What you are looking for is a fertilizer with a Big 1st number and Small 2nd and 3rd numbers.... 39-0-0, 29-0-5, etc.... Remember... High 1st number, Low other numbers.... Flip over the bag and look at the analysis... You are looking for the words "Poly coated Urea" This means "Slow Release" There is plenty of this stuff available at HD and Lowe's... though it isn't the Lesco product that TW recommends in the Bermuda Bible.... Use up your Starter Fertilizer at Bermuda Bible Rate -- then start buying something like 29-0-5 or 39-0-0 for the rest of the season.... Thanks John

The weather really has been strange this year, we have had one of the hottest Junes so far, no rain to speak of (usually pours this month) we did get some rain last night. So far the Echinaceas are looking pretty good some are growing gangbusters, have lots of buds forming. Some are growing slowly but look healthy. I noticed last night Summer Sky, Double Decker, Sundown, Sunset, Razzmatazz and Magnus are the forerunners in my garden as far as good healthy growth and formation of flower buds goes. One of my favorites Twilight looks healthy, the small clump seems to have finer leaves and stems this year, I'm thinking it might need a smidge of potash. Echinaceamanic what are your thoughts on this? What do you fertilize with or do you not fertilize? I hope you are going to show us more of your seedlings this year, I remember one from last year it was awesome. Annette

you also need to consider that few runners (if any) are ideally suited to san diego's climate. true, many runners can and do thrive here, but our climate is foreign to most. most notably, we tend to be a lot drier as far as humidity, and our winters do not get anywhere near the levels that are known natively to most runners. Of the cuff, I would include phylo's in that sentence. there is quite a bit of evidence out in the plant world that many plants do need cold spells for their prolonged survival. for instance, you don't see too many japanese maples in san diego for good reason - really tough to grow here, and they typcially die after a few seasons. the beautiful ones at Disneyland in Anaheim that people frequently talk about are actually replaced every few years. the relatively benign winter temperatures don't allow many species the rest they need for active and succesful growth the following spring and summer. might be true for some bamboos, might not. but it wouldn't suprise me if it was. as well, potted plants suffer from moisture stability and nutrition deficits much more than in ground plants. Case in point - I had two mex weepings, same size, in 15 gallon containers (both about 4 feet tall). I then put one in a 1.5x1.0x1.0 planter, and another in the ground. I backfilled the one in the ground with as much amendments to help as I could, but the native soil in backyard SUCKS, so only so much you can do. The soil in the planter is primo stuff. One year later, the in ground bamboo is about 15 feet tall, with two big shoots coming up outside the original planting zone (i.e. through the native, crummy soil). The planter, despite the great soil, is maybe 8 feet. the greatest growth stimulator for bamboo that i have seen, bar none, is putting them in the ground

It's hard to say, certainly the health of the bulbs and the amendments you made contributed to their robust growth. If they continue to get enough sun and nutrients, I see no reason to expect that they will get any smaller.