? .. how bad was your winter???? .. compared to other years???? ken