Thanks for letting me "share" ;)

You have been busy! That's a lot of conifers in a couple of years!

How many acres do you have?

Have you thought about a pond or two with a stream? A excavator could get it done in a day. That would enable you to get control of the water. Looks to be a big project. Maybe the Corps of Engineers could help. ;-)

Mike

"I started planting in spring 2013 and am finally "planted out" (lol)."

Ha! Don't worry, in a few months you'll find something else you absolutely have to have. I've sworn to myself multiple times that I'm done and that I'm just going to sit back and watch what I already have grow. It never happens.

Nice collection!

That's quite the feat in such a short time. Nice!

Mike is right, you definitely need a few ponds to take care of that drainage. I'd make that the next priority or I'm afraid lots of those won't last in the coming years when those roots outstretch their mounds. I can definitely see why you are volcano planting.=)

You may have this in your plans already but it would look nice to connect those mini mounds with more soil to make raised beds. Use the soil dug from the drainage ponds.

That swampy soil would be perfect for some Taxodium and Metasequoia cultivars. They do well with wet feet. Larix can also do okay with some wet soil but still needs drainage.

Thanks for sharing!

Good work! Some fine looking specimens.

On flat land to the south of me they have water problems being at sea level reclaimed. I notice some fields are entirely raised with run off channels all around. So one thing you could also try is extending your volcanos area to join some together and giving them drainage as Garen suggests. A mini digger would be my choice.

Another thing is that you have mature trees there, what are they as that's a pointer to what thrives or at least tolerates your land. If they can grow to maturity then some conifers could too volcanos or not.

Yeah, a minnie digger would work very well, now that the plants are already in. It's reach is a lot less than a medium size excavator though. I'm thinking putting down plops of soil between the mounds and build up large berms, hoping there's enough space.

I'm planting and clearing land for the garden also. I have to be aware of what trees I'm going to fall.............. and leave room for them to fall. Just something to think about.

I'm too old to take them down in chunks anymore and it's damned expensive if I hire it out. I heat my house with wood, so I can use the wood.

Mike

Welcome, Pete.

Finally planted out? After 2 years? It took me 15 years on a postage stamp sized lot. lol

Thanks for the pix.

tj

Thanks and thanks for the inspiration everyone! As suggested, I have been filling in bw "mounds"/connecting them when they are close. I have also been adding (clay dug from future basements) to solo mounds. I will continue to do so when my next load (15 small dump truck loads or so) gets here. Beggers cant be choosers.

The property is 2 acres, about 90' x 970'. It slopes down to the street in front. I got it in Fall 12 and spent some time trying to fix the house that was there. I ended up tearing it down this spring. I will be adding more fill dirt (I've already added 12 dumptruck loads) to where the house will sit to get it higher off the ground.

I do plan to have a stream and one or two small "koi type" ponds connected to the stream. There are also a few small vernal ponds, the largest of which lasted until early/mid August this year.

I dont have any real space for a pond of any size. The best spot would be where my garden was this year. Its the bare wet rectangular area in one of the above pics, perhaps 10'x14? But that is behind where my house will be and my goal is to get the water in front of my house, to the culvert by the road. My number 1 goal right now is dry house. Until I added fill dirt to the footprint of where the old house was (and where the new house will go), it was a 8" deep "pond" with about 30 frogs living in it.

The stream/pond(s) combo I have planned will start at the side of my future house and run down my front yard to the street. One or two ponds will be incorporated into it. I cant go big on the ponds bc there are some established large trees (and roots) in the front yard.

Thanks again!

Future Stream source.

In Oct 2012, after a few months of hot and no rain, the water table was down about 14'. The next spring it was down about 4".

Vernal pool.

Front yard from top of old house. Stream will run down left side. There is an 80' or so white pine and a few other larger established basic conifers over there. What I want most out of this is dense conifer forest 30 years from now. The blue guy in the middle is a....hoopsi.

