Last year I paid $80 for a 2.footer. it was a bargain. Not that it was on sale but that I found one that small and did not have to spend 300.

It has put on at least a foot of growth.

Your question poses the ultimate test of the free market. Since the Sciadopitys is rare to start with and the desired size is even rarer it will be what a very limited number of buyers will pay.

If both you and I want that 12/15 foot specimen we would probably be out of the bidding after $2500. However, if Bill Gates and Donald Trump want that tree there would be no ceiling.

Can the "market price" be established on such a limited availability? I'm not sure, but your question is quite thought provoking. Thank you.

I've twice had ones planted here grow about a foot per year once established. So it might not be as necessary to buy a big one as it might seem, in a particular situation. Also I wouldn't use it for a backdrop or other location where it was at the rear of a planting because it has a coarse texture that draws attention, makes its surroundings look smaller. But using it as an isolated specimen that was supposed to distract from a view could certainly work, for the same reason.

In 1972 I worked at a retail nursery where an 8" plant retailed @ $25.00. That is over $140.00 in current dollars. These were probably 6 to 8 year old seedlings. Today we retail a 2 gallon 18/24" plant (cutting grown) @ $69.00. Mostly this is due to the fact that Sciadopitys were considered too difficult to root from cuttings and so they were all produced by seed which is a much slower process (i.e. Slower growth rate).

The reason why I question, as some of you frequent members may know, is that our property in Wheeler is for sale. I have a Sciadopitys that is nearly 12' high and I want to emphasize to a potential buyer that my tree is valuable, not only for its beauty and slow growth but that a tree of that caliber should be revered and well cared for. I would have estimated it being about $600 but what do I know? Thanks for the responses.

F.W.I.W. it's caliper and refers to the stem thickness rather than height.

Emb, I did mean caliber, as to quality and distinction. It is a lovely tree and one that I have grown since 1988.

1988: that is like leaving a child you gave birth to and raised. You're looking for adoptive parents with a big place in their hearts, not homebuyers. I don't mean that in a mean way, either. I get it.

Home buyers have their own concept of the perfect garden, perfect tree, etc. Some years ago, I heard about a premiere rock garden that the seller was careful not to disturb when taking cuttings before she sold the place. A month later, the buyers bulldozed it.

When we sold our house 4 years ago, our casual style, low-water front yard was replaced with lawn.

The moral of the story: The buyer/s will do what they want to do with their "new" garden. If you are the sensitive type, never return to look at how the garden/plants are doing.

It's true that trees, especially old trees, add value to the property. It's also true that for the vast majority of buyers, a majestic oak tree is far more valuable than a 30-year-old odd-looking (at least to them) conifer.

I just looked it up and the caliper is the tool used to measure the tree so it would appear that when nurseries list stock as being so much caliper they really aren't using the term correctly - it is like referring to the height of a child as being the yardstick of that child, because you used a yardstick to get that height measurement.

Whereas because caliber is the measurement of a round object then that would in fact seem to be the right way to refer to how far around the trunk of a tree in a nursery is.

a 30-year-old odd-looking (at least to them) conifer

Many people automatically make their own mark on a place without considering that something out in the yard put there by a previous occupant might be worth hanging onto. If they aren't gardeners chances are they won't recognize the merits of any particular specimen, no matter how significant it might appear to a plant lover, and will be inclined to remove a lot of planting in favor of grass or paving - it being thought less bothersome to mow and blow than weed or mulch.

The flip side of this is that it appears there are a lot of nice specimens around because the occupants of the properties they are on aren't even interested enough to mess with them.