Thanks for the excellent advice everyone. I had read somewhere about the seed mother being the the most likely parent to pass on the variegation, and was hoping to have the newer variegated plant be the "mother". But you mention the time it takes for seed to ripen and I realize that means a few things. It will likely be late winter or early spring before i have seed, if it is viable. And thats only if I disbud, and then only if both plants will flower at the same time, and thats if I like the flower type of my first plant. And of course the cross has to take and survive until maturity. And so on. So I think I have decided to make myself a drink (thankfully not on call tonight), maybe play some Marvin Gaye, and attempt to facilitate a little self-pollination in my newer plant. Just kidding. I suppose, given the timescales involved, if I am successful by this time next year I may be waiting on seeds from offspring crosses from that plant. Perhaps. I'm far too new to this to begin trying to create a certain type of plant in my opinion. That might lead to frustration. Instead I'd rather make a cross and see what interesting things pop up and then meddle with genetics from there. That being said, maybe it is better to purchase some seeds and do some learning on seeds and seedlings that i have not invested what will amount to a great deal of time and possibly emotion. I have really only seen plants for sale and only a few mentions of seeds for sale. Can anyone recommend a reputable place or internet site to buy some seeds? Thanks, I know this is now far off topic from the first post and I appreciate the time you have all taken to help me. Kerry

They look very healthy! And, it looks like they get some shade, hopefully in the afternoon. Both the abies and the pungens can go full range, but I think that they, as well as ALL plants, appreciate a little shade, especially in the afternoon. If you really don't trust yourself with the watering, I would call the installer/arborist and see what he suggests now since they've been in the ground for just over a month. I would think that four to five gallons of water on each one, once a week, would be sufficient. Of course you would need to cut this amount back based on how much rain you might get, and how much your drip system puts out. I think that one deep soaking, just once a week, would be best for proper root development. Since you have the drip set up, I would turn it for three to four hours once a week. Of course, this is again dependant on how much water your system puts out?? Afterwards, stick a wooden dowel rod in the ground at least a foot for a few minutes and see how wet it is. It should be wet from top to bottom. Don't kill them with to much love. Good luck Conon

Well, I might give it a try tomorrow, back permitting. Getting some rain right now to dampen things down a little (happy dance!) We'll see how things go with washing the roots. Maybe just a partial wash to get a general idea of the condition and remove some of the clay to reduce the weight a little bit for schlepping it around to the planting site. The plant looks like it's in pretty good shape and relatively happy. I don't like clay balls and their propensity to dry out--can't believe the trees like them much, either. As Will says, we don't get much rain here in the summer. Fall is the start of the rainy season, so things get a good chance to get established over the winter, which is relatively mild. And you don't have to water them. This was a bit of an impulse buy, but we've been looking for a Korean fir. Will, it's got a leader already--it'll be about 3-4' tall once it's in the ground. And no exploding heads here...over trees, anyway. We check our shrubberies daily and will be able to keep an eye on it. Needles soft enough for daily fondling, and close enough to a hose bib that it'll be possible to water it without a yoke and buckets. It was a good sale--if it dies it won't be any worse than missing a good happy hour at the local dive.

Abies pinsapo must be my favorite of the firs (although there are some mighty nice forms of A. concolor). I especially like the form 'Glauca' but 'Aurea' is something I certainly wouldn't mind having - a very special plant. So you are fortunate! Also, large ones are very rare in nurseries, and small ones tend to be expensive. I wouldn't worry too much about wind for this plant around here. Some yellow foliaged conifers don't exhibit their best color in full hot sun. To much shade though will make the branches get leggy with a lot of the inner growth dying off. The best color/overall results might be in about 2/3 sun. It's wise to plan on giving it a lot of room, though it will remain narrow for many years. I wouldn't worry too much about soil etc. just so it has good drainage. It's reasonably drought tolerant but will grow faster on moist soil.