I don't know about the Houston area, but I think its safe to say that outdoor plants should be grown outdoors. If it is excessively dry, put the pots in a semi-shady spot for now and carefully monitor their water needs.

I think it would be even better if you planted them in the soil, kept them well-watered, and provided some shade for the next month--place a lawn chair by them, moving it a couple times during the day as sthe sun moves--to keep them shaded until they are stronger. I think you will find they take off much faster if they are planted in the ground.

I know what you mean about sticks--that was how my VS arrived last year. I just planted it and kept it watered and shaded for awhile--no other fussing over it. It was too small to mess with--just let it grow. This year it is a fine 3-4 ft plant and blooming like crazy.

My guess is--don't worry about pruning it until it gets to be about 6 ft tall--and it may not need any pruning even then.

Good luck--those "sticks" they send out are not exactly confidence-inspiring, but they do finally take off and become real plants! : )

Kate

As I did, you ordered what is probably a first-year cutting. Leave the plant alone. Seeing as how you just received it, you should set it outside to take the heat but don't let it sit out in the sun all day to the point where it droops or the soil dries out. You can leave it in a pot if there is enough room for the roots to fill out. If you're lucky you'll get some kind of bud or bloom at the terminal end of the stems before fall. A plant this size can live in a gallon pot the first year, but you should probably sink this in the ground before Thanksgiving. Most growth of paniculatas occurs in the spring, and you will watch in amazement as it doubles if not triples in size (mainly height), as these establish themselves well in native soil throughout the winter.

OK, I won't bother pruning it, then :)

And, it's going to be moved out onto the north-facing porch this weekend... there's not anyone around to relocate shading devices (like a lawn chair) during the day, and along with the drought we're having temps about 5-10 degrees above average (upper 90s to well into the 100s -- August-like temps) for the past 2 months, so putting them in the ground right now would be plant murder for these things, hah! My established macs in mostly shade are struggling as it is, so these guys will be put in the ground after summer passes (September, probably).

Thanks, all!

By September we should be down to 99 degrees! Yeah! All right! Hee hee hee!

Prime planting season :)