It depends on how patient you are. Many miniatures will reach a two foot diameter...in time. I have a Picea abies 'Little Gem' (not on a standard) that is about there now but I've had it for 15-20 years. It started at about a six inch diameter.

tj

I am not that patient, I plan on buying the 2' spread (and the 2" caliper) but try to be economical as well. Any idea how much your 15-20 year old plant would cost if it were grafted on a standard? Perhaps a faster growing cultivar would be less expensive?

I searched for 'standard
conifer' at the Iseli Nursery website, and found the 3 plants below. There has
been a comment on the first one, but more comments on this and the other ones are welcome.

(There is in fact a fourth plant, which is a weeping one, not an option for me. Of the 3, at first glance I particularly like the appearance of the Blue Star Juniper in the second pic below.)

your pix are from iseli ... obviously ... if you were state side.. i would tell you to go to a high end nursery ... and ORDER IN .. exactly what you want.. for spring delivery ... if its not too late ...

how that all might work in canada ... i dont know ...

you have specific wants.. but you are relying on what MIGHT be ordered in ....that sounds like a frustrating way to do it ... eh???

ken

under FAQs at the link below.. it states:

We do business with independently owned garden centers all across the USA and Canada.

==>> you need to find such.. and discuss with them.. if they can order in what you want for spring delivery ...

ken

http://www.iselinursery.com/faq/

Good idea! I am still reading what people are saying about the plants, but then I will print pics and visit local nurseries :-)

The 'Blue Star' would probably be hanging down a bit if they weren't shearing it into a ball. Since grafting onto a pole in order to provide someplace for branches to cascade from is often the objective in producing such specimens - which can be quite attractive - these ball on a stick productions seem additionally odd in comparison.

Maybe if they used stocks or inter-stems that developed colorful bark...

Good to know that
the 'Blue Star' juniper (and others) will be naturally hanging down, because I
intend to place some rockery under the canopy that should be clearly visible.
So, a 18-24" standard may not be tall enough for the spread and droop at maturity, whereas the usual 4' standard would require
me to build more elaborate rockery ... it is a juggling act between plant and hardscaping, I guess.

The Microbiota
decussata is just perfect with a half dome on a standard that allows for a
clear view on some rockery. Local nurseries do sell the shrub, hope I can find a vendor for the standard ...

but then I will print pics and visit local nurseries :-)

and

Local nurseries do sell the shrub, hope I can find a vendor for the standard ...

==>>> am i not being clear ???

you have to commit now ... and track down a manager willing to ORDER IN THE PLANTS .. for delivery with their spring order ...

frankly.. the odds of you finding exactly what you want .. in the form you want.... left to luck.. imo.. is low to nill

this is how dcsteg got most of his supreme specimens .... there was no luck involved .... no driving around.. HOPING to find the unusual and extraordinary ...

ken

This blue star juniper on standard has been in the ground for 2.5-3 years. So far it has not appeared to weep (though it very well may in the future). This particular specimen fits your criteria (height and diameter of wood). Another that I really like but dont have a picture of is Daub's frosted juniper on standard, though the one I have was purchased as 1" diameter wood. There are tons of leaves in the puc, if there were no leaves and once it rains some more (it rains much more than it snows during a typical columbus winter) you would see that all these are on huge mounds of dirt that will be islands in water from anytime now until June at a minimum.

Hey Ken, I am eyeing 2' spread, 2" caliper of slow growing conifers ... it's also a matter of finding suppliers with reasonable prices ...

Then there is this little project that's part hardscaping, part planting ... needs coordination ...

I am glad though, that I have a few plant options to look into.

Thanks for the suggestion, Pete, I googled the pic below, nice plant indeed! Do you feel comfortable divulging what you paid for the plants? Within the next $50-$100?

Juniperus x media 'Daub's Frosted' Standard

Juniperus x media 'Daub's Frosted' not suited for standard. It gets to big.

Thanks for the
caution! It is curious though, since the size of the Microbiota decussata shrub (0.5-1.5' x
3-12') is comparable to that of the Daub's Frosted juniper shrub (1-2' x 3-6').
(shrub data from Missouri Botanical Garden)

Do you prune your
beautiful Microbiota decussata standard somehow? It does not look sheared on the photo, it looks like a garden size bonsai.

Ontario, it is normally a prostrate grower. On a standard it will eventually weep to the ground if not up limbed every 2-3 years. I have trimmed it once in the last 6 years. Easy to deal with.

This one is perhaps
the most pedestrian option, sorry for coming down to earth so abruptly after soaring sky
high.

There are many, many
cultivars, which ones are the easiest to grow, i.e. transplants easily, does not
become top heavy, etc.

Picea pungens
'Globosa' (tree form)

here is 'Little Gem' pretty old

ron

I can't see the trunk, but the crown of your 'Little Gem' looks better than Iseli's showpiece, wow!

I want a little gem on standard but the only place Ive seen them for sale was the local grocery store. Way overpriced. That is a real nice specimen. The globe spruce will get bigger than you want, even with extreme pruning.

Little Gem on standard behind the Goldilocks pine

You guys make me all jelly...

I showed my family the options, and the little Microbiota decussata tree won hands down, getting reactions like 'oh ... green feathers ... is it soft?'

Anyone have a wholesale source for Microbiota decussata on a standard? I had a Daub;s Frosted on a standard and it got WAY too wide - like 8 feet when I removed it.

The advice further up is to get a local nursery order it in for spring delivery. It would be a first for me too, but apparently the better gardeners here have been doing it since decades.

Ontario_Canada5a_USDA4b That is true, but since some already seem to know which wholesaler might be growing such and such a plant, I was trying to determine who that might be. I have several retailers that would be glad to order it for me - IF they already order from that wholesaler. Just trying to cut down on a lot of on-line searching and many wholesale growers do not make their inventory available to the public such as us. Thanks for the comment though and good luck with your project.

Large growers like Iseli, Monrovia, etc. do say what they grow on their websites, but you can't buy from them anyway. You buy from your local nursery, and a better one would use their knowledge to get the most suitable specimen for you (e.g. nearest grower with the most similar growing conditions) if only to keep their own warranty costs down.

The posts further up in this thread touch only briefly on this topic, but there are quite a few other pertinent threads, use the search feature (or Google).

quoted ... "a shrub-on-a-standard is less hardy than the shrub itself." Any comments?

It shouldn't be. I have several older conifers on standards that are doing well.

This short standard conifer grew to a garden size bonsai, marvellous! Look at the size of the trunk! Wonder how old it is...

Edit: The Iseli website says USDA zone 4 hardiness for both shrub and standard.

Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' at the Missouri Botanical Garden