Yes Sue- I am looking at photos (unfortunately I still haven't figured out how to get them from my phone to the computer) - I can see the black-tipped buds in my picture - plant was in its first year, and wasn't that tall (maybe 36" although I didn't measure it) - segments of mine look similar to yours
thanks for the AHortS spring 68 ref - what a wonderful resource! I had not seen that.
