Was it any particular cultivar of Pinus aristata? Although, even the straight species of P. aristata will probably grow slower than the parviflora. Both do fine in my area, so they should be good by you.

tj

Hi TJ...

No I don't think it was a cultivar of P.aristata, probably just straight species. At least the tag just said "Pinus aristata".

Glad to know they should both do okay here.

I printed out a list of conifers from this forum that was posted by Resin. What a fabulous reference list. I am impressed by the knowledge in this forum. Anyway, there was lots a great info on that list, but noted that there were more than a few Pines listed as susceptible to disease, particularly pine wilt nematodes.

I see you are from Wisconsin. Do you know if there are any Pine diseases and/or pests that run rampant in our general area? Pinus aristata was not on Resin's list, so I would really like to know if it is prone to any particular disease or pest?

Anyway, thanks again TJ I appreciate the help!

Eileen

do you want a blue or green plant??

ken

Hi Full Bloom,

Pinus aristata should do ok here but Pinus parviflora will do much better in the big picture.

Regards,

Dax

Pinus aristata is the more interesting of the two, and probably the slower in growth, but also the more difficult to grow - it can be decidedly temperamental, particularly if the drainage is less than perfect. For a beginner, I'd recommend P. parviflora as an easier choice.

Resin

The biggest pest is the King Larry bug, but I think it's limited to the UK ;-) Seriously though (just a bit of fun Larry), pine sawfly larvae can be a problem in May, but I did not see them on my parvifloras (ae?) and I only just recently planted an aristata. Mugos are their favorite and I had them on my densiflora and pumila.

tj

Hmmm,so i'm a pest now eh,right just you wait...;)

Hi All!

Well, I am decidedly a "beginner" so I'll opt for the parviflora...thanks Dax and Resin!

You guys are so "into" the Conifers and know just what you want, but I'm so new. I'm thinking of Ken and his question as to whether I wanted "blue or green"! LOL! I'm so "new" to this that I hadn't even got as far as to think of "color scheme"...I just want *all* the beauties at this point! :-) But, I am on a limited budget and I am getting older....

Which brings me to one more question. I will only be buying the parviflora *this year*, but would like to get a few more conifers next year. Can you tell me are there any conifers which reach a maturity of 15-20 feet tall and not terribly wide (maybe 10 feet?) that also grow fast...LOL! Yes, I want it all; I know. But hey, I'm not getting any younger and so the dwarf varieties seem like they will grow too slow for me. I don't have 30 years. I'll be dead before most of them reach maturity and I want to see them in all their glory (or at least semi-glory and making a statement) while I'm still alive! :-) Any suggestions? The only thing I know would work are arborvitea...but I already have 'Emerald' and 'Techny' and I guess what I really want is an evergreen tree that has that "christmas tree" look. I hope I don't sound like a total dufus with my request.

I have so many questions, but don't want to hog the board and make a million posts. I thought maybe a post every few days? I have lots of questions about disease and pests. I also want to submit a picture of a neighbors conifer that I just love. It is very old and the original homeowner is long gone. Nobody seems to know what conifer it is and I would love to know...I *love* that tree! But, as I say, I'll save the rest of my questions for another day. :-)

P.S. Thanks TJ for sharing your knowledge. Pine saw fly is one of the things I want to learn about. We had severe drought here in the Illinois two years running, followed by an extremely warm (70's) in March, with a hard freeze for several days after that (you can imagine what that did to roses and more tender plants that had started growing due to the heat). As I go about the neighborhood I notice quite a few conifers that just don't "look right" and I'm hoping it's drought related and they will recover and not disease or pests that my babies could catch.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for sharing with me. I appreciate it. Eileen

Ken's simple answer:
Grow what you like and remove it when it gets too big. I won't assume budget restrictions as a 10-20 foot tree should cost mere pennies.
You might try some of the Metasequoia decidous conifer cultivars:
'Snow Flurry'
'Ogon' aka but wrong, 'Gold Rush' (a marketing scheme)

Pinus koraiensis cultivars:
'Silveray'

