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I'm a Conifer noob, need suggestion for unusual

9 years ago

I'm a longtime gardener, but a Conifer noobie.

I'm adding conifers and JM's in my small back yard I need suggestion for an "unusual" shaped tree in the 6-10 foot range.

Any suggestions? (pics would be nice!)

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Comments (12)

mblan13
Original Author
9 years ago
What kind of tree is this?

Sorry about the lousy pic, C&P'd from web, did not want to infringe on anyones copyright!
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Plant Map
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This looks like Picea abies 'Gold Drift'
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no tree magically stops growing at a given height most size estimates are at 10 years ... and are twice as large in 20 years ... its all about the annual growth rate.. how fast it gets to height.. and beyond ... at the link.. learn about such in the section titled: conifer sizes . i do not have time to research the growth rates of those you note .... and i do note.. many yellows do not color properly in to much shade .... all that said.. i would rather you buy a plant that tickles your fancy for ten years.. and then you get rid of it.. rather than buy some plain old things that fits there ... eh??? ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
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I suspect the top of the dresser was not original to the piece. If you paid $80 for it you did just fine....but you messed up after you bought it. As for the table....do you really want to know my opinion? What I think about it? LOL! Stop reading now if you don't! I think that table is many things put together. Sure....perhaps the boards are 100 years old ( which in the terms of antiques is not very old!) but I sure think that table was put together by someone who saw you coming! Suggestion? Do some home work on what old furniture looks like and what it should cost... Find someone to take you under their wing and show you what to look for! You are in the Mecca for antique buying!! There should be all sorts of wonderful stuff around....if you avoid the shops in Chadds Ford and hit the farm auctions and flea markets! As to the chest? get some stripper and remove the finish.... Rub it with steel wool after it dries.....and maybe a gentle rub with a garnet sand paper... It likely will be a warm brown....stain or not and put some poly urethane on it. Back to that table....When did she say an Amish farmer made it?? Yesterday? LOL! It appears that someone took the floor boards out of the attic of an old building, or out of a barn and made some legs and painted them white...a la Ikea! But how about those chairs?? The one on the near side of the table on the right?.....and the one on the far side...in the middle? Let's see more of them!! Linda C
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Plant Map
9 years ago
You can train it to be 6 feet by staking and then letting it weep
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sc77 (6b MA)
9 years ago
That's the exact cultivar (Picea abies 'Gold Drift') I would have recommended, but if you provide more specifics, others could give better suggestions. How much sun, what zone, color preference, deciduous or evergreen, ect... Also note that trees never stop growing. Weeping trees are nice, because you can train them to a certain height and then let them drift back down.

Others to consider are Picea pungens 'The Blues' or 'Glauca Pendula' or for deciduous: Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Miss Grace' or Larix decidua 'Puli'
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mblan13
Original Author
9 years ago
Yea, sc77...I'm a brain-dead noob to boot!

Full sun mostly, a bit part sun, a bit of shade. Preferably evergreen, color other than boring monotone green, something different...I saw a real sparsely branched 5'-6' specimen that was really neat looking, I was going to drive by and ask what it was, but I forgot where I saw it. (D'OH!)

I was traditionally in zone 6b but they bumped us up it to 7a, due to global warming...er...change. I ain't buying the zone change shpiel, as I lost MANY perennials due to VERY long Very cold spells... but don't get me started on that..., irregardless, I do have a nice microclimate against the house that faces South.

Thanks CanyonSpring, I shall see if I can track one down locally!
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plantkiller_il_5
9 years ago
knob , did you see dansgrdn post - spring color 2013 ? lots of nice stuff there

here's one to fit in small footprint,,and no training

ron

Picea glauca 'pendula'
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mblan13
Original Author
9 years ago
plantkiller, I'm not familiar with this "dansgrdn post - spring color 2013"

Might you have a link?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
I shall see if I can track one down locally!

====>>>> unless you live in some special areas ... you are NOT going to track down most of these locally ... and that is why we mail order them ...

of my 500 odd conifers.. at least half have come in the mail ... and there are at least two current posts about new arrivals ...

i suggest you peruse such websites as conifer kingdom ... at this link ...

link

one of the problems.. with asking peeps for suggestions ... is that not everything is available.. even mail order ...

though you gave us more specifics on zone and what not .... i still dont think you told us where you are ... IT REALLY MATTERS ...

ken
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plantkiller_il_5
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dude ! , look down this page of topics,,it's right there,,,,spring color 2013,,,,and you can always search G W for all kinds of things,,,plant names,member names,made up topics

all kinds of stuff comes up

dansgrdn

ok , here's a link anyway

can never have enough links to this post

ron
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mblan13
Original Author
9 years ago
Ron...DUDE! I totally missed that the first time I looked...Frickin' ADD! I musta seen something shiny along the way and lost my mind! Thanks for the link though.

Ken, I'm in South Central PA, Just outside Harrisburg, the state capitol. On a calm day you can cup a hand to your ear and actually hear distant politicians wasting our tax dollars! Don't get me started on that either. Thanks for the Conifer Kingdom link. Great stuff! I found 3 that I really like. The aforementioned Picea abies 'Gold Drift'

Picea orientalis 'Silver Seedling'

Picea engelmanii 'Bush's Lace'
Will these do well in my area?
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plantkiller_il_5
9 years ago
Just received my 'Bush's Lace today !

Dan's place is killer aint it ?

ron
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mblan13
Original Author
9 years ago
Who is Dan? How should I know what his place is like?...kidding!

Congrats on the 'Bush's Lace' plantkiller. Lets hope you don't live up to your moniker on that one! I can't wait to get mine!

Unreal! Have you ever seen the youtube vid for amaizingmaples? I like it a teensy bit better because it has more JM's. But Dan's place is definitely awesome! I C&P all his pics into a folder and look through them, pilfering ideas as I go.

I got my tax refund back today and I'm putting in my order the 3 said cultivars from my post above. I have to get BP size, but I don't mind so much, as I like to watch them grow up. It brings much more satisfaction when they get to that ideal size!
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