No consumer will have had long term experience with it, in fact elsewhere on their site Monrovia currently has it designated as a New Plant. However with patented plants such as this the USPTO web site can often be searched for background information.

A new and distinct cultivar of Tsuga plant named `MonKinn`, characterized by its compact, upright to arching and mounding plant habit; vigorous and moderately fast-growing growth habit; freely branching habit, dense and bushy plant form; bright yellow green-colored developing leaves; and tolerance to full sunlight conditions....

....Plants of the new Tsuga have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity....

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=PP25503.PN.&OS=PN/PP25503&RS=PN/PP25503

It arose in Oregon and probably hasn't been tested in Georgia or elsewhere in the Southeast much, if at all.

"It arose in Oregon and probably hasn't been tested in Georgia or elsewhere in the Southeast much, if at all."

I have 'Monjers', which is trademarked Golden Duke. I planted it last summer, so not much to report at this juncture. It's planted in front of a propane tank and I'm hoping it reaches sufficient size to hide it. Mine is not nearly as golden as what is hyped by Monrovia, but maybe it will live up to the hype once it gets established. It's growing in moderate shade (3-4 hours sun). About the only difference I can tell from these two based on literature is that Duchess is supposed to grow to 3'-4' in ten years, while the Duke will get to 6'-10'. On the other hand, the info Embo gave above reports vigorous and moderately fast-growing growth habit. I hope so!

USPTO account linked to above also says

Plants used for the aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements were grown in two-gallon containers in Dayton, Oreg. during the winter in an outdoor nursery and under cultural practices typical of commercial Tsuga plant production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 4.degree. C. to 32.degree. C. and night temperatures ranged from -2.degree. C. to 15.degree. C. Plants were 33 months old when the photographs and description were taken.

and goes on to give the Plant Height as "about 35 cm". So that was 13+ inches after nearly 3 years. Nothing is said about the latter day size and appearance of the original variant, which is described as dating back to 2000*. Maybe it had been deformed by being used as a stock plant. Clones of it shown in pictures such as the one posted here as well as those I have seen in person look at though they are programmed to at least become small trees in time.

*Patent descriptions of various other woody plant introductions made by other parties have included such information

I had one in about 7 hours of sun and it was very golden with little to no burn. Mind you a Skylands FRIED is this spot.

I had another in 4 hours of sun and it was more lime green.

The few years I had it I was impressed with it especially for a Golden Hemlock.

My short lived experience from WI

I broke my rule of 'no Tsugas, no time, never' and bought one about a year ago and it's in medium shade and so far hasn't died. If you are a Tsuga you do not want to be here - too dry, probably too hot. So far not only has it not died, it hasn't burned. I'm reserving judgment though, because it's the only living Tsuga in the garden. It's gorgeous. For now...

maackia, care to post a photo of your 'Monjers' Golden Duke? The new Monrovia Golden Hemlocks interest me but there's few photos of them on the internet.

Tsuga make Psara psad. I hope this one thrives for you like it thinks it's growing in the Porcupine Mountains.

BTW, he likes to be called Duke, but he's a sad figure

Yes it does! I need a Tsuga Support Group. Every time I have the urge to buy one, someone needs to talk me out of it...

maackia, nice tree! thanks for the photo.

Tso much tsorrow.

And tsilliness.

tso true!

Curious why you need someone to talk you out of buying tsugas Sara? I was looking to buy this but didn't know much about them.

I suppose it is resistant to Wild Woolies®. my trademark name for Adelges tsugae?

Because I love them and they hate it here. Ambient humidity in summer is around 15% and I have neutral to alkaline soil.

Nessd, This information is about the Species of Tsuga c. but gives you an idea of climate requirements.

Climate

Eastern hemlock is generally restricted to regions with cool humid climates. In the northern areas January temperatures average about -12° C (10° F) and July temperatures about 16° C (60° F). Precipitation ranges from less than 740 mm. (29 in) in heavy snowfall areas of the north to more than 1270 mm (50 in) per year, about one-half occurring as summer precipitation. In the more productive areas near the Atlantic coast and southern Appalachians, January temperatures range as high as 6° C (42° F) and annual precipitation exceeds 1520 mm (60 in). The frost-free period is less than 80 days at the northern limits and nearly 200 days in the eastern and southern portions of the range.

"Because I love them and they hate it here. Ambient humidity in summer is around 15% and I have neutral to alkaline soil."

Just god awful conditions; I don't know how anyone could live in Northern California. ;)

There are compensations...

Yet many (and I mean many) wet-summer climate Asian plants grow just fine on acid soil at Quarryhill. It's just a matter of being able to afford to water them...one assumes they have their own wells there. And a little further to the west, perfectly happy Gunneras, as fine as any in misty England...at Sonoma Horticultural Nursery. In my humble opinion, provided one does have the means to water the plants that need it ad libitum, Sonoma County would come as close to a horticultural paradise as one could find in the US.

David both of those spots are significantly affected by their microclimates and abundance of water. In the case of QH, many mature trees at this point, creating a dense canopy which helps retard water loss. And the slightly acid soil that you note. The stories of what it was like when the trees were planted as seedlings and how many failed to flourish due to the heat and dryness are legend! They do have a good well and they water copiously, with overhead sprinklers.

Sonoma Hort (which is for sale, btw) has the benefit of those massive Sequoia providing dense shade and trapping ambient moisture, and again some soil acidity and lots of water.

