at the link.. is a guy who knows how to buy mulch ... i had suggested.. way back when.. a delivery by stake truck ... i dont recall having read how you did it all .. though i do recall that you suggested it nearly killed you .. lol... if you asked.. i missed it.. the one time i bought black mulch ... it retained so much heat.. and got so hot in the sun.. it cooked some of my groundcover type plants ... so .. in the future.. you might want to go a different direction ... in fact.. with your blue house .. an un-colored mulch.. which fades to grey would be my suggestion ... BTW.. is yours actually dyed black.. or is that just natural??? the soil in these pics.. look KINDA dry ... if its just surface.. that OK ... if your finger..a t 2 or 3 inches.. indicates to is still damp.. down in the root mass ... i suspect i know why your mulch is pulled so far back ...but if that is basically the surface of what was in the pot. and you did not break the pot ball up well ... you might want to not leave the mulch at the edge of where the pot was ... bring it closer to the trunk ... but not mounded on the trunk .... it will help alleviate the 'look' of being bone dry ... and finally.. it looks just like most of my picea pungens .. [how about you move toward latin names] .... they are some of the latest conifers to get a move on .... your buds look just fine .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Seriously? A tree service?? Anyway, we just painted our laundry and office Wythe Blue (with Palladian on the ceilings). I find it to be a soft aqua. It's definitely not just green though. But that's how it's always been touted...a blue green. I love it. If you want more blue and less green, have you looked at Beach Glass?

eh, according to HelpMeFind, the two vanillas are different plants-introduced in different years at any rate...but at any rate they both seem rather short plants. Looks pretty tho:) I'm not familiar with it, but I grow Frederic Mistral, and he can get to be rather tall; a sort of upright but wide hybrid tea shape.. I have seen in ground versions top 7 feet when they're happy here. Not sure what zone you're in, but we don't get snow or even much frost here, so theres no winter kill. Not so sure you could get the two to be the same size-Vanilla Medilland is described as being able to be used as groundcover, which implies a totally different style of growth to Frederic Mistral.

I have only ever seen one Vanilla Vine. It was in a glass-house set for Phalaenopsis. Here is snippet cut from an AOC article about Vanilla. "Vanilla - Cultural Needs If you still want to try your hand at growing and, ultimately making your own Vanilla, here is the cultural requirements. (Not recommended for indoor culture due to size of the mature plant) Vanilla prefers a partially shaded location. Remember it grows naturally under the forest canopy, clinging to tree trunks. The temperature should be warm (around 30°C) and night temperatures not lower than around 15°C. Admittedly this is the optimum. As previously stated it grows here but the minimum and maximum temperatures exceed these figures. Vanilla prefers a moist climate. The humusy soil or potting medium should be kept evenly moist at all times. Humidity should be kept high, and, as with any orchid, good air circulation is essential." Converting Temps. 15C about 60F 30C about 90F ####Edited to refine temps. @@@@Edited to define HERE . The Author of the Article lives in Tropical Queensland Aust.