you know.. i had pinus strobus.. from one foot wallyworld one gallon pots.. growing 3 to 5 feet per year .. after a year of getting ESTABLISHED ... had to cut them all down .. two had borers.. and i didnt know what i am telling you now.. and i spaced them improperly .... ergo .. within 3 years.. they were nearly 6 foot ... your 6 foot trees may take upwards of 2 to 3 years to get growing ... it is often suggested that bigger plants .. though instant gratification .. are NOT better in the realm of transplanting large trees .... i recently spent a boatload of money having 6 removed from near the house.. as the prior owner did not conceptualize that basically.. these are potential telephone poles.. mine were probably 10 to 15 years old... 40 feet high.. prone to breakage in wind and ice storms... multi-leadered .... and at least 20 feet wide ... not really something i wanted 8 to 15 feet from the house .... you really need to find the annual growth rate... from which you can estimate height and width in 10.. 20.. 50.. years down the line .... personally.. and i admit i am a cheapskate .... would not spend the premium on 6 foot trees ... i would invest in 3 foot trees.. and in 5 years.. my 3 footers will probably be bigger than your 6 footers ... because they will get established faster ... also ... if this is some type of privacy project... i would avoid planting all of one tree ... just in case some rare plague comes along .... and kills them all .. if you have something other than a pine in your line of plants.. at worst ... you lose half .. you really havent given us any facts for me to offer any suggestions about such .. perhaps a new post good luck ken

why didnt you simple replant it??? NEVER FERTILIZE A TREE OR ...in this case.. A CONIFER ... EVER.. period.. paragraph ... unless a soil test indicates something is lacking... any witches brew you BUY.. or can dream up.. is contrary to mother nature.. and a waste of money IMHO .... pines like extremely dry soil .... that is why a peat based potting media is not great.. FOR THE LONG TERM .... why did you not : WAIT UNTIL PROPER PLANTING TIME for both plants ... October in my z5 and why did you not just replant the pine ... you have cut your odds of success.. by complicating the process.. by potting it .... i would get it back in mother earth.. native soil.. ASAP .... and water it properly .... and mulch it properly .. you may get away with planting a potted cherry ... but this is the absolute worst time to dig a tree .. or a CONIFER... out of mother earth.. keep your fingers crossed ... good luck ken ps: fertilizr .. root stimulator... snake oil... swamp land ... all hokum ..

Wow! I hadn't checked in on this posting in a while and was plesantly surprised by the response! There were certainly some interesting ideas. As far as people dying to get big rocks like these, they're a dime a dozen in this part of Maine. Some of them are actually fairly interesting to look at and have real nice marbling. Anyway, to fill everyone in, I got tied up with other projects last year and didnt have a lot of time to devote to my 'rock' project. I tried planting climbing vines but they didn't hold very well. By mid-summer I mulched around the base of the stones and planted a few small roses (I think they'll like the sun and moist soil). I still want to do more though. The water feature idea is intriuging, but a tad ambitious to be completed this year. I like the idea of adding plants in some of the crevaces and letting them drape down (possibly several different plant types for interest?), and ideas on good plants for this? I've also thought of putting some plantings on either side to 'soften' the edges and blend them with the surroundings. The surrounding woods are pretty mature though (tall trees) so I don't think bushes or small trees would 'blend' all that well. Also, maybe a bench and arbor in front of the stones, or maybe off to the side... The photo I posted shows the stones, but not really how they work with the yard. I'll try to take a few better ones from different angles and see what everyone thinks then. Keep an eye out for new photos, and thanks for all your suggestions - they've been very helpful!

These plants are still growing. I removed the lower branches and suckers have started to grow. None of the suckers' leaves show any of the above problems and plants are flowering. Still a mystery....