We call that Christmas in April!

Nice work. You'll have a real nice landscape.

Take care,

Dax

thanks for the pix .. ken

Thanks,

I know it doesn't look very impressive compared to most of your yards ... but for Colorado ... its pretty decent. And in Castle Rock, flat yards are rare ... I did it all myself since 2005 ... bad back and all.

good choices from a pretty good store. I like FF alot, the way they pack and their selection are very good.

One thing, the blueshag looks like its planted low relative to the rocky rubble soil around it. Id just watch to make sure that soil doesnt settle down around the trunk because then your roots and trunk are planted to deep. Actually the trunk shouldnt be planted at all :)

Is that what all of your soil looks like or is that fill from leveling? I like that you reduced the size of the lawn and left those beds.

Enjoy your new trees, bunkers. I've had good luck with plants from Forest Farm; their catalogs are very informative, too.

You're lucky to have such a nice large yard in which to garden. My Denver metro area yard is much smaller, so I'm in the search for mini and dwarf conifers. Can't wait to get started planting again. Right now I'm doing my garden spring cleaning , taking stock of what has survived the winter, etc.

Holly

your stakes are shot .... time to invest ... hit the link .. near the bottom of the page .... Heavy Duty Fence Posts

look for 7 or 8 footers .... and the bammer to put them in ... by the time you bam it a foot into the ground... you need such height ...

i leave them for two years ... then move them to the next new plants ....

i dont see why you cant find them at the bigboxstore .. they are commonly used at farms for electric and wire fences ....

and use clothes line made of all cotton .. just in case you stroke out.. and forget to take one off for two decades.. it will rot off ...

on this page is the POST DRIVER .... i like bammer better.. lol ... where your ear protection when bamming ...:

http://www.academyfence.com/fencingtools/index.asp

and.. make sure you dont bam through buried utilities ... i am cracking myself up.. how many time can i use bammer in one post.. heck.. any post ... lol

ken

PS: bammer .. bam ... bam-bam ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Heavy Duty Fence Posts

Actually, the pictures with the blue shag is misleading. I planted everything 1-2" above grade. Things tend to sink down an inch or so over tiem. That little island of soil is on a significant grade (right to left in pic) ... so I used some of the excavated spoil to create a little mini berm of soil around each tree to help keep some moisture around. I drained each one into the cobble, so that can't get too full.

So upgrade my stakes? I agree they are too short. I could buy those ugly green metal stakes ... do those work? They are cheap and strong.

i dont understand the part where you say that stuff sinks ....

how hard do you tamp the soil back in????

properly planted.. things should not sink .. nor should the root ball tip over ...

as i recall ..... you claim high winds... and you have tall thin-trunked conifers.. ergo you need stakes.. for a year or two ... and .. without scrolling up .. i think some need a little guidance to go skyward ...

yes i like the fence posts ... life time... removable.. so reusable.. and very stout ...

most plants only need them for a season or two ...

ken

Thanks for the good advice.

I need to get some better stakes and switch to cotton rope, it appears.

Right now, I'm in the middle of near blizzard. THe trees seem fine in terms of the wind, but I am wondering if I should shake any snow off of them. Most are so small and thin, the snow is barely sticking. A couple are looking a little more heavily loaded and those are the ones I'm most concerned with. I'm starting to get drifts going with the wind ... so a couple trees are getting buried from the bottom up ... and those are the ones with the most snow on them.

Ken, regarding the sinking ... I just found that I almost never dig the exact right depth hole, so inevitably, there is some dirt put back in to achieve the right depth. And then I typically see a drop up 1-1.5 " ... so I typically plant it 1-1.5" high and then if I get the drop, no problem. If I don't, I just berm a little extra soil around it.

I know that may not be the best way ... buts its what I've been doing thus far and haven't lost a tree yet.

disregard normal snow ... it will be shed .. and the trees will achieve a form that allows such ....

always keep this in mind ... DO NO HARM .... a Dr's oath ...

and my version.. DONT KILL THEM WITH TOO MUCH LOVE ...

most of these plants.. can bend completely over in a snow.. and pop most of the way back ... and we can get it the rest of the way ...

you can harm it.. by going out there and shaking the poor thing to death TRYING TO HELP IT ...

so be careful ... sometimes you need to do something.. other times not ... i used to go out in every storm.. and freeze my buns off ... trying to save all my babes .... now i stay warm during the snow.. and ignore them afterwards.. and my success rate is the same ...

also .. on theme.. proper staking will reduce the need to react .... and you are already thinking about that .... i always worry when staking.. that my tying them up isnt going to cause more problems.. than leaving them bend ... always something to worry about.. go figure...

level or high is ok ... too deep can be a problem .... but proper packing of the soil.. which you will learn over time ... is best.. it shouldnt sink or be above ground ... just plant 100 more trees/conifers.. you will learn.. lol ..

ken

If you're looking for a decent stake, go to any home improvement store and purchase 1" copper pipe. I'm not sure how expensive copper pipe is now, but I have used it in the past with great success. Copper pipe is strong and after being outside for a while, gets a nice patina.

I purchase 9' or 10' sections of pipe so at least 3' can be put in the ground. Caps are also available to put on the top of the pipe to keep the elements out.
My .02
Mike
tl³

I like to copper pipe idea. I've used that 1" for my curtain rods in my house. But its pretty expensive these days. I could probably get by with 1/2" pipe, as small as these trees are. What about (ugly) rebar? It seems strong and cheap?