Conifers to love

My world has been turned upside down!
A gingko not a conifer???
Is nothing sacred?
Next you'll tell me Pluto isn't a planet!
What's becoming of this world????

(Ahem) Wee? Pluto is . . . not . . . a planet. Sorry - it messed with my mind, too, when I heard about it!

P.S. Love this thread! Even as a novice when it comes to conifers, I will never forget that gingko is not a conifer. All because of this thread! : )

Pluto is a big dog at Disney World.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ’Miss Grace’

Here is my new Picea Pungens 'The Blues' that I am trying to grow in a planter in Florida. I currently have it on the East side of the house so it gets morning sun because I don't want to overheat the roots by putting it in full Florida sun now when it is so hot outside, especially since it is in a planter. In late Autumn when it cools down I plan on moving it to the South side of the house.

A little information about 'The Blues': It is a dwarf weeping Colorado Spruce that has large bright powder blue needles and was found at Stanley & Sons Nursery on a side sport of a 'Glauca Pendula'. It should be staked to keep an upward momentum.

I'm clearing out my pictures files before my computer crashes, got so many, and I thought you might be interested in a bonsai photo I saved. It's not my photo. And to add that bonsai come in ALL sizes, some have to be moved with cranes and forklifts.

i am going to jump in here and ask a question about Saunders blue alberta spruce (love alberta spruce). I have a small (6") one here that is real blue. a local nursery has three larger ones maybe 30" tall and full. they have been in pots since spring. they are having a 50% off sale.

the question here is they are not real blue, just some off hand buds here and there. can this be caused by being in a pot all year?

i came home today with two blue shadow fothergilla that were not as blue as the ones i have in the ground and was told that was the reason. not sure if it was true but a good deal even if they reverted to green.

thx - Bill

Hi, Bill - I've heard that if you just keep cutting off the green leaves as you see them, the plant won't revert. The problem is the wild "green gene" is more vigorous and will take over the whole plant. The other problem though, is light. Depending on the genus/species, the plant needs to be in the right light to retain it's cultivated color. (That's a "look up" because it's different depending on the plant!)

P.S. Wormfood, the bonsai are GORGEOUS!!

thx sherri - i think i will pass on these.

I got back from my trip to Michigan late last night. Hubby and I detoured to Gee Farms and I have 9 new lovelies that I need to find room for in the garden today! I probably would have bought twice as much as I did had it not been pouring rain the entire time, nevertheless I still spent two hours browsing the rows and rows and rows and rows of conifers I wanted to take home!

you gonna show us?

Sorry, have not taken pictures yet! Hubby took pictures while we were at Gee Farms but has not uploaded them. This week, I promise : )

I planted seven of the newbies, the other two are going into containers. I am SORE. Planting also involved me moving three other conifers to a different, less prime location.

It'll keep you young.

Hubby uploaded his pictures, here is what the back seat of our truck looked like after we loaded the purchases in : )

Some of the conifers in the specimens area at Gee Farms.

More specimens at Gee Farms.

Pinus densiflora 'Golden Ghost' specimen - I THINK. I purchased a teensy version.

Another shot of specimens, with me browsing in the background.

A view inside one of the hoop houses - there were at least a dozen! This is in the area of the farm with the younger (affordable - lol) plants. All of the plants I purchased are smaller.

That is definately a huge place. I checked the website, it's probably the size of my little town.

Do I see an abies koreana Silberlocke stuffed in the back seat?

what is the yellow conifer?

Weerobin, you do see a Silberlocke!

Wha, which yellow conifer are you referring to? The one stuffed into the back seat of my truck in the front left is Picea abies 'Gold Drift' whereas the conifers in the left row from the second picture I posted are Picea orientalis 'Skylands'.

I still didn't get a chance to take picutures of individuals yesterday, but here is the list of what followed me home (some spellings may be incorrect, this is what was listed on the tags and I corrected one typo but there may be others):

Abies koreana 'Hortsman Silberlocke'
Picea abies 'Gold Drift'
Pinus densiflora 'Golden Ghost'
Pinus mugo 'Mops'
Pinus parviflora 'Bergman Select' seedling
Pinus parviflora 'Goldilocks'
Pinus parviflora 'Yatsubusa'
Pinus sylvestris 'Aurea'
Pinus sylvestris 'Nirbeth Aurea'

hi IC - the one i was referring to in front on the right in the back seat.

those skylands are really yellow - a local nursery has them and they are not as yellow actually now they are green.

update on the saunders blue alberta spruce - i ended up getting it anyway - at 50% off it was a cheap as a normal as - also picked up a sragents weeping hemlock - both were about 3' tall and full.

