TJ, You may already be completely aware of this, but just in case you're not, invasiveness doesn't necessarily correspond to what you can see in your own yard. In other words, a plant could be extremely invasive (environmentally damaging by displacing native flora and fauna) and still not express serious aggressive tendencies in your yard. Seedlings could be eating your neighbors woods up without appearing in your own yard. Aggressive plants are not necessarily invasive (even if exotic), and invasive plant don't always appear (at least in the immediate vicinity of the plant) aggressive. The only reason I mention this is because you said that's what you had been "seeing". I'm not saying I think you have anything to worry about in the case of this species.

Wow! You're good! I pasted Orthosiphon aristatus into a search engine and you're right, it does look like Cat's Whiskers. From this, I was able to learn it is not hardy here in upstate SC. Thanks, Adele!

Chuy, I'll be dag'gon if that ain't an ocotillo, a Fouquieria splendens! :) Where did you get it? It's a native to CA and is found throughout the higher elevation desert (i.e. Anza-Borrego). They can grow fairly tall (7 feet or more, I think?), have little round green leaves (as you're starting to see on your plant) that grow along the "trunk" and branches, and in the spring produce spearheads of vibrant red flowers. They're also quite thorny. :) Here's a link for images of ocotillo plants. I don't know what the proper care is for an ocotillo, but now that you know what it is, you can look up how to care for it. :) CG Here is a link that might be useful: Fouquieria splendens (Wikipedia)

I'd be surprised if they get over 20-25m tall in the east; Pacific coastal Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. menziesii is the really big one, but can't cope with eastern continental climates, while interior Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca is much smaller, and is also disease-prone in the east's high summer humidity. Yours is likely the latter. The pine seedling could well be Loblolly, though they're not easily identifiable at that age. Resin