Hi xill, tie them up now. We will likey have a frost soon and the new growth will get zapped by it (unless you cover of course). But go ahead and tie them up, and continue training the new growth as it comes along.

thanks. i tied them up and OMG i had no idea they had actually grown that much! Most of the new shoots are now standing up at shoulder height. very cool. hopefully we don't get a frost this year (we don't normally get that cold around here)

They look really nice! Can we see an "after" pic of how you've tied them up? I always love seeing the nice bushy specimens around the valley, but whenever I grow them they just are so leggy/sprawling. They look nice--great job rescuing them too. How often did you water them in summer?

Happy gardening!
Grant

sure grant :) here's a few photos after they've been tied up. you'll have to excuse the fence and pretty much everything else, we're doing all kinds of yard work right now getting ready for new plantings. during the summer i watered these guys about every 3 days when i watered everything else. right now i'm watering about once a week. i planted them with about a 2" basin, so i just filled them up with the hose on my way around the yard. i think what has helped them more than anything is the shade. you can see from the photo which i just took an hour ago that they are now in the shade starting at around noon. they're also planted under a small ficus which blocks some of the morning sun. after killing a few others, i've found that the CH really don't like much direct sun at all

here's another photo of them tied up. i'm hoping they'll stand on their own later, even though i tied up semi-hardwood growth

Looking good xill!

thanks :)