Latest Conversations

Posted 29 minutes ago by David Olszyk to Skylands

yes! Picea orientalis 'Firefly' grows at about half the rate of 'Skylands'.

Posted 5 hours ago by Sharon Morris to Skylands

I love everything about the Skylands' but I don't want something that will grow so large. Can you suggest something that has a similar shape and color as the 'Skylands' that won't grow so large?

Posted 1 day ago by Sharon to Baby Blue Eyes

Thinking about a Bakeri Blue Spruce (picea pungens 'Bakeri') for a 20 ft diameter cul de sac. Do you think it will grow too large for this area?

Posted 2 days ago by Daniel King to fortunei

A mature male specimen is in the front garden of 277 Eastfield Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Posted 3 days ago by David Olszyk to Compacta

Hi Karla, as you can see from the write-up above, anything seen as 'Compacta' cannot likely be traced back to a unique, individual clone, so it's probably no longer an appropriate cultivar name. Yours is a difficult problem. Many think that a conifer will magically grow to a specific size then…

Posted 3 days ago by Karla to Compacta

Hi! I find the Hinoki an awesome conifer, and many of my clients love them! Many varieties; some bushy, some sparsely branched. Today I am looking for a taller and wider variety That i see in more mature yards here in Portland OR. Is it referred to as ‘Compacta’? Or something else? I have used…

Posted 3 days ago by David Olszyk to Thuja

Hi Emily, unfortunately, Summer is absolutely the worst time to plant a large tree. I fear that it's already gone and that HD gave you a "reasonable price" because they knew it was distressed (very common this time of year). I recommend seeking out a refund.

Posted 3 days ago by Emily Paine to Thuja

I have recently, w/in past month, planted a arbavatae @ 6 ft. Tall purchased @ Home Depot. The tree was not the healthiest, but in reasonably good shape @ a competitive price. It is turning brown in an area getting direct morning sun. An entire vertical section is turning brown. What should I…

Posted 4 days ago by Michelle.Anderson to Green Giant

Hello! We are considering planting a hedge of Green Giants on one side of a to-be-planted orchard to help block pesticide/herbicide drift from neighboring property. We need to go just a single row and have read that planting 5 feet on center will generally work for our application. Is that…

Posted 5 days ago by Ronald Elardo to Witch’s Broom Spelling – AGAIN?!

When you look into the German word Hexen, you will find that it is a genetive, possessive form of Hexe. As a glued on prefix on Besen, it can only be translated as witch’s. If we want to express the plural in German, it would have to be Besen der Hexen=brooms of the witches. My training as a German…

Posted 5 days ago by David Olszyk to Metasequoia

Hi Andy ... I assume by "red dawn" you're asking about dawn redwood. These things will likely live for 1000s of years.

Posted 5 days ago by David Olszyk to Witch’s Broom Spelling – AGAIN?!

interesting perspective, but somewhat misguided. In the context of dwarf conifers, a cultivar originating for a witch's broom comes from a single, quite specific broom, property of a single witch. In fact, as in the case of Norway spruce or mugo pine, 1000s of named cultivars have been selected…

Posted 5 days ago by William Rivas to Chief Joseph

Este Pino cuesta 200 dollares de un piez y medio de estatura. El pino necesita Sol y sombra tambien agua regularmente para crecer.

Posted 5 days ago by Andy Beach to Metasequoia

Hi, What is the life span for a red dawn? Thank you, Andy

Posted 5 days ago by Steven Swain to Witch’s Broom Spelling – AGAIN?!

Hi Ron, I offer this perspective: The broom is a type of thing used by a group of people, namely witches - unless you know the particular witch that is using that particular broom. Therefore, it should be witches', as the broom is specified as being used by this group. Oxford has it right.

Posted 7 days ago by David Olszyk to Oregon Green

if you've added water and the color continues to fade, they're probably already gone. The time to add water was probably last year. It often takes a year or two for a conifer to turn completely crispy-brown. In my opinion, this species is a poor choice for the desert. Next time you should try one…

Posted 7 days ago by David Olszyk to Green Giant

yes; definitely!

Posted 7 days ago by Betty Schmitt to Oregon Green

Please help ! I have two Pinus nigra Oregon Deep Greens. They are both three years old, have been growing beautifully, except for this week and a half, one of them looks as if it is dying. We have asked at the local nursery as to what to do... was told "not enough water", however, we put more…

Posted 7 days ago by Eli Morton to Green Giant

Are thuja standishii x plicatas susceptible to bagworms? We have serious problems with them in central Indiana.

Posted 8 days ago by David Olszyk to verticillata

How thick is the stem? Is it still attached to the plant? Is it woody or still green? How long is it?

Posted 8 days ago by Frances deAngels to verticillata

How can I propagate a broken stem of the Japanese umbrella tree?

Posted 10 days ago by David Olszyk to DuFlon

hi Andrea, it's an honor to have you check in and validate the story. I made the correction as you requested.

Posted 10 days ago by Andrea DuFlon to DuFlon

Hello, I am Bita and Alton DuFlon's eldest daughter. I enjoyed reading this piece, and the correction to the "urban legend." I wanted to let you know that my botanist mother, Bita DuFlon, was the one who actually discovered the tree. I woukd appreciate a correction to the database. Thank you very…

Posted 11 days ago by David Olszyk to Green Spiral

Hi Jane, to look and perform its best, this conifer needs at least 6 hours of direct sun. The less sun you give it, the weaker and less attractive the plant will be.

Posted 11 days ago by Jane Allen to Green Spiral

How much shade will they take?

Posted 11 days ago by David Olszyk to araucana

Hi Robert, Araucaria roots pretty easily from cuttings, but there's a problem: cuttings are very slow to the point of never achieving apical dominance, so the result is a sprawling, rooted branch instead of a tree. These are 100% reproduced from seed. It's also the major reason why we don't see…

Posted 11 days ago by Robert to araucana

We have a 5 to 6-year-old monkey puzzle tree growing too close to the house foundation for it's expected mature size. How can we "air-layer" and/or propagate some branch tips to insure we'll have nice healthy copies to transplant out and further away from the house? Do we need a mist propagation…

Posted 11 days ago by David Olszyk to Glauca Pendula

hi Nadia. These are propagated by grafting.

Posted 11 days ago by Nadia to Glauca Pendula

At my parents house there is a very large one of these in our yard, about as tall as our one story house! We want to propagate it. Is it possible to do this from cuttings and what is the best method? I have only seen information on seed propagation on the internet.

Posted 11 days ago by Harry McNicholas to durangensis

Easy to see them on road from Mazatlan to Durango