Chamaecyparis nootkatenis:
'Green Arrow'
'Pendula'

Larix kaempferi (deciduous)
'Diana'

Abies concolor
'Conica'

Picea engelmannii
'Bush's Lace'

Picea omorika
'Pendula Bruns'

Picea pungens
'Gebelle's Golden Spring'
'Golden Feathers'

Picea glauca
'Pendula'

Pinus parviflora
'Fukai'

Pinus strobus
'Golden Candles'

Thuja occidentalis
'Sherwood Frost'

Juniperus virginiana
'Taylor'

Pinus resinosa
'Aurea'
'Fastigiata'

Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera 'Lemon Thread'

Picea abies
'Weeping Blue'
'Shiloh Weeping'
'Acrocona'

Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst'

Abies nordmanniana

Slower:
Abies koreana 'Aurea'
Abies koreana 'Silver Show'

Dax

you have to find an arboretum or supplier within a decent drive ...

maybe a new post .... tell us where you are... and some IL peeps can tell you where to go ...

YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS STUFF ... to learn ... turn off the computer.. mortgage the house to buy some gas .. and hit the road ....

ken

Dax,that's quite a list there,I'll take them all...;)

:-O

That's me blushing...and all *I* could think of was an arborvitea! :-)

Why thank you Dax...that *is* quite a list! I can't *believe* there are so many choices, but I'm so thrilled. Thank you so much for taking the time with your thoughtful list. I see I have lots of homework to I.D. all those conifers...and I can't wait to do so.

LOL Greenlarry...I want them all too!

Ken you are too funny about "mortgaging my house" (or were you serious?...LOL!) Can you tell me some places in Illinois to see mature specimens of conifers (arboretum or otherwise)? A few years ago I did go to Rich's Fox Willow Pines (on a tour with a group) and saw his nursery and property...I was in total overload though. Actually, seeing all of his beautiful plants is what got me the itch for conifers. I do remember seeing one conifer in particular (forgive me as I have *no* knowledge in this area) that had purple cones....it was so neat. I wrote the name down so I wouldn't forget it, but remembering where I put that list...well that's the tricky part! :-)

Anyway, thanks again everyone! Eileen

dax is familiar with IL .. i have never been there on conifer trips...

GO BACK TO RICH's for sure ....

and study the American Conifer Society webpage ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: ACS

Eileen,Abies koreana has small purple cones,could that be it? 'Slow growing,neat habit. Dark green leaves,1-2cm,gleaming white beneath. Even young plants usually produce abundant small,violet-purple cones.5-7cm.'

The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois is a nice place to visit for plants in general. At 1,700 acres there's plenty to see. Although it's pretty much straight species, there are a fair amount of conifer cultivars.

tj

I've been to Rich's, The Harper Collection in Michigan, Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Clinon, Iowa; There's also the Chicago Botanical Gardens which I haven't been too but you won't see what The Harper Collection or Bickelhaupt has to offer. Roadtrip to either of those would be your best bet.

Dax

Thanks Greenlarry! Yes, you were right, it was an abies koreana. I did a search after you gave me the name andI found a pic of the exact one too. It's called Abies koreana 'Nanaimo'. It is sooo cool! Thank you for helping me to ID it. Now, I'll just have to see where I can get one...*next year*! :-)

Thanks Dax, Ken & TJ...I will make plans to get to the Harper Collection in Michigan, but Clinton Iowa may have to wait until I'm traveling that way again. Wish I would have known about it all those years I was traveling to Iowa to visit my son in college! And will *definitely* be going back to Rich's...what a fabulous collection and what a fun and interesting man. BTW Dax...I love the Chicago Botanic Gardens and try to get there at least once a season...their walled garden and the Japanese garden may be my favorites, but actually everything is beautiful there! Now that I'm getting into conifers/evergreens more I will have to pay close attention when I'm visiting the CBG.

Eileen

if you make it to hidden lakes ... i am only another 15 mins from there.. and make it an overnight trip .. and take your list to gee tree farm in stockbridge MI ... sorta on the way back ... lol ...

ken