Thank you very much for the ID's. The first one is near the spot where I saw the bad-looking P. mugo subsp. rotunda about which I asked an ID too. At first I though they were both the same species because they looked similar, but when I went too look closer then I could see the cones were definitely different. Funny part is that someone else suggested in that thread where I asked for an ID that it could be P. thunbergii. So I guess both trees are similar looking indeed. The second one I think comes from a hedge close-by that was (I think) never trimmed and therefore started producing cones. The third one is almost a miracle to me. Closest Abies koreana that I'm aware of is at least a few hundred meters away from where I found it. I'm very glad I dug it out too because A. koreana was also on my wanted list. :)

Sam, Clement, Resin and bboy, thank you very much for your answers. All three P. menziesii should be of almost exactly the same age. Is it a possibility that genetic variances between them caused one's bark to mature faster? It is quite likely that the third one is P. pinaster since that tree used to be planted on small scale for forestry around where I live. Thank you for the compliment, Sam. :) Taxus baccata is a conifer which is wild growing here anywhere; presumably because of its extensive use for hedges. Close to the one I found were numerous "normal" (single coloured, dark green ones) so this one catched my eye immediately. This one has smaller, more sickle shaped leaves which are green on the inside and bright-yellow across their edges. This post was edited by liopleurodon on Fri, May 17, 13 at 5:23

Using any broad spectrum poison to control any insect pest is usually a waste of time, energy, and money since that same poison that kills the pest will kill off any predators that could aid in control which allows the pest to come back undisturbed and grow with greater damage. Predators, such as the Stethorus beetle, can be a help although Spider Mites are fairly easily controled with misting which raises the humidity around the plant which slows their reproduction. Pest control is not a one product thing but is best approached with several widely divergent methods.

Perhaps I'm not understanding you properly but the way I understood this was you were saying that during the day,you're regularly finding pheasants in your garden,taking dust baths&such but you don't see them causing any damage.. the vandalism(<—lol! Criminal creatures!) is taking place during the night? If that is correct, then I can almost guarantee that you have the wrong critter..pheasants are not nocturnal..they do not operate on any level during the night time hours,unless spooked &forced to evade the area in which they are roosting...which typically way high up at the top of a tree. They are def NOT foraging around on the ground..it sounds to me like you're dealing with a rat, raccoon, or possum. I suggest investing in a camera that you can remote access from your phone.. You can get great quality ones off eBay or Amazon for less than $20.. The cool thing is you can set it up to alert you any time theres movement &a lot of them have 2 way audio capabilities (some only have 1, like a baby monitor, so be sure to read&make sure it says its 2 way) that way once you get alerted you can then use the audio capabilities and make noise to [hopefully] scare them off. Another option is spraying/applying a deterrent..but they're a hassle. They can't be applied directly to foilage you have to apply it to a cotton ball and somehow attach it to the plant or near the plant if its small enough AND it has to be applied everyday..not ideal. If you'd like me to link you to the camera model I purchased or a few other good ones just let me know I'd be more than happy to. I think that's going to be the first step in resolving your criminal critter issue! Best of luck!