Hi all, Thanks, Diana; so we need to add a couple more things to this list: Energy and Nutrition 1. Maturity (size) 2. Energy (sunlight) 3. Nutrition (fertilizer) 4. Photoperiod (day length) 5. Moisture 6. Temperature 7. Fire/smoke 8. Changes in weather (i.e., barometric pressure changes, ionization of the air, presence of nitrogen oxides from lightning, rain itself) Did we overlook or forget anything else? Best wishes, Jim Shields in central Indiana (USA), where summer is coming back for a couple days ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA