I'm not familiar enough with your demanding conditions to make a recommendation. I suggest you register for free at www.bambooweb.info and pose your question in their forums. Here is a link that might be useful: BambooWeb

Water your tree a day or two before you remove it from the container (you want the growing mix to be moist but not so wet that you are paying for extra shipping). Then wrap the root ball in moist newspaper/paper towel followed by a plastic wrap. Since it has already broken dormancy, do not ship bare-rooted. Find a box or tube that is as close to the size of the root ball as possible. If it is slightly smaller than the root ball, remove just enough of the growing mix so it fits snuggly then wrap. Cut a piece of cardboard 2-3" wide and as long as the box you are shipping is less the height of your root ball. Fold the piece of cardboard in half lengthwise. When putting it in the box or tube (whichever you use), slide it in roots first. Once the roots are in the box, slide the cardboard piece around the trunk of the tree and push the rest of the tree into the box. The cardboard piece you made should be snug against the top of the box when you close it. Seal the box and you are ready to ship. If your tree has many branches that prevent you from using the extra cardboard piece as described, make two of them and put them in the corners. Make sure they are wide enough to sit on the root ball. Keeping the root ball in place is crucial. I have shipped (as well as checked in baggage) trees up to three gallons in lamp boxes using this techniqe. ~james

Hello, the pics are great. You have a beautiful yard and landscape. Im not sure what part of NC you are in, because, the types of conifers you can grow varies greatly. I am no plant scientist but I enjoy testing and trying out different plants. IÂm in 7b, although I have never seen a 7b year , it has been more like 8a since I have been testing out conifers. I have been testing out conifers for about 5 ½ years. I have a clay on the south side and sand on the northside. I donÂt know much about deer resistance, but I know I have deer and none of my conifers have ever gotten destroyed. There is enough other stuff for them. Here are observations on some plants that might work for your specifications If you are near by Raleigh email me if you want stop and see any of the trees. They are all 5 years old or less. Abies firma  excellent success. Grown about 5 feet in 4 years. Might be a little big for your needs. Mine is planted in heavy clay and does very well. Calocedrus decurrens - Incense Cedar are supposed to grow very well in NC. I had a ÂBerrimma Gold and it lasted only 2 years. Cedrus atlantica 'Sahara Ice  Not as blue as my glauca, but Just as maintenance free. Cedrus deodora  I have 6 or 7 dwarf varieties . never had a problem with any of them, only the occasional attack from the Pine Saw Fly. I have only lost one, I believe a Âdescanzo dwarf Cedrus libani 'Beacon Hill'  grows in bizarre directions. Excellent success in the 3 years it has been in the ground. Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata'  real nice columnar form, dark green, handles shade, deer resistant Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Korean Gold The gold form and surprisingly has held up well with no summer burn in NC heat Cephalotaxus fortunei  fast grower to about 15 ft with longer leaves, no issues in 2 years. Chamaecyparis - As far as these go I have moderate success with pisifera and obtusa and nootkensis(moved to a new family) The best performers are Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold'  big flattened sprays of gold foliage, has performed the best out of any obtuse for me. Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard'  performs well but tends too look brown and bad in late winter. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Green Arrow'  tried this super columnar for a couple years in clay, It has survived but nothing spectacular yet. Supposedly 20 by 5 Cryptomeria japonica  All of them perform real well. I like Knaptonensis with the white tips, sekkan sugi, cockscomb, spiralis falcate. I have a few that donÂt bronze in the winter, but I have to look up which cultivars. Cunninghamia unicanaliculata  got to be one of my favorite plants, very fast growth rate so far. Powdery blue in summer and turns purplish in the winter. I get more questions on this plant than any other. Cupressus arizonica ÂGolden Pyramid - Very fast grower, keeps color all year, very bright yellow. Not sure of ultimate height but will probably be large. Juniperus rigida 'Pendula'  very picturesque, pointed needled weeping juniper. I have killed one of mine, but the other is ok so far. Juniperus Virginia ÂBrodie quick growing more compact form of native. Picea asperata  I have 3(asperata, asperataÂPendula and asperataÂCompacta all grown in sand in full sun. Very very slow growth. None are more than a foot tall, but have had no problems with heat. Picea abies ÂBirdÂs Nest small dwarf in full sun, gets burned bad in summer sun, but survives. Picea abies 'Cupressina' is a columnar form of Norway Spruce. I have had mine in the ground for a year, northside , sun, sand and didnÂt show any stress over the past summer. Picea pungens ÂIseli Foxtail survived 2 summers, and faired quite well, light blue, slow growth. Should be a large tree in about 100 years. Pinus bungeana  another of my favorites, beautiful bark, and my dwarf form tree has withstood the NC heat just as good as any native. Pinus parviflora 'Adcock's Dwarf'  very nice dwarf which has done very well so far for me Pinus strobus 'Blue Shag'  done ok, it seems to take a little abuse in the summer but it survives and is an attractive plant Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden'  virginiana seems hit or miss for me here in NC. I have a small wates golden that does have nice winter color. Evenbtually a large tree, but I am told can withstand pruning. Pinus wallichiana 'Nana'  first year in the gorund but has seemed to due well for me. Platycladus orientalis  browns in the winter Podocarpus chinensis  supposedly hardier than Maki, I have mine protected from north winds but it has crusied through the winters so far. Psuedolarix amablis  deciduous conifer , supposedly a very slow grower but mine has grown very quickly in its first few years. The fall color is excellent. The Japanese beetles seem to favor this tree, though Psuedotsuga chinensis  doesnÂt look like the typical Douglas fir , but has handled the nc heat with no problem for 3 summers. Sequoia sempervirens  I have a kellyÂs prostrate which is definitely a spreader, I have noticed a little winter dieback on mine. Taiwania cryptomerioides - I have killed one already , but the second tree is growing nicely after a couple years. Havent seen a central leader yet Taxodium distichum ÂPeve Minaret Yellow - havenÂt had in the ground for long but it is a yellow foliage dwarf Taxus chinensis  I cant tell the difference between this and othet taxuses but this is the only one to survive and survive very well, it bronzes in the winter for me. Thujopsis dolobrata  another favorite which has grown well in partial shade in a protected area for me. I got a central leader in about 4 years. Tsuga candensis  I have killed a few, but I keep on trying. I have had luck with the dwarf forms, but the plants look far from spectacular Tsuga sieboldii  supposedly more heat tolerant and disease resistant, but I have killed 2 in 2 tries. I do a a dwarf globe doing well though.

Hi Mary, Does you local nursery carry them? Here in spring I know the local nurseries carry them already growing in pots. Also, mail order nurseries seem to carry the seeds too. Sometimes called Castor Oil Plant, Ricinus communis or Red Castor Bean.