pm2:

Forest Farm has a fairly large selection of all kinds of conifers. I don't have their catalogue before me right now, but I think they designate some as especially suitable for bonsai. And as for seeds, re your post under the seedling sources topic, I would guess that if you call Forest Farm they will be happy to tell you where they get their seed. In fact, I think any of the growers will tell you their seed sources--I have called and asked that question a few times and found everyone very helpful.

--Spruce

i heard gee tree farm just posted their 183 page [or something like that] catalog in adobe format ... that ought to keep you blind for a while ... google shopgeetreefarm ... or something like that for the mail order site .. NOT everything is mail order .. the catalog might be at the tree farm website ... i know they have 2 sites for sure ... i will leave it to you to track down all the websites ...

arrowhead alpines new catalog is out ...

i have always liked girard nurseries in saybrook OH ...

i doubt if you will find the rare and unusual stuff locally ... but you never know who or where a backyard conifer nut is .... perhaps email the regional conifer society thru the ACS website .. and see if they can refer you to someone near you .... a hardcore local conifer nut who knows where all the stuff is hiding ....

good luck

ken

Lots of good tips already.
Also, I notice that the Iseli distributor for Maine is Timothy T. Steele
Usually, when I drop by my local Iseli guy (in Quebec its Jean-Francios Devoyault), he has a whole bunch of other neat stuff, besides my oder, that I came to pick up....

Ooooooooops !!!!!

Thank for keeping us on the straight & narrow Ken -- I should have just said "New England" -- apparently the area distributor covers both MA and ME (just click on the link & see....).

Sorry about the confusion !

Jaro

lol.. you forgot the link ..

i cant tell you how many time a canadian poster confused me with CA .... i am thinking california... and cant figure out what they are talking about ...

take care man.. sooner or later this god forsaken winter will break ....

ken

Errr.... the link is in the previous post :O)

Cheers,

Jaro

Yes...it is Massa-chew-sets..lol. Thank you for the great ideas. I am thinking I have a Forest Farm catalog around here somewhere. Looks like I can make a few calls this week to check things out. Thanks a lot!

I am wondering...is New England a bad place to grow conifers? I seem to notice people who are really into them live other places then here. Adrian Bloom lives in England, Lot of conifer suppliers are in the PNW. Or is that just coincidence?

pm2

keep in mind regarding the Bloom book ...

his 'cultural information' may or may NOT apply to you ... look at a globe and see how far north they are.. and understand that his full sun.. is not equivalent to our full sun ... and talk about temperate winters ...

though the producers are in the PNW ... a lot of the oldest collectors are east coast based ...

ken

ken...that is why I dislike getting any gardening book from the library that was written based on gardens in England. Not easy to translate what works there to whether it will work for me. That is good to know that east coasters collect them. We have the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, which I love to visit to see their very old stately trees. Don't remember noticing whether they have much of a conifer collection. I will have to notice the next time I go. Someone recommended the Bloom book, so I got it and didn't notice until I was half way through the book.

I received a 'sun calculator' for a Christmas gift and I am planning on getting a more exact idea of how much sun I have where. I am just trying to figure out when to do it. If I do it now, I am not going to get as accurate an idea of the actual growing season, I suppose. I probably will take the calculation once a month starting this month and see how it differs maybe. I hope it works well.

Thanks..pm2

"...I am wondering...is New England a bad place to grow conifers?..."

As I recall, just north of you, Maine is known as the "Pine Tree State". It has something like 15+ million acres of forest and given it's size, that's quite respectable.

tj

Is Hamden, Connecticut local enough? If so check the link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Broken Arrow Nursery

Spruce...thanks for the idea about asking where a nursery gets their seed. I am surprised that they don't mind telling you. I will keep that in mind. Forest Farm is a catalog I have but I haven't ordered from them before. Thanks for the recommendation,

ken...thanks for the gee tree farm idea and arrowhead alpines, girard nurseries, and for pointing me toward the ACS.

jaro...Iseli, has some nice photos on their site...thanks for their ME distributor. Once in awhile I get up to Maine. You never know.

tsugajunkie...yes, I do understand that white pine is native to Maine and Tsuga canadensis is native to the East Coast. I got the impression that some of the ornamental conifers are bothered by cold weather and frost. Adrian Bloom mentions in his book, not planting some varieties in an East facing location because in the spring, the early morning son would thaw them out just in time for the cold to get them later.

mrgpag...Broken Arrow Nursery is a great idea! I have been there once before and they really impressed me with the quality of their plant material at reasonable prices. That was awhile ago and I wasn't looking for conifers then, so I didn't notice whether they had a collection or not. Thanks a lot!

Thank you all for the help.. :-) pm2

"...I got the impression that some of the ornamental conifers are bothered by cold weather and frost..."

Yes, conifers, like roses or dogwoods or any of a number of other plants do have some members that can take heat or cold while other members can't. But in zone 6 MA you have a whole raft of conifer species to choose from outside of White Pine and Hemlock. Including quite a few that Bloom mentions. Chances are (usually, but not always) if a reputable nursery in your area carries it, it should do fine in your area.

tj

I have not been to this place but I've been told it's very large and they have a good variety. It's Sylvan nursery in Westport MA. It's way down south close to the ocean. Not sure where you are. Check out the web.
http://www.sylvannursery.com/

One can order conifers in seedling tube size or gallon containers through Welkers Grove Nursery located in Sierra Nevada area of California. They are shipped all over the country. The site is being redesigned and soon to be even better very soon. We are constantly collecting images of giant sequoias in the landscape from various parts of the world. Jano from Montreal, can we use the San Diego pics you have on here? We would send a complimentary seedling but we can't ship out to Canada at this time.
littletreebud

Here is a link that might be useful: Welkers Grove Nursery California

"Jano from Montreal, can we use the San Diego pics you have on here?color>"

Yes, certainly -- they're just tourist photos :O)

Jaro

jt...thanks for pointing that out...actually, I guess I haven't seen that large of a variety of different conifers in local nurseries, but I don't think I have been specifically looking, so I will have to make a point of seeing what is available here in the spring.

Thanks scaly...I have heard Sylvan is a large place. About an hour+ from me, but a nice drive on a spring day. :-)

Thanks little tree and jaro...

pm2

Shoot, jaro, I think you are doing pretty good States-wise, considering that there are 50 of them and that 90% of us Americans couldnÂt tell Prince Edward Island from Saskatchewan. Or Quebec from British Columbia, for that matter.