thanks coniferjoy, I was doing some reading last night regarding A. homolepis. 1) Buds partially hidden by the leaves: The buds on this tree are partially hidden. 2) Buds ovoid or ovoid conic, but not pointed as in holophylla 3) 2 silver bands of stomata below, not pale bands as in holophylla Also, I believe pointed needles is a characteristic of some young Abies, isn't it? osprey

Nice photos, Nate and Mike! Alex, I believe it burns in the summer. Even in early winter it was quite brown.. I'll keep an eye on it & see what it does.. Granted, they're in full sun, which helps nothing. A few more photos of interest: Picea abies 'Cruenta' (The red color seems to stay even as the tips fade to green!) Picea orientalis 'Nutans' (nice display of cones) Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Gold Rush' (love how the water beads up on these!) Picea purpurea (The cones are such a deep, magnificent purple color!) Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Miss Grace' Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' Taxodium distichum 'Secrest' Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Silhouette' Picea sitchensis 'Bentham's Sunlight' -Sam

Hi Ken, I do have P. a. 'Gold Drift', from Bob, already. There was a pic on the "buy it now" page for this plant. The guy also has over 1400 positive feedback results, so I'm not too worried. And, as Kmanz has confirmed above, the needles on the plant in the photo are very, very small. I doubt the seller would try to pass off a plant that does not match the pic posted on eBay (not to say that someone certainly couldn't) From the other conifers that are listed, I think the seller is the real-deal and will send me the correct plant. Kmanz, Thanks! I will search GW to see if I can find your picture. It may have fallen off of the forums by now, though. If that has happened, could you re-post a pic of your plant? Thanks again, Mike tl³

Only a couple years info - I planted my little specimen in the Fall of 2008. So far it's just sprouting short, thick growth in a bushy manner. It has great purple-blue pollen cones in early Spring and overall I really like how this plant looks. Hopefully someone like Edwin or Clement could pipe in with a 20-year old specimen - LOL. -Will