It has always had this 'sickly' look about it, is there anything I can do, or is it supposed to look this way?

===>>>

i am thinking.. that you are thinking... or have some preconceived notion of what a conifer should look like .... and since this one is outside your notion. you are thinking it looks bad .... not good ...

the Id peeps are probably going to need some closer pics .... of the buds ... and the needles ... a cone if you can find one ...

it is my position.. that trees... once established.. NEVER need anything from you ... i am sure you drive the byways.. and see millions of free range trees ... nobody is doing anything for them.. and they are just fine ... if anything. your plants are stressed ... they are.. and never will be.. hungry ... just forget about fert ... forever ...

anyway ... back to the first... look to this years growth.. compare to last years growth ... look for a bark color change ... and if they are consistent.. then there probably isnt anything wrong with it ...

if you look at the pine..study it.. you will see it grows in whorls.... look at the top set of buds... one center one.... which will be the leader... and a bunch of side ones.. that will be the branches ...

then look down the trunk ... and you will see the whorls for each year.. and you can pretty much.. guess how old it is .... since the grafting .... you can also tell.. how much the trunk grew each year.... expect the year or two after transplant.. to be reduced due to the transplant ...

good luck on expecting an answer from monrovia.... they arent in the biz of talking to retail customers.... as they are a wholesaler ... they may answer.. but dont count on it ...

finally.. i would get rid of the shipping stakes.. especially on the pine ... simply useless.. especially if it doesnt go past the potting media and actually into the soil ...

read this link about proper planting.. and lets discuss that which you may not have done to specs ...

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

thats all i can jam in one rather short post...

get those better pix ...do keep in mind.. sundays arent high traffic.. so be patient ....

ken

Those spruces look like Norways to me? Not sure

I thought so too

Hi steve , Welcome,,,,plenty of room there,,,it's going to be fun,,,you mentioned obsession ,,,that's a good way to go,,,ha

ron

Ken I snatched the stakes. The Arizona was staked after planting due to a bending habit. I assume it will right itself now that it is in full sun, an ideal conditions.

I'd say I followed planting guidelines pretty well according to your link. I might need to extend the mulch out a bit, and add anther inch and a half.

Mad far as the two spruces, I am leaning heavily towards them being two different cultivars of Norway Spruce.

Here are cones from the weeping variety.

And here is the only cone I could reach from the bushy guy (there is a thick poison ivy vine that needs some immediate attention inside this tree)

As far as the pine is concerned. I noticed that the needles were 5 to a cluster. They have a blueish white stripe running down the center, so I can comfortably say it is a Japanese white pine.

Thanks for the welcome Ron. I never thought I'd be obsessed with trees, but I see nothing but potential for this cool space, and conifers offer so many gorgeous forms and colors.

Today I added:

3 of these 1 gallon Colorado spruces. Spaced about 30 feet apart, on the

And a cool little Hinoki Cypress

Its fun to see all the incredible possibilities for this space. I have my eye on adding an atlas cedar, a golden deodar, a cryptomeria, and a grouping of metasequoia. It would be nice to venture out into less popular medium and small varieties to fill in the spaced between.

-Steve

Welcome Steve! Oh boy, the conifer addiction has started. Be warned, once you start looking into the never ending cultivar varieties offering spectacular color, form, and texture, the addiction quickly intensifies until you have full blown coniferitis. Theres no turning back now, and with the space you have available, looks like your in good shape to handle the ride ahead. Yippee!

The first two are normal Picea abies (species seedlings) grown from seed. The seedlings will vary in form. As for the sickly part, They look normal to me. You'll get the best forms from specifically selected cultivars that have been grafted (cloned). Look for varieties that have been named (e.g. Picea abies 'Perry's Gold', 'Gold Drift', 'Pusch', 'Rotenhausii')

Your Japanese white pine is most likely Pinus parviflora 'Glauca'.

It's good to start getting familiar with the horticultural nomenclature, proper naming of species, rather than going off the common names. Common names can be misleading. For example, the common name "red cedar" can refer to many different species of trees and most referred to under this common name are not even cedars. You'll get used to learning the correct scientific names real quick while perusing the many conifer varieties offered through mail order sites when you get to that point of addiction.

If adding Metasequoia, I highly recommend adding at least one Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon' or a 'Sherman's Nordlicht'.

Okay, I can't help myself you need some of these to name a few and hundreds more.

Picea orientalis 'Aureospicata' or 'Skylands'

Picea engelmanii 'Bush's Lace'

Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' or 'Berliner's Weeper'

Picea pungens 'Hoopsii'

Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'

Cupressus nootkatensis 'Glauca Pendula', 'Green Arrow', or 'Sparkling Arrow'

Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst'

Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead'

Sciadopitys verticillata, any

ok .. this was your first post ...

it is getting too overwhelming on the multitude of topics ... so i am losing interest ...

posts are free ... the forum is rather slow... so there is no reason not to do new posts.. on specific plants ... so as to narrow down the discussions... appropriate titles would help others.. when they start searching for info ...

you have picea pungens ... if you want a really blue one.. search out and obtain P pungens Hoopsi ...now that one is blue ....

ken

Garen, thank you for the welcome, the excitement, and the advice about starting to follow scientific nomenclature. Also, thanks for the list. It definitely mirrors a lot of the species I've been eyeing online.

Hate to ask another question... But

Are there preferred online sources, or is it a searching game more or less?

Ken, I understand what you're saying about too many subjects in one post. Separating them makes sense.

Here are links to a few of my favorite online sources. I have received great plants from all of them.

coniferkingdom.com

Dan's Dwarf Conifers

forestfarm.com

iconicgardens.com

maplestoneornamentals.com

songsparrow.com

singtree.com

Your wish list is about to get a lot bigger =)

Yep, Norway Spruce Picea abies, two individuals with different crown shape (the species is quite variable), and a Japanese White Pine Pinus parviflora.

Resin