I can't complain here in Petaluma, as I rarely freeze and the ocean influence means that my summer temps are more moderate than nearby areas. It's just the dry air and slightly basic soil that can be challenging, but I love gardening here (after decades in NJ...)

Yikes. Glad I got to see Sonoma Hort. at its prime. Let's not kid ourselves, the chances of it finding a suitable curator/owner are very slim.

I wonder if it also helps that QH is on a slight rise? The day I was there it seemed to be catching the last of the incoming fog...which was about 100' above ground. (the valley where the entrance off the main highway is) If nothing else that probably helps during your rare freezes.

Yes that rise is probably helpful. They freeze over there!

i suspect that SH will. E purchased by someone who does not keep the nursery.

I have to admit I find it a bit odd that a state where water scarcity has been a major problem affords such luxury to grow water-loving plants. I'm a bit of a hypocrit here as I provide supplemental water to some plants (Tsuga being one of them), bit Wisconsin is not plagued with water shortages...except for Waukesha, but that's a whole 'nother story. Does Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens also engage in the practice of growing moist-loving plants? I was there in 2011, and it seems they focused primarily on dry-climate plants.

MCBG is in sunset zone 17 and has huge benefit from coastal fog (they are on the coast) and they get way more rain than the SF Bay Area. Also, coastal CA has not had serious issues with drought; it is the Sierra that has gotten no snow (snow level much higher now...) and so no spring melt and no reservoir fills.

MCBG doesn't focus on dry-climate plants; they have a huge Rhododendron collection (many of which are sub-tropical; really amazing), for example and lots of conifers (they are an ACS Conifer Reference Garden), etc. They are in an incredibly mild climate where it never freezes and never gets super hot (sort of like San Francisco).

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

I visited Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens last year and enjoyed it very much. I noticed they had no Japanese maples, or at least none that I saw. I asked why and they said it was because of the wind. They're right on the coast. The company called Mendocino Maples is located several miles inland.

Their Davidia involucrata was in full bloom. What a treat!

"MCBG doesn't focus on dry-climate plants; they have a huge Rhododendron collection (many of which are sub-tropical; really amazing)"

You're right! I searched through my photos of this trip and ran across these. I didn't take many photos while there, but it sure was enjoyable. Oh, how I wish I could grow the heaths & heathers they have.

Mike, did you walk through the deer gates and take the path down to the Cliff House? It is the one and only Bishop Pine forest I've walked through. Beautiful.

Yes, I did. I walked all over the garden and spent the better part of the day there. What a setting! That whole area is fantastic. A little off the beaten path to get to though. The main roads are narrow and full of sharp curves, some down to 15 MPH! The locals are all part race driver.

Yeah, Mendocino is in its own world! That's one reason I like to go there; it's only 2 1/2 hours away from me (driving sedately, getting passed on both sides by locals...) and feels like I'm on another planet. The Dacrydicum cupressinum there is the finest specimen I've ever seen. First photo by Janice LeCocq, 2014. Second by me, 2006.

"(driving sedately, getting passed on both sides by locals...)"

Yeah it would be interesting to do some kind of scientific survey/testing of this, but the windy mountain roads of northern California must be some of the fastest and presumably most dangerous such roads in the country. In 2016, coming back from Mendocino to the Bay Area, I was going at a good clip on a curvy road...definitely at the speed limit or slightly above...and a DELIVERY VAN was still trying to pass me ON A DOUBLE LINE! Insane! Of course, I pulled over for him as soon as it was possible. It's actually interesting to compare how various parts of the country drive...I noticed this on my trip across the country in 2011. They are slow and sedate in the PNW. There was a lot of traffic in the Bay Area, so it's hard to make a conclusive statement...but they are certainly faster than the PNW. Faster the further away from the central urban areas. Same with SoCal...if there's an opening in the traffic, they move along. The road from LA to Vegas is going pretty fast. The SW has some high speed limits, which is good because there's a lot of ground to cover. I think I-10 in Texas had the highest speed limits on my trip. The southeast is, like the PNW, slow. Remarkably, the great state of Virginia had more speed traps than the ENTIRE rest of the drive from Seattle, combined! Gotta catch them yankees headed north while you can LOL. The NYC metro, NJ & Philly, and coastal New England are fast and aggressive of course. The typical Portland driver must have a nervous breakdown the first time they take the New Jersey turnpike. (a Portandia episode that never was) Interior New England is slower and more laid back.

Aussie drivers are generally laid back - how could they be anything else, really - and only go a little over the speed limit. NSW has a reputation for more speed enforcement and I only saw obvious speed traps there. (maybe the ones in Victoria are less obvious)

At this point, another divarication on this thread can't matter, right?

"At this point, another divarication on this thread can't matter, right?"

LOL. We've traveled a considerable distance from the OP, but what an enjoyable trip it has been. Good memories. :)

In Utah this last May I saw sings on the 80MPH Interstate that said 'Construction Zone 70 MPH. Not one sign, but many. Oh yes, and trucks with triple trailers.

I got caught in Detroit on 9/11 and had to drive home, which was I-80 for 95% of the trip. There was no one on the road except the truckers and a few of us homeward bound drivers. I have never seen regular traffic flow that fast - everyone going between 80-90 and no congestion. (My colleagues and friends were all urging me to ditch the rental car and take the Zephyr, Amtrak's Chi-SF train. To me the car was a bird in the hand, so I drove. As I embarked on the crossing of the Great Salt Desert in Utah, I saw emergency lights and smoke up ahead. The Zephyr had derailed. I just kept driving...)

How's THAT for hijacking a thread?