yeah.. those wallyworld snobs can be a handful ...

just plant it ...

tease out.. or cut some of the roots if wrapping around the pot badly ...

i would have tipped it out of the pot at the store.. to see where i stood with that issue ...

plant it on a rainy day or two ... or try to figure out how to shade it for a few days ...

plant it this way:

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

and get that tag off it ASAP ... hang it from a nail in the garage ... its probably your warranty ...

ken

Thanks, Ken...I will definitely do that!

I've read on another post that you've not had the best luck with this tree, or at least at one time you hadn't. So I'm going in with hopeful but low expectations, will be pleasantly surprised if he grows up to be spectacular. For $20 it's worth a shot.

On another note, since you're here-- I keep running into your picture around here of your DeGroot's Spire... I think on one of the posts you said you didn't prune it...is that right? I can't seem to find it now but I feel like I read that once. I just want to make sure I shouldn't have any plans to prune mine in the future. Right now he's just a little guy but I'd be SO SO HAPPY if he grew to look like yours... so skinny and interesting. I may not have mine in enough sun though. Morning til about 2pm and then again around 5/6pm...

Lastly when I was at the big box, I chose this Blue Arrow over the others bc the others all seemed to have 2 leaders. I guess I don't know what determines whether a branch is just another tall upright branch, or a leader, but they all had 2 tallest upright branches, sorta parallel to each other. This one had just the 1. So I assume I should make sure it stays that way...?

Thanks very much Ken.

you are welcome ...

the de groots ... is thin compared to teh rest ... but after 10 years .. or so ... it will thicken ... by putting up second and third leaders .. down low ...

and they can be taken out ... as you notice them ...

ken

Good to know Ken.. I suppose if I see something like that starting to happen and am unsure still, I can always post some pics here for clarification : )

Nicole

OK Ken, I went out to examine my De Groots a little more closely and was surprised to find a big ol second leader (I think?) starting right down at the base! Tried to get some good pics-- first of the whole tree, then with me splaying the other leader and another branch out so you could see inside, and the last one to show how thick the second one is at the base. Would you recommend I just chop the whole thing off? I'm ready for action!

Thanks, Nicole

And while I'm in this area of my garden-- if anyone feels so inclined to give their 2cents-- what are your thoughts on me siting my new Blue Arrow Juniper to the right of the De Groots? I was thinking maybe about 3 feet over? Or perhaps even getting one of those Gold Cone Juniper for the 3feet away spot (and a little in front since it seems to not get as tall as the other 2?), and then planting the Blue Arrow even further to the right, kinda behind the Viridis Maple, about 3 feet in front of the corner of the house? Then I could plant some shorter things nearer the sidewalk, where I still have to lay down my newspaper and mulch.

If this is utterly ridiculous, go ahead and say so. My thinking was, I like groups of 3 and while they're all different trees, they're all columnar and the different colors might be cool, plus eventually hide my gas and electric situation. And you can't really see it but I have a row of black mondo grass at the bade of the Viridis, sort of in a semi circle pattern.

Other suggestions are most always welcome too!

Nicole

Since I haven't heard anything about my last posts, I'm just gonna go for it! That big bottom branch on my De Groots is going tomorrow : )

Gonna just take the whole thing!! Because I'm just a renegade and that's how we do....

blue eh???

its yours.. do whatever you want ...

its all about whether you want a completely slim tree ... or dont mind if it get two or 3 feet wide in a decade ...

i know it looks sparse now ... but do NOT plant the J behind the JM ...
that is overplanting IMHO ... but i cant see the whole in the pics

btw.. plant the J just slightly tilted.. to straighten it just a bit ...

ken

Ken, thanks for your insight-- I was wondering if it might be too close to the Viridis for the Blue Arrow.. so I will definitely heed your advice there. As for the Degroots, yes I absolutely want it super super skinny. I want to do whatever I can to make it look like yours someday! We've had tons of rain the past few days here though and more on the way...Does that mean I should wait to prune that big bottom branch off? I wondered if the moisture might not be good for the wound left behind. I have no idea if that's a thing to worry about.

