Thanks everyone! Judy - I've never owned a standard before. Do you ever prune your trees at all? Mine are growing so slowly I don't see myself needing to trim anything soon but just curious since you've had your standards for awhile. Haku - My GJ started out this year in the ground at about less than 3ft tall. I'm exactly 5ft tall and GJ now reaches my eyebrows - be warned! :) Towandaaz - I have two Molineux growing together to look like one shrub and it works great so I think the idea of a grouping or hedge is a good one! It really is a multi-colored wonder and I enjoy taking photos of all the variations in color as well as form. My JtO was own root and given how long it's taken, I hope you have grafted ones. I really like Austins and will be focused on getting more of the older, tried and true ones like Evelyn. Ann

You're right Mario. I just went out and checked the branches and couldn't find any scar where the branch had stopped, then started growing again. I must've assumed that the parts with the puny leaves were a 'second growth' but they must've just kept pushing new growth, from the same branch tip, right along. I know there is something called 'ring porous' and 'diffuse porous' where some trees can decide how much growth they will put out in any given season, depending on conditions at the time. But this must be something attributed more between juvenile and mature hard maples? Nice to know my tree is fine and this new growth brings the annual growth for this tree, nearly to 3 feet. Even on the main leader. :^) A friend gave me a seedling many years ago to plant on my old place but it didn't like the sandy sand soil and died shortly after planting. So this is my first 'Sugar' and I'm looking forward to the nice shade it's capable of producing. I noticed this morning it was throwing a nice shadow on part of my Hemlock planting area, before the sun got too high. Once it's a few feet taller, the shadow should last more than the hour or so that it's doing now. :-) Thanks again!

Generally, for many types, the hotter it is, the faster the flowers form, open and die and the smaller they are. If the second flush arrives during much higher heat, they should be smaller than the first. As the temps continue increasing, you reach a point where flowering stops and the plant goes into survival mode until the temps fall sufficiently and the water available catches up with the water demands to stimulate more flowers.

Do you mean that you had to keep pushing down the lever to keep it flushing, or do you mean that it continued to run into the bowl for quite a while after you took your hand off the lever? Most modern toilets will have an initial high volume flush to clear the bowl of solids, followed by slower running water that streams in until the flapper has settled back into place. The flapper is designed to settle slowly so that the slower running water continues to cleanse the bowl. To clear solids I have found that its most effective to push the lever completely down and then hold it a second or two to make sure I get the full effect of the high volume flush. YMMV. Bruce