I have a peony that's on year 3 of not blooming. Since all my others bloom I can only guess why this one plant doesn't flower so I will move it this fall to a new location and see what happens in May/June next year. Peonies do want full sun so if the tree is shading yours too much, that could be one reason it doesn't bloom. They also won't bloom if they're planted even an inch too deep. I don't have any walnut trees so can't speak to the close proximity issue. As for the bittersweet, dig/yank it out or pour vinegar on it to kill it. I'm not an expert on whether it needs another vine in the vicinity to produce berries but it's invasive nonetheless, berries or not. If you go the vinegar route, be sure to get the vinegar on the leaves which will shut down photosynthesis and deprive the vine of nutrients it needs to grow. Be careful with the vinegar around other plants--it will kill whatever it touches. I've actually used a small paint brush to apply it to the leaves of certain weeds.

Mboston, Thank You, that seems to be what it is from the pictures I just looked at, now to see if it flowers so I can identify which one it is. At least it's in the Grum pot and shouldn't be too much of a problem with spreading yet. Thanks again, Lou

The overall appearance is similar and the individual blooms change shape and color almost daily with the yellow and pink tones fading. Mine is still blooming and actually looks a lot like ellen's photos. I keep mine pruned a little more to shape and that's probably why the foliage is a lot denser. Bboy is right about the older/newer cane thing for sure. I don't have any current pics but here's one of the whole shrub from last year. Here is a link that might be useful:

Dwarf hinoki. Could be an unnamed seedling or a named cultivar, what is more likely depends on the history of the gardening activity there - if everything came from garden centers or a landscape contractor was involved it will most likely be an example of a named cultivar. Rather than moving Heaven and Earth trying to discover which particular cultivar it is an example of before shopping - if buying one is the objective - it would be more practical to visit nurseries displaying assortments of dwarf hinoki, seeing if they have any you like. This is because it may turn out to be very difficult to get a precisely accurate name for this one - and really you are left with what retailers there have anyway, when it comes time to buy. Unless you buy online. Stock found on the general market as 'Nana' - but probably in reality clones of 'Nana Gracilis' - might be fairly similar. The plant shown here looks like it has been opened up by shading.