When and if the temps fall back down below 30 overnight, I'll bring the entire box back into the garage just to be safe. ===>> hey rick.. i am not worried about 30's .... i would worry about single digits.. hard frost or freeze .. in theory .. they are very hardy .. we are just thinking about SHOCKING THEM ... now.. for those complaining about losses ... this seller aside ... if i order 10 plants.. at 25 bucks a clip .. with my experience.. at least 2 will die ... period ... and trust me.. its ALWAYS the two prizes .. lol .. its a cost of doing business blind [not picking them myself and driving them home] ... that is an accepted loss of 20% ... now.. if you are paying 7.5 ... you have a lot of plants to get to my 50$ limit ... lol ... i have nothing to say about bad grafts.. and shipping the wrong plant.. ot this seller ... all i am trying to express is that when you are dealing with a live plant IN LEAF.. which needles are ... you must accept some amount of loss .... especially at a bargain price ... CODB.. as they say.. a cost of doing business ... this is why i ONLY buy trees in dormant form .. to reduce the issue of a plant with leaves ... anyway .. have fun.. but dont beat yourself up if you have losses ... my loss list has at least 50 names on it.. [not all $25 plants for sure] ... ken

Edwin, the ringing bell photo is really great! Guests must be feeded anyway. Some weeks ago Nate and Dax asked me, - after publishing the first series of the Malik Gardens - how the enormous quantity of Jerry's plants are propagated in Europe? I know two persons, who has a "special responsibility" in this prozess. They are Franz Etzelstorfer and Jorg Kohout. Before "trial" the Professore Malik is also deep in the "crime" with collecting and building up a superb mother plantage in his gardens. I wish you not no became a last Mohikan. Collect new younger friends by the time who are interested in impossible conifer missions, who are able to follow great ideas. I think all of the company are living for great ideas. I felt me well in this company. Zsolt

Hey there everyone. Thanks for the replies! Ken: Well I was mostly just trying to help them get answers to their questions. I know for me personally I'd start a new thread for a question like that as opposed to burying in an old thread. As for loving them too much, well, I definitely am not one to do that! haha. as it is I have been doing Miracle Grow as I said, normal strength, once to at most twice per growing season. Usually just as the buds fully open, then once in mid summer. I do it about 1/2 strength. As you can see the results . I may water once or twice to the point of water coming out of the bottom, but then again it is a very porous mix that I'm using too so even that is not alot of water. I don't wanter a whole lot honestly. If there is reasonable rain I cut the watering way back. I check them about once a week or so and if they are DRY 2" or so down into the mix then ill do a watering. The main reason I even asked about ferts was mainly to gather thoughts on using a conifer specific type of fert as opposed to the general, all plant nature of MG. I suppose though that sticking with what has worked is my best bet. Will: Thank you! I've always admired how great yours look in containers as well. It's shown me that it can be done and done well and that's what I'm going for. I 'm going to upgrade a few others as well. Most have (or had) been in their new homes for 3 years now. While some were probably fine I like to err on the side of giving more room than not having enough. I think that is how I killed the horstmann blue dwarf, by NOT upgrading it fast enough. (ive killed a few others as well from not enough attention to the containers.) Granted it was a larger plant though. The Picea Omorika 'Bruns' was at its limit. One more growing season in that pot and I likely would not have been able to get it out of the ground (the roots were well into the ground through the bottom of the pot) and / or it would have died from not enough space / dessication. This upgrade for that one should last 3-4 years, and may be its last upgrade before needing to go into the ground. The P. Mugo Fastigiata are getting separated into their own containers to give them a bit more room. However nothing near as large of a change as what I did for the P. Omorika. They are much smaller plants in general and I think have adapted to more cramped spaces among rocks high in the mountains. I also think that the P. Sylvestris 'Gold Coin' ( if it makes it through it s scale infestation which is fairly bad) and the P. Strobus 'Elf' will likely be fine for another few years in their new homes as they have PLENTY of room and are not exactly fast growers. Josh: Yea I think I am going to keep doing what I have been since my results have been great to this point. As I said I was just looking for opinions on possibly using a conifer specific fert to maybe boost / enhance them a little bit. But hey, if it aint broke don't fix it right? Thanks again all! As always I'd love to see more photos of container conifers!

Herman, It has been a very hot, dry summer here. Very few rainy days. I don't think it was rain that caused the spliting. In fact, if I didn't water it regularly it wilted. These didn't just crack the second one split right in half. The first one had dried fibers in the center like sometimes you see at the eye end. The flavor wasn't bad. They took a long time to ripen. We will both have to wait a year or so and see what they produce when they mature. I'm making note of the name and will so label it until someone disputes it. Thanks and Happy figging, Peg