Similar height and slow initial growth for mine as well. Somewhat more difficult than other natives I've tried to establish. I've lost a couple of others.

Amy and WoodsTea, thanks for your imput! I really babied mine. Clearing other plants and weeds so it could get ample sunlight. I didn't think it would bloom yet this year, so it was a happy surprise. Amy, I didn't think they would bloom when just a foot tall. Hoping some butterflies find it and use it as a host plant. WoodsTea, this is my second attempt. I lost the first one. Now if I could only learn how to successfully grow Sweetfern. I bent over backwards to get the soil suitable for it, but it expired anyway.

I planted 6 of them on April 14th. 4 small ones in 6" pots, 2 larger ones in 1 or 2g pots. The bigger ones are mounded shape maybe 18" tall and starting to flower. The small ones grew some new leaves and branches but are just idling now. One of the small ones actually lost some branches and is hanging on for dear life, not sure what happened maybe settled too deep after planting.

Skip, New Jersey Tea seems to behave the same with everyone I talk to. Thanks for sharing!

Here is info on New Jersey Tea from a native plant nursery near Chicago.

https://www.possibilityplace.com/our-plants/ceanothus-americanus

Gracie, thanks a bunch. I know this nursery. They supply the plants for my town's native plant sale, and I'm growing some plants from them now.

Me too, Jay!

Wow, that's cool Gracie!

Gracie, I live in Joliet. I had a long list of plants to get at the Joliet native plant sale, but I was feeling under the weather, so I never made it. There is a native nursery in Wheaton. Wulhous Sunrise Nursery in Manteno sells some natives. There was a really great native nursery in St. Charles called The Natural Garden, but they sold out to someone who just does residential.

Well, this New Jersey Tea is looking good so far. I've tried growing Clethra and Itea before without much success.

I've had one for many years. It's over all maybe 4 feet wide and 2 1/2 feet tall. This year it's done very poorly with a great deal of die back. But the winter was very strange--in mid Feb we had two weeks of temps around 80 and after that it got very cold. I lost a number of shrubs completely and my magnificent Arcostaphylos uva-ursi, which was over 15 feet wide, had over 75% die back. So I'm thinking the NJ Tea will recover next year.

BTW, NJ Tea has an enormous, tangled root system and deeply resents any attempt to transplant it once established. I cannot imagine that it would do well in any type of pot.

Jay, OMG I was born & raised in Joliet! Live in New Lenox for past 42 years. I usually buy my natives at the Will Co. Forest preserve sale on Laraway Rd. in May every year; although one year I drove to Possibility Place nursery to get a Redbud. I love Woldhuis Nursery too!

Gracie, I once drove all the way out to Possibility Place, thinking they sold directly to the public. They were wondering who the interloper was on the property. I tried to asure them I was a hard core native plant lover. They said you can place an order, and then come and pick it up. I was in some huge barn that had nothing but carex growing in it. I was driving through New Lenox, going way down Francis rd. looking for the new Silver Cross. It always feels a little more peaceful to me than Joliet. I'm living quite south there, close to Chanahan near lots of woods.