Ah, that is the Pinus mugo 'Mops' and it is not as yellow in person, just a bad light situation. The Gee Farms person who helped me find a few things also told me that it will green up when it matures more. However, it has a great habit and is slow growing.

they need a photo in plant files for the golden ghost
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/188330/

thx ic

Gee Farms looks like conifer heaven! Congratulations on a lot of great-looking plants.

your lucky to have a husband that shares that stuff with you. Mine's into clean fingernails and indoor air conditioning

IC, I have a Silberlocke in a clay pot, about 8 yrs old, I guess.
I have had terrible luck with firs planted in the yard, so I've kept it in a pot.
It has done fine, but it's easy to see that it wants to get bigger if given the chance.
I repotted it this year, and had to rather severely root-prune it in the process.
I have one surviving fir planted outside (abies koreana Picollo), which gives me hope for planting Silberlocke outside.
My current theory is that they need excellent drainage and some afternoon shade from the intense summer sun.
I may take the plunge and try planting my Silberlocke outside next spring.
I'll be interested to see how yours does! It's a beautiful plant!!!

Weerobin, if you are not willing to subject your potted Silberlocke to the experiment, you could always buy a younger, less expensive version. I had a nice Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' that I planted in 2007 which was $$$ - it didn't make it through the summer even though it was in part-shade with no direct hot afternoon sun. I think it was just not happy with the drainage. The local nursery had a pretty specimen this year and my neighbor bought it and planted it two months ago. It doesn't look good now and I'm glad she has a one year guarantee on it because I would be willing to bet when the snow melts next spring it will be dead.

My little Silberlocke was $50 at Gee's and I created a raised area for it to improve drainage. At the local nurseries even that size would cost me three times as much. My neighbor spent $350 on hers last year, which is only about a foot taller than mine. After what I spent on my 'Taylor's Sunburst' last fall, even on clearance, and the heartbreak of watching it whittle away through this year's wet weather, I'm not buying any more specimens. I'm still only about 50% sure TS will pull through. I told the guy at Gee Farms all about it, he sympathized with me and told me they REALLY hate wet feet.

Iowa has been hit so hard with wet weather the past three years, with this year being the worst - historical rainfalls all through May, June, July. This week is dry, which is a nice change.

Wormfood, my hubby was not always into outdoors stuff. It is ironic because I grew up in urban New York City and he grew up in rural Iowa, but he was never into getting his hands dirty. Slowly over the past few years that changed, though he is still reserved in his approach. He has a small sunny patch for growing fruits and veggies - honestly this is the first year he tried to keep it weeded and he gave up on that about a month ago. It is kind of nice for me, since it gives me free rein to do just about anything I want with the rest of the yard - and I hold some strong opinions : )

i purchased several conifers this year like golden spreader and Silberlocke among others. hope they make it through the winter, most showed zone 4 so the cold should not be an issue - is it the wet weather that is the biggest concern?

Wet weather, wet feet (clay that drains poorly) and humidity are the big trouble makers for me.

that is what i thought - i planted most of them in raised beds although two are in raised beds where it gets very wet in the spring so the bed is about 2 feet high - will have to see how they survive i have 4 japanese maples planted in this bed so if they can make it the conifers will too.

Wha, I think yours will be fine. As long as they've got good drainage.
In my area of intense summer heat, I think they also need some afternoon protection from the sun.
Buy my expertise is primarily based on my history of killing about a dozen of them.
So don't mistake me for an expert.

what's your definition of intense summer heat?

another stone pine oh it's sooo cute!

Weerobin, my three-year-old cryptomeria got knocked flat by the heavy snow. I had worried about it during windstorms last summer, and it was unfazed, but I "forgot to worry" about the wet, clinging snow. The poor little thing seems too small and skinny for pegs and cord, so I put two upright stakes near it and attached them with pipe cleaners and gently pulled it back upright. Sometimes one just doesn't know if one has done the right thing, but so far it seems to be recovering.

Wormfood, intense summer heat here, I can tell you, just West of Stl. is VERY hot! It gets to the upper 90's regularly, sometimes 10 or so days 100+ in the summer. It gets hotter than Fla. but not nearly as mild (and humid) year-round as Fla. Right about now, and pretty soon we'll be wishing for some heat! Not spectacular really, as far as heat, many places get hotter, but this region is known for extra hot and dry for a while in the Summer, being so northerly.