The media they came in was very similar to 5:1:1. The two 1 gallon pots got "half" barerooted, I got probably half the media out while untangling circular roots and loosening the sides and bottom. Then they were placed in 4 gallons of gritty each and throughly watered. They have been in the shade since. Had a good rainstorm last night and come out this morning to see my silver seedling dropped maybe 30-40 white needles, 0 green needles dropped though. I'm assuming it's a stress response to shipping (took 5 days) then a semi-bare-root repot and the heat of the last few days. Could anyone ease my mind on this, I would hate for it to lose all it's white needles.

Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive. Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring: Abies balsamea 'Nana' Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Picea abies 'Tompa' Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice) Picea pungens 'The Blues' Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis' Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb) Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well: Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant... The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year. I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine. So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.') Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D Holly

Thank you both very much for your input! Gardengal, I have definitely considered broadleaf evergreens, but DH keeps circling back to the look of conifers. The house is an 1890s four-square, and I think he feels that the conifers fit the style better and "dress up" the front in a way that a more naturally sprawling broadleaf shrub wouldn't. He actually likes the look of formally-sheared privet hedges, but because of the slope it is just not practical to keep this one in shape. Personally, I love the idea of kalmia or another flowering evergreen up there - or even a "mixed border" rather than a single-plant hedge. Perhaps a little convincing is in order! ;) Ken, I agree with you that a hedge is not an especially creative solution but in this case DH also wants to hide the fence itself to some extent, as it is chain link and not terribly attractive. We have discussed removing it entirely, but in that case we would need a hedge there for safety purposes (it's a pretty steep drop to the street!). Replacing it with something nicer (decorative iron, perhaps) is also a possibility, although I think DH would still want a semi-solid plant screen in the 4-5' range. Anyway, I am absolutely open to other outside-the-box solutions - perhaps showing the rest of the yard would help! Here is the other side of the fence line (the perennials there were all planted by the former owner and are destined to be moved in any case): We have 10 feet of depth between the edge of the porch and the fence, which is currently arranged as a 2' deep bed and 8' of lawn. Our ultimate plan is to turn the entire thing into a garden bed, leaving a 3-4' walkway close to the house, which will give us 6-7' for perennials. My plan was to have taller "screening" plants on the downhill side of the fence and use the bed on the house side for lower-growing perennials, but I would definitely be open to planting some taller things in the uphill bed - I'm just not sure that 6' of depth gives me a lot of options. Here's an aerial of what we are planning to do with the path/beds, which will include the side yard as well (fence line is in red).Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

My in laws had a range of various groundcover junipers along the driveway that got snow from the snowblower blown on them for 30+ years. Many other plants were decimated by the snowblower snow, but the groundcover junipers were OK, though typically there was a small amount of damage that needed some trimming each spring. I think that they also had some Microbiota decussata/Siberian cypress (which isn’t a cypress and is quite hardy). Not any of it exciting or particularly unusual, but varied color and texture on a slope that wasn’t movable along the driveway. Alternatively, choose deciduously shrubs like small spireas or Hydrangea arborescens which can be pruned down to the ground in late fall or spring and will sprout back unharmed.