The UK champion specimen is 13 metres tall.

For potential growth, look at the length of the lead shoot on a healthy specimen, and multiply by about 80 or 100. I'd suspect that eventually the main stem could reach at least 20-30 metres long; how much of this 'up', how much 'down', and how much prostrate along the ground, would depend on what the gardener is capable of assisting it with.

Resin

its nearly july ...

I WONT PLANT ANYTHING UNTIL SEPTEMBER .... PERIOD ... conifers anyway ...

sink pots and all into the ground .. or place pots into shade ... THE KEY.... IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE POT IS NOT IN THE SUN .. EVER .... a black pot in the sun can easily scorch the roots.. by going over 100 degrees .. 120.. who knows.. but roots dont like heat .. the best spot is where it can get full sun on the needles.. and shade on the pot ...

water properly .. plan on planting in sept or october ... for z5

timing is everything... conifers are no trickier than anything else ... IF DONE A THE PROPER TIME ....

and the heat of sumer is not the proper time ...

they just finished budding out... and total root disturbance is not high on the list of things to do ..

in my pure snad... when i TRY to ball and burlap things.. i nearly bare root them .. sand just doesnt stick ... so TIMING is imperative ...

water them properly .... let them nearly dry in between waterings ... insert finger to test ... mulch well

most height estimates are at 10 years .. research the annual growth rate and add that for every year past 10 .... most trees/conifers ... never stop growing ... at some magic number ....

good luck

ken

Thanks for input - I would have put them in right now. Any thoughts on the lateral growth?

You know to plant or not to plant and when to plant is a decision that has to be made individually. We all have our different methods and free advice to give.

As for me I don't leave them in the pots all summer to become more root bound with continued growth held in check because of the restricted environment it is being subjected to. The longer grown in this state the more compromised the conifer becomes over time.

If put in the ground, planted properly, and cared for I have always experienced better results. I plant all growing season. Of course climate and even micro- climate plays a big part in success or failure and where you live should be taken into consideration.

Transplanting is a different issue all together. Either Fall or early Spring is the only time to do this.

4-5 ft. trees do not need to be staked unless you are training them for vertical growth. Once you have a dominant leader then the need for staking is over. This is not to say it will grow a completely straight vertical trunk. It bends and twists on it's upward growth which is the nature of this conifer. Lateral growth will be substantial as the tree matures. I have two of them. One puts out twice as much lateral growth as the other. There seems to be no consensus on the true identity of this cultivar. It takes on so many forms mostly irregular, erratic, semi-prostrate, mounding, etc. Purchased in 1-2 year old grafts you can decide how you want them to grow.

This conifer is sold in most Nursery's under the cultivar name as 'Pendula'. Correct cultivar name is 'Reflexa'.

Get them in the ground and start enjoying. Always a great focal point conifer.

Dave

between dave and me.. there is a wealth of knowledge .. flip a coin ..

i THINK the key is how much root pruning you have to do ...

IF really root bound... i would wait as i suggested ...

if .. AS YOU ACTUALLY SAY... just a few you can TEASE OUT.... perhaps you can plant them now ..

the real key is how much TLC you can give them without killing them with such ....

my problem .. and the reason i wait.. is my 5 acres ... no matter what my intent... stuff happens .. and sooner or later i forget to provide the TLC .... i hate when i lose track of a prize.. and find it dead a month later ... so i wait until the odds are in my favor.. no matter how i screw it up ....

water is imperative... and letting them ALMOST dry in between is nearly as important ...

you have all the info to make your own decision ...

mother earth is favored over pots.. if you can nurse them thru july and august ...

good luck

ken

Thanks guys. I have not been on this forum before - do the 2 of you end up in these types of dialogues often? It is really helpful (and entertaining) - gives me all the info to consider (I know there is rarely one right answer to such questions).

One of the trees will be planted by some rocks and rock steps, so lateral growth will be lovely. I also figured that, since they are relatively slow growing, I can plant any type of perennial beside them and just move them as needed.

I prefer to get things in but can really identify with Ken - good intentions and then you get busy and then... disaster. I lost a beautiful contorted hazelnut (corylus avellanus contorta) that way.

Thanks again.

I bought a Weeping Norway Spruce about 4 feet high and let it grow to about 7 feet. I bought some maybe one inch PVC pipe which bends to a nice semi-circle. I anchored it with cut off sections of a hollow metal broom handle and hammered the sections into the ground to anchor the PVC pipe arch (plastic pipe fit into the hollow metal broom handle pipe). I then took hemp twine and gradually/gently (over one year) bent the trunk to conform to the PVC arch. After 2-3 years the tree was in the shape I wanted and I took away the pipe.

It is gorgeous.

As to the teasing of the roots definitely cut off all brown roots (dead) and if the roots are tight or circling around and healthy white tease them out. I have planted many many many trees and shrubs and very rarely lose one (mostly due to location choice rather than timing). I have planted them in every month and many times. The secret is water. Every day for a week, every other day for another two weeks and a good once a week soaking during the first year. You will not lose the tree or shrub if you have planted it correctly in the right place and water it.

you said:

do the 2 of you end up in these types of dialogues often? It is really helpful (and entertaining) - gives me all the info to consider (I know there is rarely one right answer to such questions).

it suggests .... that there is ONE correct answer .... and that is what too many peeps seem to seek ...

frankly ... reduce the variables to soil.. water.. and sun ... and first year care ....

and conifers are one of the easiest plants to grow ...

when we have the dialog.. we are showing that there are many ways to do it correctly ....

i think.. the best thing about multiple answers.. is to simply ID the variables.. and make your own decisions ... as was noted above ....

ken