Everything I read says they are not picky and easy to grow. Why do you say finicky?

You're in a warm enough zone. If it were me, I'd want something more unsual and exotic than a spruce.

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Monkey-Puzzle-Tree.htm

https://www.thetreecenter.com/monkey-puzzle-tree-guide/

Hey Stuart! I'd chop it down first to really get a feel for the space then decide. I've got a soft spot for 'Bush's Lace' but I think since you have 'The Blues', what may be 'Divinely Blue', and something else blue-ish back there already something different in form and color would be better. I would love to be able to grow monkey puzzle. Now that's a cool tree. I would also consider a globose pine for that location since there are already so many tall vertical shapes around. Monkey puzzle is cool though. =)

agree with garen.. i need to see the spot.. .. empty.. to get inspiration for what to put there ...

ken

'Bush's Lace' and Araucaria araucana both grow way faster than than the tree you're editing out. I don't get your point.

Yes...my 'Bush's Lace' has had to move twice because I could not get it through my thick head how fast it was going to get big. The 14" of growth the second year it was in the ground should have been a clue...It's beautiful, but my 'Blue Harbor' is pretty, too, and grows at about a 1/3 of the rate.

You have too many verticals there already. Go nuts in the back but in the front spend a bit more time on design.

Put a few low growing dwarfs in there and call it a day.

"Everything I read says they are not picky and easy to grow. Why do you say finicky?"

So that's why 30+' monkey puzzles are commonly seen in gardens on Long Island?

I have no idea Dave. But here is a link to another GW thread that contains posts from people that have seen them in L.I. and one poster grows one in MD.

(long thread) http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2083099/does-anyone-else-have-monkey-puzzle-trees

It does sound like eventually it will become a giant tree but the way everyone here has no problem with removing and replacing trees that are overgrown for their spot, it shouldn't be an issue. :-)

your lawn amuses me .... with your vast collection ... its great to see you waste little effort on plain old grass ... lol ... lifes too short.. eh?????

ken

This thread?

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2083099/does-anyone-else-have-monkey-puzzle-trees

Bill sorry to sound cranky but I'm not sure you read the whole thing!

But I think Stuart is an inveterate collector and needs to get Araucaria araucana "out of his system". We all feel the siren call of the rarest of the rare once in a while. (in our respective geographic regions!) If you brought a monkey puzzle to semi-maturity anywhere on the east coast, you'd have a real talking piece in 20 years. So that is my recommendation for his "big decision". HOWEVER I do also recommend he think about sourcing the plant from Burnt Ridge Nursery. At least 10 or 12 year ago when I last asked, they were growing theirs from a grove of trees in a colder part of the PNW that had seen below 0F several times. It's likely that Long Island is getting into the east coast territory where winter cold becomes the more determinative factor for survival. I base this, for example, on the fact I know there was a roughly 12-15' specimen at Planting Fields (not the mis-IDed plant once posted to GW, but one I really saw that was correct) in 2013, and no longer. Strongly suggesting to me that the polar winters finished it off.

Yikes! I had to re-read that entire thing to realize Stuart had already tried one. Did it die in the polar winters Stuart? In that case I think trying a possibly hardier one IS your only option, if you really want to try again. Because mark my words, there will be more winters like those.

Yes it died during the winter when we dropped to near 0 degrees. Maybe the issue was planting the Monkey Puzzle in the end of November. It might not have had enough time to acclimate. I heard that spring is the best time to plant one. I spoke with one of the workers at my local nursery who planted 3 Monkey Puzzles and all of them died. That's not too comforting lol.

Maybe you should try pruning the false cypress in an unusual way first. I would thin it out and see how it looks before removing it.

'Yikes! I had to re-read that entire thing to realize Stuart had already tried one.'

I had no idea. I only referenced that thread bc of the comments that verified MP in that region.

