Ken - Vintage Gold --
How tall, what size was it when planted, and how long have you had that particular plant?

Hmmm...Picea pungens is quickly becoming a new favorite. The few I have are surviving full sun (and full shade), heat, plus are full and shapely.
Any advice on small cultivars for a variety of shape, color, and needle size?

Thanks!
Barbara

Great plants as usual Ken. I'm envious of your land and time invested into these conifers. Just not envious of your winter weather! lol

Mid teens here this week and I'm sure you see weeks or months straight like that.

Barbara,

Small cultivars of Picea Pungens?

If so, for sure:

Blaukissen: Small blue bun, maybe 16"x16" in 10-15 years.

Blue Pearl: Another fabulous small blue mound. Great thick
gem.

Scotty: A squatty conical mini/dwarf. 2' in 10+ years. Fantasy shape.

St. Mary: A very low spreading dwarf, bordering on mini. A collectors must in my newbie opinion.

Wendy: A personal favorite, top 10 easy. Looks very similar to the species, just 1/8th the size.

I've attached a link to the picture of 'Picea Pungens Wendy' from Coenosiums Gardens. Just a gorgeous little tree.

Here is a link that might be useful:

hey Mr G ....

vintage... brought it in 5/2001 ... not very big.. maybe a 2 or 3 gal size ... dont recall it being more than a foot or two tall ... ergo.. pretty fast growing ...

Barb.. P pungens St mary's broom .. pic posted in the front of the house post ... look back for that post.. probably pages down by now ... as fireboy notes.. a MUST HAVE ....

ken

Thanks for the list guys...it has been saved to "my clippings" for easy reference.
Will, the Picea pungens 'Wendy' is a beauty...appreciate the link.

Barbara

Hey Ken,

Just a suggestion. You could make a post that includes links to all of your different beds and posts of your conifers. I remember seeing your first 2-3 posts and thinking wow, that's a lot of neat conifers. Now like 10-12 posts in(or so it seems), I'm shocked at how much time and effort you've put in. You have just a ton of good sized conifers. Must be a joy just to walk around.

You have a fabulous 'arboretum' there and you should comglamerate it all in a post full of links.

Hey ken..nice photos! Emailed you a while back..Hubby and I should be heading up to Gees this spring.

Ken, the reason I asked about Vintage Gold - your plant seems to defy most printed word on size - looks like yours might be about 6' tall - considering most printed word relates to 10 year estimates. I did run across one that stated 6' tall and 8' wide in 10.
I grew and sold a bunch of these back in 02/03 and told everyone 2'x3' based on Spring Meadows printed word. Based on what I see in your plant I'm surprised some of the customers haven't came back and criticized my tags.

I gathered some cuttings from one customers plant and have a few more small ones growing now. I hope they turn out to grow like your plant.

Ken: I was about to ask about how your property is organized, where beds are located, what plants are in a particular bed - for example, Bed MPE.

FFG had a better idea. As he says, you have a wonderful arboretum - a place of great beauty. Could you map your property and beds, list the plants located in a bed, with photos?

It would be a great gift. But I also know it would be a lot of work. So if you can, thank you. And if you can't, I understand.

On another note, I want to thank you for your advice and encouragement since I found this forum. I've learned a lot from you (including how to use a sprayer with roundup and not kill my plants). I practiced your technique in the driveway (where grass is always growing through the gravel) and it works.

I planted more than 1,000 seedlings last spring. Although I applied roundup twice before planting, I was soon overwhelmed by weeds. I kept going with the roundup - after a few weeks, the weeds grew more slowly, and finally the problem was solved for the summer. I don't think I've lost a single plant to drift since I started using your technique nearly two years ago.

Thanks for your encouragement and help.

geez pam ...

thanks for the wonderful comments... and you are welcome for any knowledge i have passed along ...

WHAT ARE YOU.. IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION... lol ... you just assigned me a doctoral thesis ... and i am sorry to say ... it isnt going to happen ... lol ..

THAT IS THE REASON I GIVE THE OVERVIEW PIX... oops ... and then pix of every plant there.. you will have to figure out how to compare the view to the individual plants .... try opening two windows.. one left on the overview.. and one to scroll thru the pix .... flipping back and forth ....

historically ... i would build a bed a year in advance ... designing it with hoses .. and my lawnmower .... and then spend the year getting wood chips and killing grass... and applying chips ...

all the while collecting plants ... i try to plant all the new plants in one bed.. makes aftercare much easier ... all the recent transplants in one locale.. that is why you will find similar sized plants all in one bed ...

i still have pix of the north pasture to post ... but the holidays seem to be interfering with time ... we will get to them ...

for a given bed.. i tend to think.. one green.. one blue.. one yellow .. some small.. some large.. so.. size.. shape, size, color ... then throw in variegated .... i am not really a 'plan it all out' guy .... and think about prostrate.. upright... etc .... it would be the difference between an engineer and a gardener ... lol ...

when planting.. tall in back... small in front... etc ...

review the various posts... look at the overviews... ask any specific questions ... thats why i am posting ....

happy holidays...

ken

Ken...did you ever check out the satellite view of your place on Google Maps?? That will give a good overview, plus a fun project to do with the girls...look at grandma's house, etc

Barbara

Here is a link that might be useful: google maps

Ken's location, maps live dot com might provide a closer look. Their Bird's Eye view would have been perfect had it been available for that part of Michigan.

Here is a link that might be useful: Maps live

and there in lies [or lays] the rub.. mr G ....

apparently .. rural lenewee county is not a strategic hot spot ... google earth ... you may as well be on the moon ...

and maps.live.com .... is better but still a bit to high for much of a view ...

ken

Wow, maps live has a more current view of our place.

I'll start a new thread, first to see if we can legally post the photos froom google and maps live (copyright) If yes, we can share the overview of our lot and landscape.

Barbara