Everyone together,,HI PETE ( like at the meetings )

MAN ! I got to the second pic ,,,,out of my mouth came--LOOK AT THAT GUY GO

and it kept going !

you got real challenges ,,,,free clay is good , I guess , if you can get 6" top soil on top of it

good luck,,,thanks for sharing,,and hope to see more

ron

looks you'll need a barge to get dirt in , in spots _ ha

corp of engineers__ haha

Thanks Ron, I feel at home now ;)! Linear mound. My name is Pete and I love emerald green arborvitaes! The weeping white spruce has been in the mound for 2 years. Further down the line (after the 5 EGs) are a weeping white pine, a weeping Norway spruce (which I plan to stake as high as possible), a Bakeri blue spruce, and Bosnian mint truffle pine.

Holy Cow! Are you young-ish? That looks like a 20 year plan.

… My name is Pete and I am addicted to conifers!….

Now that you have confessed your sins. God will forgive you.

Welcome to CATC (Coniferous Anonymous Treatment Center) where you will find lots of great souls that will share your pain. You don't have to be suffered alone. We, all the sinners in this forum, are here to help make your life a bit easier to live.

J.N

And a good old Subaru to boot. They are the best.

Ha ha, I was going to ask the same thing if you were a youngin as that is quite an undertaking and ambitious planting. I think Sam from Conifer Kingdom was the youngest around these parts for a long time but he hasn't been on these threads since most migrated to the FaceBook thingamajig. I still like it here on these threads that sparked my addiction. I'm 34 but that seams to be young amongst most the conifer collectors.

OT....but......Will someone please tell what the facebook thingamajig is?

I mean I know what facebook is, but hows it work about a topic?

I was on facebook for two weeks....about 4 years ago.....

Did you know the National Meeting of the ACS is in your back yard, (Dawes Arboretum & Columbus) next summer?

HELLO ....

did you spend the retirement at danahers.. in westerville?? ... lol ... i only mention such.. in case you were unaware ...

great job.. i miss the days... when i had such passion ...

ken

Marie , I understand they go to Planet Conifer on Face

report back to us,,,wassup

ron

plantkiller, you're not likely to hear from me about anything on facebook! I spend too much time just on GW and it fills my gardening information and inspiration needs. Don't want to get into friending etc, even if it is totally benign. I won't say never, but unless houzz somehow kills GW I'll hang out here

I'm with you , Marie

besides , we got a new guy to show us plants

ron

Thanks everyone. In front of the fence was a solid wall of honeysuckle. I thought a skylands and dwarf Serbian spruce would look nicer. A volunteer Ohio buckeye is bw them to the left. A bird's nest spruce is on the right and Jean's Dilly is above the upper rock.

I'm late to the game but these are great pictures, I appreciate you posting them and giving us an intro. While I'm here,

Hey Pete, Welcome! Thanks for sharing. Keep comin back! ; )

I snapped some pics today. And planted a few things.

A recently planted Spaan's Dwarf Shore pine in between a Sester's Dwarf Blue Spruce and a Vanderwolf's pyramidal pine. Lower down is Canaan Fir, Hoopsi blue spruce. (About 6-7') There's also a MR. Bowling Ball up close and right, and down the fence an Uncle Fogy Jack pine. Closest is an Abbot's Pygmy Canadian Hemlock.

On the left Bakeri blue spruce, Bosnian Mint Truffle Pine, Witchita Juniper, Colorado Blue Spruce. Between the Witchita and Colorado, but back and in a large mound is a The Blues Colorado Blue Spruce. In front Left Thume Blue spruce, Slowmound Mugo Pine, Little Gem Norway spruce.

In the lower right is a Skylands that I recently planted. If you go up and slightly left (11:00 direction) there will be a 3-4' Norway spruce followed by a 6-7' Colorado Blue Spruce. Hidden behind that is another Skylands. :) :).

Hidden in the "grass"...are....you guessed it, more little guy conifers!