Yes, a late planting could very well be the reason for failure but still, it's sounding more like a marginal species for that area. That might be okay though, by the time size gets to be an issue, mother nature may make removal a necessity.

Maybe a dwarf cultivar of Eastern hemlock would be a better choice, as mentioned about keeping the front low in a previous post.

http://www.iselinursery.com/colorful-conifers/tsuga-hemlock/tsuga-canadensis-albospica/

"a marginal species for that area"

The area east of the Pacific Coast Ranges, west of County Kerry, and north of Santiago LOL.

But David,

Why do they say recommended USDA zones 6-8 or 7-11 ? What is it that prevents it from flourishing in the Eastern US?

http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2012/11/permaculture-plants-monkey-puzzle-tree.html

i agree you might not need another vertical ... but what the heck.. what about green arrow.. or its look alike kin ...???

my first thought would have been a red leaf tree ... but on relooking at the pic.. you might already have a JM there ....

ken

There's plenty of bad advice on the internet, as there is in real life. And there has been plenty of discussion here concerning the limitations of the USDA hardiness zone system.

Dave, yes I know but there are places in the eastern US that are usda 8-11, way above the 6 or 7 considered in this discussion, so are you saying the monkey puzzle is strictly a tropical tree?

ok, after more reading. it seems apparent that elevation (above 1000m) and good moisture conditions are required to grow thriving MP, even though cold is not that big of a factor.

Stuart, have you thought about Bush's lace? ;-)

Don't you have a bullpen of reserves in your back yard? Would anything from there work?

Smith, I've got a large Bush's Lace in a container.

it is screaming to go in the ground

ron

I remember being in Gatlinburg, TN several years ago around Thanksgiving and it was in the low teens. I saw a beautiful specimen Monkey Puzzle tree in front of a restaurant. It had a 20 plus foot skirt on it but had the top half of the tree hacked off. I likened it to having some die back from previous winters. I say this because it gets below zero in the TN/NC mountains but obviously this thing had survived for a long time because of the sheer size of it.

My two sense is if you can afford it, I'd take a chance because they are such great works of natural art. Can't go wrong with a Bush's Lace but IMO the puzzle tree is much more unique.

Not responding to any specific post but just a good time to point out there have been multiple cases in the past on this forum of mis-identifications of various rare or uncommon plants including monkey puzzles. Therefore I only fully account for those that are photographically verified or seen by multiple fully-informed persons when discussing where they are known to have grown on the east coast.

Hey guys, I removed the mop and as you can see the mop was hindering the growth of the Weeping Norway Spruce behind it.

As of right now I've decided on planting the Bush's Lace where the mop was instead of the monkey puzzle. Here's photos with the Bush's lace there and without. What do you think? Does it look like it belongs?

I think a cold hardy, dwarf Monky Puzzle would look terrific. ;)

I'm reluctant to offer design advice, but unless you are going for pendulous/weepers on the right side of your garden, I think a different habit would be welcome. Would you consider something other than a conifer?

BTW, any concern about the small weeper in the middle being squeezed out?

can you give it a little more room ?

move it out more ?

ron

I ended up planting the Bush's Lace in the backyard and I'm strongly considering a Monkey Puzzle for the front.

in how many years will you have to cut it down ?

ron

There's a bare spot in the middle of the Large weeping Norway Spruce caused by the mop. Should I remove the Weeping Norway Spruce or let it regrow and fill in?

An upright purple leaf Japanese maple with fal color would sure look nice there.

You can then put some low growing conifers under it. Win win

Here's another wacky idea(I'm full of them). Turn it into a swamp thing. Remove all the lower branches except the two outstretched "arms". Then trim away some of the longer boughs from the top to give the upper body a more balanced shape. Then give it two glowing eyeballs just in time for Halloween.

I agree that a Japanese Maple would look great...near the 2nd solar light from the left...just inside the rocks...

BTW, from the little I can see, it would seem you’ve got a beautiful house. I wouldn’t completely block it out.