Depends on soil conditions and water, etc. I planted a one-gallon in 2009 and it hasn't eclipsed 4' yet. Try two fertilizer feedings a season (May and July) and make sure it gets plenty of water.

Thanks, I'll give it some fertilizer next month and see how that goes. Maybe by then it will make a liar out of me and jump up to five feet. I can hope!

I came to the disturbing conclusion today that the bush is actually getting smaller. As in sinking into the soil. Much as I hate to do it, I'm going to dig it up tomorrow and see what the heck is going on. If all else fails I can baby it in a pot for the summer.

The other day, a family member was helping me in the garden and cut through the land phone line. The digging was being done in effort to plant new hydrangeas. I see now that hydrangeas are meant for adventurous individuals. God help me.

My limelight has only reached 3 feet in 4 years as well.

Silly question but did you cut (or tease apart) any circling roots before you put them into the ground?

Well mine is 8 years old and 15 feet tall after my wife had cut it back to 6 feet 2 years ago.

Never let your wife use the pruners! Learned that at our last house. HA!

"Never let your wife use the pruners! Learned that at our last house. HA!"

Making friends here left and right, aren't you?

Just joking... Usually it is the other way around with men weed whacking or mowing prized plants.

Well, I finally got the poor thing up from the ground after it seemed like it was outright shrinking in size. I don't know if the dirt was sucking it down or what, but it was very odd. Either way, the strange part was that the bush itself didn't seem as if it had put out any new roots. I broke apart the root ball when I planted it, and the way I put it in the ground is the exact way the roots were.

I have it in a pot now, and it has gotten a bit greener but not grown any at all. We'll see what it does by the end of the season. I plan to put it back into the ground then, but I may have to build up that bed a bit first.

Limelight will start to bloom in mid-late July and continue through the fall. So it is too early yet.
I started some limelights for a hedge from a single plant in 2011 using layering and cuttings (both worked very well). I over-wintered them in buried pots in the garden covered with shredded leaves. They were planted in the Spring of 2012. I fertilized once a month from April through August with Alfalfa tea the past two years. They flowered their first year in. So far, I've fertilized twice this year. They are now over 5 feet tall and gorgeous. I'm expecting them to be covered in blooms this year. You can google Alfalfa tea for the recipe. It works well for many things in your garden.