Here's a pic of the front of the house, where I get partial/full sun starting in mid-afternoon (there's the Viridis on the left with the Degroot's directly behind it, you can't really see it hiding there)... I'm more than open to any better siting suggestions for the BA. The right side of the house that you can't see in this pic already has my dwarf globe blue spruce so I wanted the BA somewhere else, space out the blues a bit... Directly below the left shutter is a Redbud Hazel and the little conifer by the rock is a Tiny Kurls-- the rest there are just some annuals that I'm happy to move, they're only there to fill up the space a tiny bit, and haven't started growing much yet anyway.

Thanks also for the tip on planting the BA slightly tilted!

Nicole

i like to say.. every leaf is a food making machine... you never want to take too many off at one time ...

on that logic ... warped as it is ... i would take one now ... and then the other in fall.. or next spring ...

i mean ..... you are talking about taking almost 2/3s of it off ...

you need to have patience with trees... which conifers are ...think of your training as a 3 to 5 years plan ... no instant gratification with such ...

i remember your house .. and that blank palette you once had ...

ken

Thanks Ken! Just ran out and got it, here's what we are looking at now:

Not so bad, right? If I try to shorten some of the regular branches to keep them tighter to the tree, would that defeat the purpose by sending out new shoots and thereby making it fuller in the long run? I don't mean today, just in the future.... Today just the thicker one coming out of the base.

Yeah that was me, completely bare out front after we removed the old yews that had been formed into a perfect long box spreading the entire width of the house in the front. Nice of you to remember! I'm trying to stay patient...

Hi , Nicole , just noticed your post . I like your idea of triple columnars of different colors

too bad the maple is there,,,,how long has it been in the ground ?

and the degroots looks better already

ron

you prune while bare ?

What does that mean, Ron? "prune while bare"...

I only planted the maple a little over a month ago... you think it'd be better somewhere else? Guess it's kinda too late now maybe anyway... My thought was, between the Redbud Hazel and whatever conifers end up there, the fall colors would be striking there on the corner... plus eventually it'll get bigger and the shape will be good there.

I'm honestly still not sure if I want to keep the Blue Arrow or return it... I don't like how many of the branches are drooping down-- and they feel really weak, like perhaps they won't decide to go back up... several of them almost like they're hanging by a thread. Makes me think any new branches will grow the way they look in the pictures when I google-- which is to say, all kind of sweeping straight up-- and these already jacked-up ones will throw the whole thing off. Is that wrong? Why were all the BA's at the store like this but NONE of the ones I see online are... Doesn't feel right.

if your idea was to conceal utilities , conifers would do a better year round job

if the maple was planted this year , it won't hurt to move,,,in fall or next spring

not suggesting,,,just pointing out options,,,it's all your call

what is purple leaf plant to right of gas meter ?

possible lack of water or hacked roots,,,did you pull plant out of pot ?

ron

I was following your narrative about pruning the degroots , then you said you were bare

ha

HA! I didn't catch that-- thought you might've been asking if I pruned the maple after all the leaves fell off last fall... but we hadn't talked about pruning that guy so I was confused overall.

But no, I haven't taken to any bare gardening yet, thank goodness! Yikes.

My goal for the corner there was twofold.. to kind of "feature" the Viridis as it seems it'd be more striking on the corner than just stuck in the middle somewhere, and yes also to get some things in there to hide the utilities some. I guess I hadn't really considered wintertime without leaves though... Maybe I'll dig it up and rip out a patch of grass for the Viridis on the OTHER side of the sidewalk corner, next spring or fall.

The red stuff is just some coleus-- I just planted it so it's little still but it gets pretty bushy in my garden, by mid-summer anyway. I know it won't hide anything but the color should be nice.

No I never pulled the BA out of the pot-- I'd go do it now but it's pouring. Overall I just don't think I'm feeling it though. Maybe I'll wait til I find one I like better and still go with the 3 color/column plan..

question is ,how big does the Viridis get,,is there room to move farther out to corner of sidewalk,,kind of hard to tell from hear.