On the left Dappled willow that a deer recently got to, weeping Norway Spruce Emerald Green Arborvitae (got to love them!), Techny Arborvitae, Forever Goldy arborvitae ( the deer got to that last year, still a little ragged), Cupressina Norway Spruce, Eastern White Pine, Green Giant Arborvitae (and the big one behind that, not sure). Down and to the left from the white pine is Horstmann's Siberlocke Korean Fir down and to the right is a concolor fir (little guy). To the left from the concolor, in the middle (in the "bed mess") is Abbot's Pygmy Canadian Hemlock, to the left Jean's Dilly Dwarf Alberta Spruce. Up and bw Jean/Abbot is Baby Blue Eyes. Between Emerald green and Baby Blues Eyes is a Serbian Spruce (little guy). There are a few others as well. A lot of work to be done, but they are in the ground and growing.

This is what happens when I dont plant on mounds. That is an Eastern White pine and a 3' Baby Blue Spruce in the middle of the picture. I think/hope the Baby Blue will survive, but Im not holding out hope for the Eastern White Pine. I planted a pyramidal white pine (up on a mound)to replace it. I dont need to water at all. As a test, I planted about 10 conifers last Nov/Dec haven't watered them at all, even during planting (ground was moist). They are fine. I planted 8 more recently and will not water at all (I dont plan on buying 300 more feet of hose, 700 is enough to "manage" already).

"Standard Garden" (for Ken) I added a Mops mugo pine, perennial flower, a Picea Omorika Nana(oops), and a Moonfire Japanese maple(rt middle). That is a Papoose Spruce in front up high. Below the (thicker) trunk of the third tree in upper left is a little guy concolor fir. The green blob in the upper right is a Canadian Hemlock. I also recently planted the Cupressina Norway Spruce in the upper middle. The honeysuckle around the Cupressina will get cut as needed.

that burial mound for papoose is extreme ... lol ...

how are you going to mulch it.... or water it ???

flexogen hoses.. are the best ... arent they....

ken

The papoose is doing well. I just need to keep adding soil horizontally as it grows (lol, but seriously). You should see my "the blues" blue spruce singing the blues because it is planted in a taller narrower mound. Theyve got drainage though and are easily waterable. In the winter/spring the bases of the (papoose and the blues) mounds are in small pools of water. I needed spots to plant more conifers so I made spots out of non-spots. 2 acres planted out (on the overcrowded side) in 2.5 years. Now it is time to get into very small dwarf conifers. Should be able to find some place to plant them or "get creative".

Pete, I'm trying to figure out your design plan. It's not making sense to me. It seems as if small growing plants are placed randomly among larger growing ones and they are all fairly evenly spaced despite their different growing rates. Maybe you can enlighten me as to your over all plan.

I just have to repeat about you should get control of the water before putting plants in their final position.

Thanks.

Mike

Pete, I like that you're doing there while you work with and contend with that high water table ... oh, nice collection of plants also!

My primary goal is to have a "dense conifer forest" in 30 years. When I first started planting, I planted a lot of Norway spruce, Colorado blue spruce, and Eastern white pine(trees that get big). After a year or so I started taking notice of the smaller (and costlier) medium growing trees, dwarfs and miniatures. At first I was spacing 20 ft +/- bw the bigger trees. As time went on, this distance kept getting smaller. Yes, they are closer than I would like, especially in 30 years, but it was a tradeoff. A tradeoff bw specimen trees and variety/quantity. Randomness (I call it disorganized fun), but I did take into account how big the trees get. When I planted the dwarf Serbian spruce a few days ago, I thought I read 4'x4' on the tag, then noticed it was 10'x8'. If I need to replant then I will. I still have room in an "island of sun in the woods" (which already has about 15 conifers). As far as watering, it appears that I dont need to much, if at all. The 10 or so I planted last Nov/Dec and didn't water at all, even during planting, all are fine. I need to make sure the mounds stay moist during extended hot/dry periods. And I am always widening/leveling mounds with more dirt. It may not look like ideal growing conditions, but I think they are pretty good. I just have to make it work. Nearly every tree I have lost was planted too low.

Thanks. In Oct 2012 after a hot dry summer(typical of here) , the water table was down about 14'. Spring 2013, it was down about 4". Since then it hasn't gotten below 42-48". Some wetland conifers (this was in the spring, Ive added a few since :)