murfy - Thanks! I love it, too, and basically stole it, so that's why it wasn't sold off with the bulk of our A&C things when we moved. Unfortunately, the current abode is an MCM home with lots of glass. L O T S of glass. Like, in the 19' x 50' great room that includes the kitchen, DR, LR and garden, there is exactly 30' of wall available for furniture placement. The rest of it has to float or be against glass. The poor costumer is stuck in an office for right now.

Well, much to my surprise, some of the grafts that I put on last year grew fruit spurs, and flowered this spring. Some others grew longer, with no spurs. Maybe those were what the buds were intended for all along, and they just now came out. Anyways, a few flowers on last year's grafts is interesting. This year's grafts have started to really take off. I think I did a much better job of it this year than last. I have a few more scions on the way, so I hope to get those on this weekend, and harvest a few apples in a few years. This winter, I'll try to bring this tree back down to size. BTW - it must've overproduced year before last, then been stunted last year. This year, it is totally covered in flowers. If those turn to apples, I'll have to do a lot of thinning. Fun stuff - thanks for the help everyone.

@Angela - The OP's first paragraph stated marble over a concrete slab. " I really think you should remove the old tile." Why? If it's set properly It should last the lifetime of the structure. Bonding to it is not a issue. You'd need to remove the underlayment/top layer of subfloor to even the floor anyway after you rip out tile. If this was wood framed how could you determine that without knowing what underlayment was used and condition after rip out? Plywood, mud bed, CBU's, uncoupler, antifracture membrane etc. The OP is trying to gain height. Most likely you can leave the underlayment in and apply a self leveling underlayment on the top to achieve desired height.

Most hydrangeas are caning or suckering shrubs that produce a multiple of stems from the root crown. These types of shrubs do not lend themselves to being trained into a tree form, which is why you never see them offered in this form at nurseries. Paniculatas tend to have a single stem or trunk so somewhat easier to train in this manner. btw, this is not necessarily something I would recommend the average gardener undertake. You need to start with a very young, small plant and it can take as many as 7-10 years before you achieve the tree form.