My limited experience is that these are not fast growers, and don't like transplanting. They like very little water. I think 2 ft is waaay too close, even if you're going to move. You'll destroy too many roots when you move them. I've lost 2 out of 15 I've planted for clients, hard to get the water just right. Hope you have better luck! You might call Fort Collins Nursery at 800-794-1289 for information. They grow them very successfully.

My suggestion is to NOT plant them at 2ft intervals - that is too close unless you are going to chop down 2/3 of them. As artful_gardener said, they do not transplant well and they will fill in the space quicker than you can imagine! I got mine as little twigs 2 springs ago (about 6-8 inches tall) - now they are about 3 ft tall and 2 ft across. I only watered them the first year, and they survived last year on their own. Interestingly, they have put on a LOT of growth over this past winter (since last Oct), so make sure you water them all year the first year.

DO NOT amend the holes if you have heavy clay soil. The roots will never grow out of the planting hole if you do this! We have realtively heavy clay soil too. The previous owners of our home did this with several trees - I finally pulled them out last year because these trees were just not thriving, even though the owners said they'd been in the ground for almost 7 years. The planting hole was easy to see and it was filled with potting soil (!!) - and the roots of these poor trees were confined to the planting hole - the roots had wrapped themselves around and around in the hole, but had not ventured out into the clay.

Now I plant ALL of my perennials, shrubs, and trees directly into the unamended dirt. The only thing I do different is for roses, and those I top-dress with manure.

Hope that helps!

Nancy

Thank you both for the advice. Unfortunately, I had already planted them before I got any posts.

I did plant them 2 ft apart, but if they need thinning, I will have no problem cutting some out. I have such a high attrition rate here with seedlings from gophers, rabbits and deer, I always overplant.

I also amended the heavy clay soil (OOPS) but I only used about one third compost (cottonburr compost) to two parts soil.

I am glad to hear about the rapid growth rate Nancy experienced, I have heard differing accounts of the growth rate, I was expecting much less.

Thanks again

Just a follow up, 2 years and now the trees are almost 3 feet tall, just beggining to touch each other. I had drip irrigation installed and water during prolong dry periods (even in the winter). I have only lost 2 of the 50, and I think this was from the boy dogs peeing on them.

It's a good looking little windbreak now, and starting to collect snow in the winter. I bet it will gain a least a foot in height this summer.

Congratulations on receiving these seedlings and making them stick. The seeds themselves take two years to mature before they can be germinated. Though you can grow them from clippings, the trees still are generally slow growing. ...so these trees of yours are quite an investment of time and patience. I love these trees as they are wild and native in my area which is dry and mostly foliated by short stubby vegetation made to survive the harsh cold snowy winter and somewhat dry summer. They stand out because they grow to up to 50 feet tall. But in the wild they rarely get to 50 feet. The tallest I have seen in the wild is 15 feet, shorter and slow growing but very old. The trees come in both male and female varieties. Meaning that in order to create fertile seeds a male and female tree must be near each other in the wild. Good luck with your wind break.

I love the native Juniper here. In Forida I planted privacy fences of cedar and juniper. 6 foot centers with horse pucky rings about 3 foot in diameter. Put in a drip line which the trees only needed until they were established. After 3-4 years I just tossed more manure along the front of the line. I set them at 6 inches in 2005 and over 90% survived the first 3 years. Those are about 15-20 feet tall now. In 2009 I replaced lost trees, they were over 3-6 feet in 2012 most of the variation was due to part of the line being in full sun while others were under canopy shade. Here in Colorado, I find it best to unearth wee trees from under bird perches. When they are less than 6 inches they bare root and transplant in about March quite well. They even keep in clean water for months, same for bitty Douglas Firs. I just plant them in native soil, very silty/clay rich compared to Florida sand. I still like to use well cooked manue from horse or cow souces, in a wide ring for new plants. I've amended manure with lime on occasion, but it doesn't seem to be as essential out here. If anyone is interested I have a decent supply of ready to plant babies this year.

My junipers are now about 7 to 8 ft tall and I only lost 3 of the 50. It was a windbreaker for the north winds and snow in the winter. The snow would drift up 5-6 ft upwind in the winter and not against my house. It provided a really great habitat for the birds too. I just sold my place but if I have a chance before I move I'll post a pic.