You know to plant or not to plant and when to plant is a decision that has to be made individually. We all have our different methods and free advice to give. As for me I don't leave them in the pots all summer to become more root bound with continued growth held in check because of the restricted environment it is being subjected to. The longer grown in this state the more compromised the conifer becomes over time. If put in the ground, planted properly, and cared for I have always experienced better results. I plant all growing season. Of course climate and even micro- climate plays a big part in success or failure and where you live should be taken into consideration. Transplanting is a different issue all together. Either Fall or early Spring is the only time to do this. 4-5 ft. trees do not need to be staked unless you are training them for vertical growth. Once you have a dominant leader then the need for staking is over. This is not to say it will grow a completely straight vertical trunk. It bends and twists on it's upward growth which is the nature of this conifer. Lateral growth will be substantial as the tree matures. I have two of them. One puts out twice as much lateral growth as the other. There seems to be no consensus on the true identity of this cultivar. It takes on so many forms mostly irregular, erratic, semi-prostrate, mounding, etc. Purchased in 1-2 year old grafts you can decide how you want them to grow. This conifer is sold in most Nursery's under the cultivar name as 'Pendula'. Correct cultivar name is 'Reflexa'. