Try forestfarm.com

if you are at university ... what is your plan for it..

growing a telephone pole tree indoors???

conifers are trees... and not many make good houseplants ....

ken

My plan for it is to put it at my house, outside, like anyone with any sense would do. I don't know if you just assume I know nothing about trees or what the deal is. Now, do you know of anyplace I might be able to purchase one?

Hey Kyle, Here is a good thread about China Fir. I second the recommendation for Woodlanders. On a sad note I just learned that one of the founders of that nursery, Robert Mackintosh died and his funeral is tomorrow.

My eldest has just come back from Laos with seeds of this (and a few other trees) so have been reading up with interest . He also bought cryptomeria seeds and is insistent that it is a sort of conifer version of poplar (?) and well appropriate for our woods. Did make me think about planning my own trip to Yunnan before I 'cock my clogs'.

I just got a woodlanders order as well but not china fir in it. My Glauca came from rare finds last year. They may still have a few.

Thanks guys. This is a tree I've read a lot about and am very excited to have one of my own.

Update: I received two 1 gal, very healthy looking trees from Woodlanders today. I have 2 questions. 1.) I know they were started as cuttings, but I can't tell if they were side shoots or from the top, so if they are from side shoots, will that affect the eventual shape of my tree? I've read different opinions on that. 2.) Should I plant them now? Or wait till the danger of frost is gone? I feel like this is a dumb question, and I should just plant them now, but I wanted to ask to be sure. On a related side note, the weather for here is forecast to be warmer than average and wet for basically the next two weeks. Thanks.

Kyle

I assume they were propagated from suckers, so they should grow upright. I potted my two up temporarily, we tend to get soaking rain with cold fronts during the winter, and I have lost newly planted trees due to soggy soil.

They sure are prickly things aren't they? I reached in the box to pull mine out and quickly had to turn them loose. They look soft from a distance but they are far from it.

The people at Woodlanders told me they may take a while to form a dominant leader, and that after they do, I might need to "prune the spreading growth" to retain the pyramidal shape. That just worried me a little.

I have taken cuttings from both branches and the tops of suckers, maybe about a 100. Cuttings from suckers go straight up, even if the light is coming from one side. Branches, on the other hand, have a hard time finding up. They will grow off to one side. Even staked, they have a hard time with up. Eventually a sucker or two will sprout from the base and go vigorously straight up. After a year I have cut off the 'dumb' branch and let the sucker go reach for the sky. Be careful handling the rootball, the sucker can snap off fairly easy and then you're left with just the dumb branch and then you have to start over. Ask me how I know.

Mike

I feel like this cutting was definitely from a branch, what do you think?

Yes, that's from a branch.

Mike

Rats. About how long you think I'll have to wait for some suckers to start popping up?

I wonder if it were clipped off about halfway if it would stimulate suckering?

Weird that you would mention that. I did it to all my branch starts, but I waited a year or more for it to develop more roots. I left about 6 or 8 inches of the branch and used it as a handle for the rootball. Once planted in the ground I cut the 'handle' off. The sprouts always grew straight up and fast while the branch languished. Let the cutting develop more roots before you cut it in half.

Mike

Sounds good. Thanks for all the info and tips, guys. I was very surprised with the roots it had on it, but I'll still take your advice and wait awhile before cutting it. I'll put a pic on here tomorrow of the other one's roots. I'll be planting it tomorrow hopefully.