I stumbled across this thread and read with interest. I have an @ 8 year in ground Peve Minaret Bald Cypress planted in wet clay soil here in PNW, south end of WA. We chose this tree because we fell in love with the soft ferny needles & the interesting bark. It has developed knees quite a distance from the trunk. Because I prune it to maintain size, it has a pretty interesting branch structure all winter. I was hesitant to prune but from research on the conifer society site I learned this tree is very amenable to pruning. The conifer garden in the Oregon Garden Resort in Silvedale, OR has a couple of Peve Minarets which are pruned and they’re gorgeous speciman trees. These are older pics from 2016 & 2020 - You can see from the 4 year size difference why I needed to prune. I believed the plant tag info of a 10’ mature height. Our moderate temps & wet winters make many plants far exceed their nursery tag growth descriptions!

conifers are trees... and trees are NOT houseplants.. simply by definition.. even bonsai is better off outside ... i see no reason why you could not make it a balcony plant.. and simply bring it in now and then ... i dont really claim any expertise on potted conifers.. but you will need a high drainage.. low peat potting soil ... I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS A GOOD TIME OF YEAR TO REPOT IN YOUR AREA ... perhaps bboy can help there ... the trick on the balcony.. is to allow the sun on the plant.. but protect the pot from the sun ... wild fluctuations of temps on a black pot.. can cause root damage ... so if you put your pot inside a decorative clay pot ... so that there is an air buffer .. and lower soil heating.. you may get away with it ... in my frozen great white north.. what would kill it indoors is insufficient light [especially with the newer windows which block UV light] ... and lack of humidity from the forced air furnace ... among a lot of other things ... if you were to repot.. you might want to look into a cactus mix .... lots of sand and large chunks of bark and low peat .... which allows most water to run out ... err toward the side of a dry soil .. over a wet tropic soil like most houseplants prefer ... this is not a plant you would be watering every few day ... MAYBE every couple weeks ... but the bottom line.. you only have a few bucks invested.. have fun.. love it up.. but dont be surprised if you fail .. so what.. you had some fun ... ken

Apologies but I have to ask again about the rudbeckia Irish eye seeds. For 4 years I have had up to 8 feet tall beautiful large green leafy foliage with towering yellow daisy like cone flowers with green eyes. As summer progresses my green pods grow to about 1" cones and look like perfect corn rows. I too have a problem determining the seed from the other. Last year I just left them on to fall and hoped they would re-seed but didn't get many new ones and a lot fell to the ground. I picked them apart this week, they must be too green but even when I tried when they turned an unappealing green to brown/black I can't tell which is seed. I want to sell them. So I wonder if I just sell the whole pod, explain the situation if anyone would purchase them. Hopefully they know which is seed and which is not. A photo would help greatly, which I received from a seller but they did not look like what I have. The stage of the growth would be helpful to see so that when the seeds are ready we would know. I'm sure they would not germinate next year if I pick them this soon, can anyone add photos please? Thank you and if I get it figured out I'd love to share!

hi all, new register today...my issue is much like jim springer,,, going bare at the bottom... 3 out of 10 ,,they seem properly spaced, the trees conceal a chain link fence that the tree limbs crowdly press against, some jut thru and are healthy, some meet resistance and turn brown,, i speculated the chain link fence got so hot it burned the limbs, literally, but what do i know, thats why i searched for help..my initial goal was to top them so as create a hedge row to easily control them,, i do not want to have to use a ladder, i have electric hedge trimmer,, please advise.. phil