I know you are being careful about spacing , that is a good thing

I also know you complained about big rectangle architecture ,,,,seems you need something to soften corner

maybe the Viridis would do that

Have you ever seen the landscaping software,,, database of plants to move around,,,see how it is gonna look

ron

Well according to what I can find online, I can expect the Viridis to *eventually* get around 10'wide... I know that'll take a while though.

I'm not sure if I'm reading you wrong here Ron but just so ya know, no suggestions would offend me. I'm grateful for any insight, especially from you guys whose gardens are so beautiful in the style I'm most drawn to. All suggestions/thoughts welcome! I can always take what I like and leave the rest, as they say.

Lemme look up that landscaping software quick... That sounds very interesting...

Oh yah ,something I wanted to say in last post,,,said I bet you start to spill beds, over side of sidewalk

Somebody said that last week-- might've been you actually. And me... I've def said that before! I'm hoping to at least get a decent sized dent in the empty beds I have now before I go there though :-)

Okay I couldn't find a landscape program that gets really good reviews so I just used one of these silly apps I have on my phone. Obviously we have to use our imagination as this is extremely fake-looking, but here are my two quickies. (I know I should've used a newer pic where I had gotten rid of that tarp with grass on it,but oh well. I'm not going to do the whole thing again, ha)

Kind a like them both, though the conifers do hide the situation better…

You might've started a new addiction Ron ... I now want to juxtapose full grown specimens of all my plants into a picture of my bed! Ugh.

Yah , it was me,,,got a buck,,sez you do,,,reason I first said that is the way you were talking about ordering new babies,,,questions about placing them,,thinking about future plants

you got IT,,,,,gardening bug,,,early signs of A.C.S.,,,,I caught it 30 yrs. ago,,,,turned into severe A.C.S. all I had was graph paper and straight edge

now look what you can do ! and fast too,,,,,with your phone ?

software I've seen is 3D,,,,you can walk through your yard ,,etc.,,,but that's cool

ron,,,OUT

addicted conifer syndrome ,,Susan Ayere,,,,, google it

it's going to be fun !

Do you by chance recommend a specific landscape program, Ron? I'd be interested in checking one out but they all seem to have "meh" reviews. My last few days have been insane busy but once I have more time again I can see myself doing the Juxtaposer (that's the app's name) thing for many hours, ha. And yes it's on my phone (iPad too, and easier to edit on the bigger screen but I've done so many on the phone that I'm kinda used to it). Before your suggestion of the landscape program got me to thinking about it though, my edits were pretty much just to switch people's heads, or replace them altogether with animal heads ... never fails to make me laugh. When husband saw what I used it for this time he smiled and rolled his eyes and said "oh here we go" : )

That ACS thing is hysterical. I did actually join the real ACS last summer and love the magazines, though I've yet to do anything other than read it. I'd love to visit some of the local-ish members' gardens sometime but so far it hasn't worked out time-wise. Kids are little, makes mama busy, and time is what there's never enough of. They're both starting to love "helping" though and that's awesome. The 4-year-old just puts on his gloves and saves all the worms that get dug up, but I'll take that. Worms are precious after all!

Nicole

I can't recomend any software , I can't even use computer correctly

expect to lose wifi signal at home ,,,got from neighbor, who is moving

get 10 min. at work

ron,,,OUT

OH I have signal , Nicole why don't you post question to these fine folks ?

I think I saw software walking thru book store or some place

Ok I'm back guys, hi!! ...and ready to move forward with this corner. I'm having hubbie move the viridis tomorrow, and following thru on the plan for the 3 columnar conifers. Yay!! I found another group of $18 Blue Arrow junipers, and had yet another quick question if anyone's still game to deal with me and this issue ✷(ꇐ‿ꇐ)✷

so here's the thing. All the Blue Arrows appear to have had their leaders cut off. From different stores too, though all big box. I've never inspected them like this before (I'm getting trained bit by bit here) so for all I know, this is completely fine and maybe even how things are normally done? I didn't want to chance it without asking though so I took some pics and will wait to see if anyone has some direction for me.