I've had a 'Bump's Blue' for about three years or so. I more or less followed this advice. Mine is in a bed amended with compost and the debris (over the years before I got here) from 3 mature Austrian Pines. It gets about four hours of morning sun. It is my understanding that although they like a bit more sun than T. canadensis, they also like it cooler so I'd give it afternoon shade. tj

It's been 8 months since my last post. The WESTERN Hemlock looks as bad as any Eastern Hemlock I've tried. I will try to get pics. I purchased a scoop of forest soil from a neighbor with a pretty old forest around him. The soil was once in these woods. He cleared a dirt road through it so any fungi's etc should be present. It's been in a pile for a while. I will make a mound and try another Eastern Hemlock. I have one for around $20.00 from Ebay 2 ft tall, it has yet to arrive, I ordered it July 9 th I think.. I will try to plant it high but not too high. If it fails, I am stumped. I have read that Whooly adelgid can be controlled with sprays, is that true? If I don't get the one from ebay, I'll be collecting cones from those up the mountains. Musser Forests are sold out.

As an amateur with a brown thumb, I'll say I have the best success rate with potted trees planted in the Fall. They give you way more flexibility as to when you plant them, have more tiny feeder roots, etc. Disadvantages of Bare Root: 1.) You have to plant them immediately. This can be a problem if they arrive when things are picking up at work or you are traveling. 2.) Problems if You Buy From the South: Ideally bare root trees are dug up between the time when the soil thaws and the time when the trees break dormancy...that may NOT be the same month there as it is where you are. (If you buy trees grown a couple zones south of you they may be shipped when it is still to early to plant where you are. Or they may ship trees in the Fall too late to plant). 3.) Slow to Wake Up/Trees that Don't Like Refrigeration: Many commercial places store bare-root trees in a refrigerator for months to maintain dormancy and avoid the two problems above. Most trees are fine with that. There are a couple species (eg American Persimmon) that get confused and go into such a deep "sleep" they may not wake up until the end of summer, if ever. (I ran into that Problem with American Persimmon...one was alive when I got it but never woke up. Another died at the top but started putting up leaves from below the graft in August). Just google the name of the species you are thinking of buying and "sweating" to see if this is an issue for you. I don't think this one applies to conifers. Advantages of Bare Root: 1.) Cheaper. Way cheaper. 2.) More selection. (You can economically buy all sorts of things by mail order...great if you want something obscure). 4.) Not Root Bound 3.) More Control. (Big advantage for people who know what they are doing...they can inspect the roots, prune them, tease them apart. Just creates more ways an amateur can mess things up.) This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 21:14

Protecting the seedlings from rabbits & deer is critical. I forgot to mention that. A single rabbit once ate every one of my maple seedlings... I just get chicken wire and create a dome over the trays. Tsuga is one of my favorites as well, mostly because of it's exceptional shade tolerance, but also one of the best looking conifers with some snow cover. HWA has decimated the wild populations here in southern New England. The woods I grew up in as a kid was littered with hemlock seedlings and mature specimens as well. There are still some local pockets of healthy trees, but MA is a little too warm to fully prevent damage, while our neighbors to the north in New Hampshire still have stunning hemlock groves, and very little damage as far as I can see. Especially in the White Mountains and north, where the winter temps kill the adelgids. I suspect Upper Michigan will never have this problem, as your winters are plenty cold to keep these pests in check. At the Arnold Arboretum, they decided to move foward with a replacement plan using Tsuga Chinensis, starting in the early 90's, rather than waiting on the beetles. If you go to hemlock hill today, there are many Chinese hemlocks mixed in with the old eastern hemlocks. It would take a real expert to separate the two species, they look very similar. Some of those hemlocks are now 20+ years old and look great, with no reaction to the adelgids that are still destroying the remaining eastern hemlocks that surround them.