I hadn't been up to Lancaster Co. in a while so I plotted a visit to the Amish dairy where I buy raw milk to make yogurt. Not something I do frequently at all, but a fun winter project. Drove around quite a bit just because it was a nice sunny day. Carefully eyed all the conifers to ask myself, am I being unfair about CBS. Conclusion, absolutely not. Here is what I call some absolutely typical ones. These are lined up pointing almost due south, so shading out isn't an excuse; in fact the reason the one on the right light looks a bit better is likely due to getting some shade from the white pine. The look of the one on the right is about the best you can hope for for a "big" specimen. The one on the left, split leader, very thin foliage...more typical. Here is how I rank all typically seen large conifers, on what is considered some of the richest agricultural soil on the east coast: 1) Norway spruce - by far the best. 2) White pine, fuller green ecotype 3) Douglas Fir (not many of them, but there are a few here and there) 4) "field cedar" aka Juniperus virginiana. Tend to look better when wild though, than grown in a garden. 5) White Pine, thin, glaucous ecotype 6) CBS various conifers are in the "not enough information" category, like Thuja 'Green Giant' and Cedrus atlantica. You seem they are being planted, but no truly large mature ones. Interesting that most of the 'Green Giant' already are showing some bronzing up there, while mine are still mostly green. Not sure what I am seeing about the white pines to be honest. (I am mature enough to admit when my knowledge of something is incomplete) There seem to be healthier, thicker white pines, like the one in the photo above. Then there are generally smaller ones with grayer, bluer needles. Superficially one might just say "well, perhaps they have a juvenile to mature foliar change" - although I had not heard of such a thing...but you do see blue ones that are quite big, and green ones that are smaller than those biggest blue ones. So there's quite a bit of overlap if it is a mere phenotypic change. If it is a genotype difference...my GUESS would be the green, plump ones are a more southerly collection...perhaps seed coming from right in PA, where as the blue, scraggly ones are produced by unthinking wholesalers with seed from Maine or something. Because - and again my recollections are incredibly vague - the thin bluer ones are more what I think of white pines up there looking like, while the greener, fuller form is what I think of southern white pines as looking like.

There are plenty of folks with extensive education that are unable to solve life problems or lead people. They cripple under the pressure. Some of the smartest people I know don't have degrees. Anyhow someone answered your question on your previous post. When JB mate they congregate on the west side of plants....doesn't matter what they are. Feeding is a different story. So mystery solved. No one sprayed your spruce for cripes sake, lol. Bayer Multi Insect Spray will kill them (adult beetles) on contact. They may not drop dead instantly but they will die pretty kick. I just had to spray my Cupressina spruces. They were loaded with ants, a sure sign of aphids. Sure enough those buggers where everywhere. I don't spray willy nilly but I do when I need too. I do have admit the whole hit the spruce with a broom and catch them with a sheet was a silly suggestion for a plant with razor sharp needles. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg0612304310652.html?4

Now I am a bit worried ... having had 2 people respond with ultimate height info contrary to what I had thought ... I particularly did not want a blue spruce that grows to full height ... that means 40 - 50 ft. tall and 10 - 20 ft. wide ? (sigh...) My corner has phone/electric wires, not directly overhead but close, over the sidewalk, and if this tree gets that big, it will dominate the whole corner. I don't know if I will have room to walk from the driveway to the backyard. (well, maybe a slight exaggeration, but ...) Also, I am trying to keep all plantings on the corner back 10-15 ft from the road so I won't block the view for traffic. I hope this tree wasn't a mistake ... The lady at the nursery said it grows slowly, at 1" - 2" (inches) per year. Is that accurate ? I feel a bit at a loss now of what to do ... I guess the Monrovia tag on the tree was misleading ... ultimate height of 12-15 ft./width of 10-12 ft. I also saw a "Baby Blue Eyes" Spruce there but this Fat Albert was a better price and the Baby Blue Eyes said the mature height was 40'. Planting doesn't seem as simple as I thought.

I have never posted, but thanks for the answer. I bought the tree in December 2011 and covered the pot with bags I had of mulch. When summer arrived, I had to go away for a month so it never got planted until July. My husband added 2 gallons of water everyday until I came home to plant it. I don't like anyone in my flower beds, but me. I will look for another small tree to plant in front of it. I did plant the ball last year with some Myke. I hope that helped it. My ground is very damp. I put my hands down there last week when it was very warm here in Ottawa. The nursery who sold me the tree, said to leave at least 2-3 inches of the crown out of the ground. Otherwise I cannot get air to the roots. I am new at this, so I am looking for some experienced people who can help me. Thanks for the info.