Impulse Buy

16 years ago

So, I went to pick up a furnace filter at a local home improvement store and just had to check out the 50% off sale in the nursery. There was a little Scots Pine that caught my eye and before I knew it, my shopping cart was full. I brought these home:

Pinus sylvestris Glauca Nana

Pinus h. Leucodermis Compacta

Juniperus compacta Plumosa Compacta

Juniperus squamata Blue Star

Picea Omorika Nana

Chamaecyparis pisifera Golden Mop

I don't have or know anything about conifers, I killed a Tsuga canadensis pretty quickly back in the late '90's (I planted in late June in what become a very hot, dry summer)and haven't tried again since. Can these be incorporated into my perennial beds, or should I make a separate bed for them? Sun, shade, or a mix? I've seen beautiful pictures of conifers with hostas, but it doesn't seem like they would get enough light in my hosta garden. The front yard has a lot more sun, but the style is very cottagey with lots of bulbs and peonies and while I've tried to cut back drastically on the self-sowers, the whole thing is very blowsy - will they be able to fit in? And how big will these get? I'm familiar with Golden Mop but not the others. Any suggestions on how to keep these alive and happy would be greatly appreciated.

Jeanne

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
nice group ....

get them planted.. ASAP ...

native soil.. no fert.. good mulch.. water deeply ...

you are responsible for PROPER WATERING ALL NEXT YEAR .... water deeply.. but let them NEARLY dry in between such ...

DO YOU HAVE THAT FAMOUS OHIO CLAY??? if so.. advise.. as you plant differently than in real soil ... and it might be to your advantage to remove a lot of the potting media ... more facts if you want us to be more specific ...

do NOT try to winter them over in the pots ... in my experience anyway ...

do you know how to deal with circling roots???

link below to the database .. i hope ... all yours should be in the dB ... size potential is dictated by the annual growth rate ... MOST size estimates are based on ten years.. unfortunately they continue to grow for up to another hundreds years .... so you go to the growth rate..

e.g. ... if it grows a foot per year.. then at 10 years.. it will be 10 feet.. 20 years.. 20 feet.. etc ....

so you will have to answer your own question as to whether they will fit into any given bed ...

i think that covers most of what you asked

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
jeanne
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you so much Ken! I think you answered most of my questions. I got online last night and looked a few up, I'm relieved to see how slowly they grow - that will give me plenty of time to move perennials and bulbs out of the way as they grow.

I am quite fortunate in that I do not have Ohio clay, I've got rich bottomland that always stays a bit moist but is very free draining. I have a low water table in the back so I think I'm going to place most of these in the front.

I've dealt with circling roots in perennials, would I do the same thing and gently tease them out? Thanks for the reminder on that. I'm going to get these in the garden this weekend.

Thanks for all the info!
Jeanne
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
you are welcome ....

one more thing ... crossed my mind.. while i was numbing my hands planting my own conifers this morn ...

in general.. conifers like a drink.. and then otherwise pretty dry ...BUT FOR RECENT TRANSPLANTS [first two years, lets say] ..

so a POTENTIAL problem with putting them in perennial or annual beds.. would be all the water those types of plants need continuously ...

in other words ... if your beds are under irrigation.. for plants other than conifers ... you might be putting much more water on the beds .. for the conifers ...

make sense???

if you just need somewhere to stick them.. the beds should be just fine.. then move them in EARLY SPRING ... as soon as the ground thaws ....

ken