I saw Chief Joseph in a magazine and fell in love with it! Went online and bought a gallon pot on ebay, says what is pictured will ship, and looks nice.... however now in reading this forum, I am panicking! I have no idea what it may be grafted on, or how to care for it. I live in the high desert of NM at 6500 ft where the sun is very hot in the summers and has gotten -18 to -30 winters. The ground in my backyard is clay/sand/stone very little dirt so I usually dig holes and fill with garden soil to get plants to take. Yeah, I know, I'm a total novice. Should I even try to plant this in the ground or perhaps keep it as a potted plant where I can put on wheels and pull in & out of the sun? What type of soil should I use, and should I layer stones on the bottom of pot and/or hole? Help! I'm way over my head!

I must say from my perspective that the annual catalog alone is as much fun as having plants delivered and boxes opened at your doorstep and the information too is, well, gold. Bob, if you see it at all possible in the future it sure would be an asset to me to know the origin in as many cases as possible for the conifers. Having this information would provide details for Records to the ACS Website and in the future could clear up any discussion with elements of uncertainty. While it's true I'm very deep in information already to be added, I will get it all done and my plan is to never stop working/revising records for the ACS Database. It's a hobby for sure. I know it could be a lot to ask cause I'm not footing the bill! Anyways, just thanks to your consideration. Dax

Hi Edwin. Yes I think I will do that ,but in any case,when I see one of your plants or others and I write here on the forum that I'd like to have one,you can take that as an order and put a label "sold" on it .So far I count six ! In fact,the only time when I get a chance to see a decent conifer display is at the Paris plant show,twice a year .There are the Laurains sisters, Ward Alpines (who carry a fair selection of conifers from Lime Cross Nursery in Britain, and also Vallonchene. I have also obtained some fine plants from Clement in Belgium by mail. Talking of wich (and in order not to deviate too far from the original post) I was wondering what the understock was on Clement's 'Chief Joseph'. What a shame to see a fair sized plant like that go down the drain! T.

@Ashlee Walker So sorry I haven't responded until now. I am also sorry to hear that you are having problems with your 'Chief Joseph.' It is such a nice looking tree, at least in the pictures I've seen, lol, but I am afraid I was never able to make the cultivar happy in my yard. My 'Chief Joseph' survived for over a decade but never thrived; it finally died over the winter of 2021. Sigh. I know it is not at all the same plant, but if the color changes of the Chief Joseph are one of its main appeals for you, I have had much better luck with my Pinus mugo 'Zundert.' Like the 'Chief Joseph," it turns a lovely golden yellow in the fall/winter and returns to a brightsome green in the late spring/early summer. It is much happier in our clay soil and temperature extremes and I quite like it. It's a dwarf conifer too, of course, so not impressive in size, but seems content; I have been growing it for about 10 years now. Here is a photo - if you can, please ignore the weeds; I haven't gotten to this area of my garden yet this spring.