You got a deal!
Mike

The pot is about twice as small as you'd like to see, so if the plant is discolored, it's likely from unhappy roots lacking nutrients, water, space, etc.

The plant size for that price is outstanding, as this usually sells for about $100-150 at 3-4' tall or so. $50 specimens are often 2-3' tall max.

Make sure you look at the root system and fix any necessary issues(or return it if it's truly brutalized). See the post 'What a shame'.

Goodluck! It's one of the best, even if it's more common now.

-Will

i think i see the remaining spikes of cones.. if so.. it is severely overgrown for that pot ... most likely needing the TLC you can provide ... we really should not see a plant mature enough to cone in that small a pot.. dont you think ... [excluding the early coners ... of course]

if it lives.. its the bargain of the century ....

this plant has a nomenclature nightmare.. as seedlings were sold under the name.. so theoretically not all are exactly the same ...

regardless though.. its not yellow in any terms... so that is a pot and/or fertilizer [or lack thereof] issue .... and its supposed to be bluish [not like a candicans blue.. just a suggestion of blue] with white undersides.. and the key is the curling needles that show the white undersides unlike the species ...

the blue and the white are due to a glaucous coating on the leaves... a wax that reflects the blue sky ... it rubs off easily .... similar to any blue conifer.. and all blue hosta ... otherwise its a green tree underneath ... so that is probably what you are seeing ..

on confers.. many things affect the wax.. like hot weather.. followed by hard rain .. winter.. sleet.. snow.. etc ... so by spring.. in my z5 .. its coloration is dullish ... as perhaps yours is ... as are mine.. until budding ...

you know how to plant it properly.. etc ... just do it ... depending on what root structure you are left with after surgery ... it should prevail ...

and.. if you have a warranty ... then it is a bargain.. as you have nothing to lose ...

if you can plant it in very bright area.. but with some late afternoon shade.. the hot part of the day.. then you should be all set .. though i see no reason it cant handle full sun... the shade just helps that wax last longer ....

i am bothered by saying it is bluish ... perhaps.. in curling the white undersides to the sky ... it is an optical illusion that it SEEMS to give it a blue hue on clear days ... i will have to study that in the yard ...

if, after surgery.. there are sufficient roots.. there is no reason it should be hard to grow ....

ken

Not knowing the severity of its root bound structure but on occasion having seen these huge plants in small pots yours is a recipe for trouble. The fact that it was left way to long in its present environment is very apparent by the way it looks. What you see when removed out of the pot will in my opinion be a totally unworkable mess to deal with. If you can surgically straighten out that mess there will probably not be enough roots structure to support that large of a specimen.

For $50.00 bucks and a years guarantee all you are out is your time. You will know soon enough if it is going to make it.

Just think of the time invested in growing these conifers. Surely there would be a plan in place to get them in the market place before they reach this condition. How a grower /nursery stays in business running a operation like this is a mystery to me. He is lucky if he realized $15.00 for all his time and trouble if MR. Big Box is selling it for $50.00. That in my opinion is not acceptable. I suppose there is a lot more to the story then what you see here. I can only imagine.

Dave

I hope it lives. Remember that any roots that have a 'J' shape need to be cut, removing the crook. If you are able to straighten 'some' of the J roots and tuck them over a mound as you plant using soil to keep them in place, go ahead and do so. The other J-crooks - those will kill the plant in the end.

I hope you got lucky.

Dax

Keep the receipt and return it if it dies. I had to do that with a Douglas Fir a year later. I just threw it up on the counter, roots and all. Told the lady I need to return this!

whaas...I got the same thing from Menards two years ago for only $25. There was just one of them there and everyone else was passing it up. It is still alive, kickin and beautiful!

Here is a pic. The random dark brown stuff is wayward mulch...not the face of death. lol

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