as i ask every post.. where are you nick ...

plicata doesnt live long in my z5 MI

please figure out how to make your location appear next to your name.. like mine does ... thx

ken

If you go to "Your Houzz" on the top right and select "Edit Profile" you can then pick "Advanced Settings". Down near the bottom you'll see "Climate Zone for Garden Forums".

The '4ever Goldy' will get large in time and likely exceed 20 feet.

tj

junkie .. can you grow them for long... micro climate???

ken

I saw one on a tour here that was about 5 feet tall, but I don't know how long they had it. I have a 'Holly Turner' that has been struggling for about 6 years with no micro climate.

tj

Alright I updated my profile. (Thanks Tsuga).

I've read these are hardy to zone 4. Some sources say 5.

I think zone 4 is a stretch. Something like Thuja occidentalis 'Yellow Ribbon' might be a bit slower growing and hardier for you. It would take 20-30 years to hit 20 feet.

tj

Lawson cypress 'Yvonne' is a good alternative down to USA 5 so I'm not sure if that is hardier than Thuja.

http://web03.bruns.de/static/images/info/1200Wx1200H/CLYV_Sol_150-175_O-183_21_05_07_jh_18050.jpeg

The ones I've seen in my area can grow pretty fast which can be a good thing for the right location creating a great focal point. The 20' mature height on the label is generally how big the tree will be in 10 years. Unfortunately this labeling confuses people into thinking that a tree will magically stop growing at a certain height. Unlike us humans they keep growing forever or until they die. Measure the annual growth and then multiply that by how many years you intend to be alive or in that location to enjoy that tree. According to the tag it may grow 2 feet a year.

It's a nice color Indeed =)

they are NOT HARDY IN MY COLD Z5 ...

and LAWS ARE WORSE ..

hate to tell you.. but z5 is half the US ... i can grow summer things coniferdave cant in KC z5 ... and he can winter over stuff i cant ...

sunkist is an even better thuja for yellow color ... if you can find it ...

now this one ... if its a small plant.. and you dont mind wasting under 20 bucks./.. because its sitting right in front of you ... go for it ...

but i dont do vegas ... so i wouldnt personally.. go over ten ... what the heck... for the cost of a decent lunch ... [mostly because of the hundreds previously spent.. trying to blackjack ma nature on the odds .. lol]

ken

Thuja occidentalis 'Sunkist' is fully hardy here on the northern edge of zone 5. Mine have been in the ground 7 years and have weathered at least -23 without any issues. It is really yellow in the winter but a bit more chartreuse in the summer. They were something like 3' tall when they were planted and are now 6'-7' tall. The near one is in full sun, while the farther one in the top photo gets some bright shade midday.

I found them at a local nursery that sometimes carries plants that other locals don't have.

No, trees do not maintain the exact same growth rate "forever". They shoot up quickly when young, then slow down. This can be seen all over the world-young whips eschewing branch development in order to race for the sunlight above. That's fast-growth mode. Look at that same tree species, but a large and mature version. It will have a rounded top as apical dominance fades away over time. Trees simply do not grow at the same rate throughout their lives. That's an oft-repeated fallacy on this board.

That said, it is also true that they don't magically stop growing at the height indicated on the tag. But there is something called youthful vigor. Always surprises me when serious plants people don't notice that.

A good example would be Cedrus libani that develops a flat top with age.

Here's the color of the full sun 4ever goldy.

From last spring (the dying thing behind it was found on the curb(gone now), the sparse (8')degroots spire was $5, I like bargain trees)

Great work Pete, glad you're having fun with mounds and planting, it's certainly coming along.

You're going to have to do some editing later. The 'Cupressina' for instance is not a dwarf.

Damaged looking, bargain plants can be diseased or infested, serve as a way of introducing a pathogen or pest to your site. The principal means of dispersal of Phytophthora ramorum - to name but one recently publicized example of what is out there - is the nursery industry. I never buy anything that looks like it could have root rot or have been allowed to wilt or shrivel. Burned up plants allowed to go too long without watering are commonplace at warehouse stores in my area. "Sad plants" may also often fail to establish readily, if at all when planted out later - making them a waste of time and whatever money was spent.

I think it is either assumed or known that T. occidentalis and T. plicata are the result of one kind of tree being split into two widely separated populations by the formation of the Great Plains. The resulting two contemporary species are the western adapted and the eastern adapted versions. When people plant T. plicata in the East they are bringing in the non locally adapted model of what is in a way the same tree as the local or regional native.

I know the cuppressina is not a dwarf. Ill hack out the honeysuckle when the time comes. Thanks for the info. Actually that dying thing was found when they ripped out a driving range and its restaurant. All trees were fully healthy (this restaurant there been there a while, Digger and Fitch, Dublin), but I have no idea how long they were out of the ground when I saw them in a pile. Most of that stuff died but I did get a healthy "4+' diameter" foot tall boxwood out of it. I havent gotten anything I didnt know the history of. But I hear ya, and thanks!

Indeed Embo, I have seen experts, "lumpers" in this case-make the claim that T. occidentalis and T. plicata are "the same" plant. But it seems unquestionably true that geographic isolation has, at the very least, begun to split these out from each other.

Unless they have identical DNA they are different species now, which is the point - the western one is a response to western conditions.

Since they have distinctly different morphologies they wouldn't have identical DNA - something has to be directing the production of different habits, foliage and cones. DNA can be almost the same yet produce quite different outcomes, chimps vs. humans for instance.

I've been told that in my case, the differences are subtle!