Thanks dchall for the helpful reply. In response to your questions/comments: 1. In this region of SE Alaska it rains enough that it's typically unnecessary to water at all. The yard/grass is watered naturally on a regular basis. 2. I don't know what kind of grass it is but it turns brown during winter dormancy so then I would assume Kentucky bluegrass and not fescue. 3. There is no reasonably priced soil testing available in this area so if I were to get a soil test to determine the pH and thus whether adding lime would be helpful, I suppose I could send a sample to the suggested Logan Labs for testing. I'm not sure which of the tests available I would want, probably the most basic but I don't see a price schedule available at their website. Getting down to the nitty gritty micronutrient assessment may be further than what I require, as I'd be more looking to simply "tune up" the soil for decent yard health. As I mentioned I do know that typically the natural soil in this region is on the acidic side, largely because of annual heavy rain which washes nutrients out of the soil leaving behind acid forming elements. Almost certainly I could say offhand without testing that the soil would probably benefit from liming. I noticed there is a granular liming product available locally at the garden center, this stuff: http://www.lillymiller.com/sweeteners.html which I'm thinking could make sense to consider. 4. Per your mention I just checked at the local hardware/garden center and they don't sell alfalfa pellets so I thought maybe the local pet store might but they're closed today Sunday so might check tomorrow. If that isn't available I'm not sure what other type "organic fertilizer" I might seek out. I should mention I happen to have some horse manure that's been composting several months but probably too green yet to consider as compost or fertilizer to spread onto the yard. Another product I came across at the garden center was this Moss Out stuff: http://www.mossout.com/lawns.htm of which the description seems to indicate it might do what I need done to alleviate the moss problem and help the grass grow better "Killing the moss gives grasses a chance to "reclaim" the lawn" as it says. Any further comment appreciated, and thanks again. This post was edited by sgull on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 18:31

spedigrees: Limestone varies in magnesium content. If you go to your local agricultural store--I am not sure what you have up there--and ask for “high mag limestone“--crushed or pulverized--they should be able to direct you. The analysis is always posted on the bag. Dolomitic limestone is generally “high-mag,” but perhaps other types of limestone have a high magnesium content. Our soils here in the northern Shenandoah Valley are very high in magnesium, and high mag limestone underlies a good portion of our soils, and high mag limestone is readily available. And, almost all the NS in this area look very nice, in spite of our hot, dry climate. As for soil acidity--that should not be a problem for Norway spruce, unless the soil is extremely acidic, maybe in the low 4’s. At my timberland, where the soils are a bit below 5, Norway spruce does very well. I am not sure what an optimum pH would be, and it would probably vary with soil type. Maybe somewhere in the 5.5 range is "safe." As for magnesium for Norway spruce--this has been fairly well documented. I titled my original post “a hypothesis,” but there is substantial evidence. A site factors study done at SUNY Syracuse some years ago now, noted that “at least 75 kg per hectare” is needed for good NS growth. Studies in Europe, where there has been extensive decline in NS forests, has shown that the acid rain causes a reduction in the availability of magnesium, and supplementing magnesium often solves the problem. And, I have made some personal observations--not scientific, and without all the facts--that magnesium supplementation can make a dramatic difference. But, the main effect of magnesium may not be in height growth, but in the fullness, density, and lushness of the foliage. I have seen many poor looking, thin foliaged NS trees growing reasonably fast in height. Also, the thin foliage on some Norway spruce trees has causes other than a lack of an optimum supply of magnesium. And, I know, some of that is genetic, and not correctable. As for your experiment: Yes, 5 years should be long enough to show some results, but no sooner. The limestone has to dissolve into the soil, get down to the roots, and, because NS hold their needles for several years, the "thickening" of the foliage may not be vis1ble for several years. BUT, and this is a big "but," the effect may not really show up on very young trees. It may help the growth rate, but as for foliage density, that is never really noticeable until trees are somewhat older and larger--maybe not until they are 20 feet tall or more will any difference be really clear. As for the growth rate: white pine usually starts growing faster than NS. How old are your trees? How tall? NS trees don't begin to grow fast until they are about 4.5 feet high, and that could be only after 6 to 8 years. At that point, they should "take off." On the best soils, and in the right climate, an average of 28 inches is possible, with some years the new shoots elongating up to 4 feet or more. But growth averaging 20 to 24 inches is good for many sites. Norway spruce and white pine, assuming equally good strains, should grow equally well over the first 50 years. The white pine up to about 18 years should outgrow the NS, but after that NS should catch up a bit. After 50 years NS should outgrow the white pine for some years. SUNY Syracuse did a growth curves study for NS, and found that for the first 60 years--after the trees reach 4.5 feet in height, there is no "curve" as such, but a straight line. White pine growth curves bend sharply over to the right after the first 18 years or so, and at 50 years the growth averages about 1 foot, while at the same age, NS trees can still be growing 28 inches per year. But this rate does begin to decline not too long after the 60-year mark. On the best sites both should eventually make 150 feet or more in forest stands. Open grown NS should make 120 feet or more on better sites. As for the blue spruce and magnesium, I really don't know. Tom may be right about this. --spruce

I have never grown spicebush first hand, but I had a conversation about it with someone at Rare Find Nursery.(In case you are not familiar with them, I will put in a plug. They are a first rate nursery specializing in native plants and rhododendron/azalea. I am fortunate to have them near me, in Ocean County New Jersey. They ship all over the country.) Anyway, I was hoping to get sexed plants from them. That were not able to oblige, but they told me you can figure out the sex of the plant when it blooms. The males have larger, showier flowers. Have a good look at yours next spring and you will probably be able to figure out what you have. It would be disappointing to have four of the same sex, but it is not unheard of. Everyone has heard of families like that, which have four boys or four girls in a row!

I wouldn't expect to see a lot of growth on this or most trees the year they are planted, especially this year with the heat and dry weather of the northeast, so if it still looks healthy, I would be happy. Hopefully it will grow good roots and start growing a bit more top growth next year. How much growth depends on whether it is on its own roots or grafted since it is sold both ways. On its own roots it can grow fairly quickly and large. If it is grafted high to make a small weeping tree, it will be slower per my observations in the fields of a whole sale nursery on the property adjoining mine. After that, growth rate will depend on soil, sun, moisture and other such growing conditions such as if you remove grass from its root zone (will help), whether there is weed-n-feed spread within its root zone (will harm).