I bought this tree a little over a year ago. I swear it grew almost a foot a week. It had a tough winter, though, with some sort of nasty bug eating the huge leaves and the branches falling off in the wind and rain. I was left with a 6 foot "stick" of a trunk in the backyard. Friends and family were making fun of my little pathetic tree, but I kept hoping it would pull through. Sure enough, I gave it a close up inspection a week before Spring and little buds are breaking through. Moral of the story -- hang in there, it's worth the wait!