A pciture is helpful for ID. Do you know that there is BT in your soil and even the air in which you grow your food? And veggies in your grocery might be genetically engineered to contain BT? Karen Here is a link that might be useful: Organic thread

Wouldn't the answer to the question be the fact of the existence of the "tiny" leaved conifer in the area versus those conifers that do not have "tiny" leaves? But also the species present is indicative of condition that tend to favor their presence as opposed to other species. The notion that the smaller size of leaf coupled with a larger plant that is evergreen could suggest that the need for photosynthesis is coupled to dessication where the smaller leaves with stomates on the underside of the leaf that is heavily cutinized and somewhat enfolded (curled on the edges) help retain water in the upperstory of the tree which is needed in the photosynthesis process. The wet cloudy areas are not 24/7 so but are commonly home to winds and other dessicating factors, summer heat, rapidly draining soil, etc. A closer look at the habitat where the "tiny" leaved trees are found can provide some correlation to why such trees are successful in such regions. My suspicion is that such trees are localized to exacting habitats that would prove more formdiable to trees without such adaptive traits. Here is a link that might be useful: book on ecology of pines

=====Rootbound or Compacted Roots Do Cause Bonsai======= Oxmyx, I'm so glad you asked that, I had to check another article out to have that cleared up. http://www.mellobonsai.com/care/Bonsai_Care_Repotting.aspx Yes, It is also a part of the bonsai'ing process. In the effort to balance upper plant growth with roots. It will cause stunting/dwarfism/bonsai'ing and you will get symptoms of it being 'too long rootbound' because of a lack of water and food deficiencies which will make the plant wilt and ill. It'll wilt very easily or constantly because there aren't enough roots to feed the growing plant the water into it's system to help it cool down (transpiration) and stay 'pumped up'. Also, other signs of deficiencies are, the leaves will start growing smaller and there will be shorter internodes between new branch buds - unfortunately this is what new growth on a normal growing plant looks like, but time will tell more, especially prolonged or easy wilting. Compacted roots will also give signs of chlorosis, yellowing leaves with green veins remaining. Our winter here is (6 months Nov-Apr15-21 in pocket zone 6/5) I keep mine potted in 2 ltr carbonated pop bottles all winter, but maybe not this year as I won't be pinching my branches. =================================================== They also could of had them in bigger pots and then removed them, flushed most of the dirt, kept at least one fat root and stuck the remaining smaller mass into the 3" smaller pots. Maybe hydro grown. Maybe they really kept them in the 3" pot and forced the available roots to get fat through the leaves and a great light system. \=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\= And my CG did way better with 2 nice flushes, than the overwintered bonsai'ed cuttings (no flowers on 2 and a few flowers on the Frosty, twice) of which I had 10 times more of a rootball that same spring, but none of my 3 cuttings developed a single thick root before spring such as was with the CG spring bought brug. My lighting is not so great so I'll probably be cutting off over\-winter growth come spring anyway, once the new spring shoots come out and prove to me that they will grow faster. I still need the branches and leaves from the over\-winter growth until the new branches have some good leaves on them anyway. And I'll have a much healthier and fatter stalk/stem to grow them from complete with a more thatn sufficient root system. Old school taught that most plants don't need repotting until it is at least 3 times bigger than the dirt ball is high. These days they have all sorts of signs to look for but I hardly think 1 or 2 roots curling around the bottom and coming out is a sign of a rootbound pot \- that's more like a sign to check. I'm sticking with old school but I'll stretch it to as much as 4x's but not much more because of how narrow my pots are. I'll look for symptoms. \- Sandy

Added zone info. Well, I won't be able to find out (quickly) now by digging. Just had a thunderstorm with rain pouring down all night. Guess I'll see if that helps. The whole plant itself isn't bad. Aside from the brown patches, there is no other obvious issue. No leaves/branch die back. The last couple of weeks has been hot and with clear sun. Just hovering over 30C degree and the location gets full sun from morning to probably 3-5pm. However I have some hydrangea (also new) in the vicinity so I have been forced to water them daily with this heat. I did try to avoid the Burning bush somewhat when watering so it isn't soaked every day. The soil in that spot is decently deep, but hasn't been planted with for probably over a decade. I added alot of compose before planting. Lota cedar mulch, more so on the hydrangea, but should be a good 2" around the burning bush too.