I think the thin trunks are just the nature of the beast, er cultivar. From what I have seen this is more typical than burning in full sun its first year. My Ogon was a small grafted mail order special so young the foliage was still orientated sideways when I received it like it was still a branch. The Arbor Day 1 foot regular Metasequoia in the picture I planted grew much thicker much quicker. Notice the trunk taper. Ogon does not seem prone to the fluted lower trunk the species gets if you leave the lower branches on. Notice the lack of thick base and thin top in the above photos. I have witnessed the thinner trunks in photos on here and all over Ohio where someone official must love Ogon. The kid is 35 inches tall for reference. I love my Ogon, just observing.

Hi Bill, It came from Japan by way of Korea. Barry Yinger traveled to those countries in the mid 1970's looking for conifers. He found a number of them that he sent back to Brookside Gardens that were then shared with the National Arboretum. This was one of them. This is one that arrived with a name that just stayed on it even though it is actually nonsensical. Other black pines were 'Koyosho', 'Shirome Janome', 'Torabu', and 'Beni Kujaku' (and possibly 'Suiken') Pinus parviflora 'Fubuki Nishiki' and 'Ogon-Goyo' (or 'Ogon') as well as Cephalotaxus harrigtoniana 'Korean Gold' were part of the shipment. It was a good shipment with most of the plants living up to their names, although the variegated ones don't do much here in Washington state. Since Brookside Gardens later introduced some Junipers brought in from Shibamich Nursery, Japan, this may be where Yinger obtained the conifers he sent through Korea. The email group you were evidently kicked out of was started by a person who was disenchanted with "the amateurs" in the forums and wanted to set up an "elite" group of conifer experts who would only ask "intelligent" questions. The funny thing is, that in reading some of their postings I see how little knowledge the moderator has about conifers. I am almost surprised she left herself into the group. When the startup was proposed on the forums it created a real stir. I resisted joining for quite a while and then "got nosy". A problem with "elite groups" is that they get little fresh insight from people who are knowledgeable in certain aspects of the topic but aren't deemed "worthy" of joining the group. You also are subject to the prejudices of the person starting the group. And there is no way to share the knowledge and bring fresh ideas into the discussion by allowing members who "want to learn". The few postings/emails that are recently being sent indicate an increasing lack of interest among its "elite members". These forums are a much nicer way to share information and knowledge and for some time now has been done in a very civil manner. Bob

One thing you'll need to watch for is that Pinus thunbergii is very susceptible to Pine Wilt Nematode (Bursaphelenchus). This nematode is native to North America and the native species resist it, but European and Asian pines are susceptible. The disease tends to strike when the trees are 20-30 years old (large enough to interest the longhorn beetles that spread the disease). So you'd do better with TX native pines, though the alkaline soil may be a problem for them. Also worth thinking about some of the pines from northeast Mexico, as many of them grow on lime-based soils, species like P. teocote, P. greggii, P. montezumae. Try checking nurseries that deal in Mexican plants (Yucca-do Nursery near Houston at least used to have some of them). Resin Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Wilt - Kansas State U Factsheet

I'm answering this rather late. I'm away so I don't have my main computer with me with all my embroidery sites. You need to use JEF files for your flash drive. There are several free conversion programs but you have to start with files that have already been "digitized" for embroidery machines. Do a search for embroidery files and you will find a fair number of free and low cost designs. If you are given the option - download the JEF files.