Colonies in the IRL can reach 1 meter or more in length within 6 - 8 months (Winston 1995). Stolons generally measure 0.5 mm in diameter, individual zooids measure 0.4 - 0.6 mm, and tentacles of individual zooids measure approximately 0.3 mm in diameter. In Florida, colonies grow well from April through late September. They die back with the onset of decreasing water temperatures in fall, but enough fragments overwinter that new growth begins in spring.