I use a Laguna PowerJet 2400 and so far no complaints. They have a three year warranty which is nice. Just make sure you get one that is able to fully turn your pond water in 1-2 hours. Also, if you install a pre-filter make sure it is clean; if it is not clean you could be stressing the pump. Here is a link to the Laguna PowerJet pumps: http://www.lagunaponds.com/lagunaeng/powerjetpumps/pjet300a.php?link=1401

John, I have to say that I am a bit concerned with that much water being that close. The Acer saccharum rootstock will not like 'wet feet' at all. My concern is that the water does not drain away just under the surface. So while the flow may never make it to the root ball, it may very well saturate the ground 3-4 inches down and remains that way for days longer. That would not be a good circumstance for a Sugar Maple, and one that is just planted with reduced root mass it could be much worse. Now everything depends on how ell it drains. I have clay, and it would be VERY bad. But your soil may drain much better and not be a problem. It just depends on the soil. The fact that you have a Eastern Red Cedar nearby being hit by the same flow, supports that the soil will drain quickly, but only you can answer that for sure. Couple of things you can do is raise the rootball 5-6 inches, but that would require replanting. Also you could go out to the lowest point of the swale (the low spot in the channel) and dig a small trench say 3-4 inches wide and 6-10 inches deep. Ideal being is you provide a lower concentrated channel so that the excess water can drain away more quickly after the rain stops. Kinda like a 'French Drain' but with no cover over the top. A narrow channel such as that is easily ignored and would help drain the excess away more quickly. JMHO. BTW, neglected to say the holes on the one tree look like what I got on our Fall Fiesta after last winter. Small area of bark damage probable from sun crack/scald. Should heal up quick and not cause problems. Arktrees

not with those pics ... how about an overview pic from the street .... and the amount of sun on the spots you want filled ... the pic thing has something to do with how you orient you ipad.. and whether it is set.. internally for portrait or landscape pix ... those 2 variables.. argue with the GW pix system ... didnt you use PBucket.. or some such before??? .. i dont seem to think you had to keep replying to your own post.. to add pix???? of what significance.. are the ones that died... perhaps the largest potted plants you bought??? any recollection of how pot bound a 6 foot arb was... i think i see them flying in the sky in the stop sign pic..... did you do any root surgery.. etc... defining the death.. includes IDing all the variables..... and i do recall.. some of your stuff came from bigboxstore ... which sometimes means.. lower quality .... that is... if you care to wonder why they died... my best guess.. with no facts.. was improper DEEP watering thru the whole mangled root system they had.... much diagnosis can be made.. when you pull them from the earth ... ... was there any new root growth??? .. if not.. they were dead when you planted them.. and just stayed green... until the heat of summer hit... is the bottom of the old root ball bone dry ... etc ... we.. meaning you.. can improve watering.. if that was the issue... but you cant do anything about bad stock in the first place... except not buy plants thats roots go round and round the pot... yes.. i pull plants out of pots.. and check.. before i buy them ... knowledge is power ... ken

I think this sort of marks the end of an era. Bob, Don, & Dennis are legends in the field, who made a huge impact. However, these nurseries were very old school, especially when it came to mail order. Because we all love conifers, it was never an issue to work through the two payment's of checks to cover the costs, but was never a scalable business model. This is where Conifer Kingdom has flipped the industry upside down. They have made it so easy and affordable for the enthusiast, collector, and retailer to easily pickup top quality, rare plants. It seemed the sentiment in the industry has always been that mail-order was not profitable. One of the top local plantsman around here, told me back in 2011 that business was drying up. He said before the recession ordinary home owners had the equity to burn, and only wanted the best. They would request that there landscaper pickout unique plants that no one on their block would have, spending $20k sometimes. Since then, he claims everyone is just looking for the biggest, cheapest green blob they can find. He told me even Iseli was struggling at that point. CK was very new to me then, but Brent had recently visited his nursery and we were talking about it. I asked him why he didn't try to focus more on the mail-order, since the large volume orders from wealthy home owners had washed up. I have no idea what % of CK's business comes from mail-order vs. retail/wholesale, but I would imagine it makes up a fair amount. They really are becoming the Amazon of the online plant business (good prices, low shipping costs, high quality, accept credit cards, easy payment, ect). Also, saw a full, color page ad on the inside cover of Fine Gardening magazine the other day for Conifer Kingdom...looked great.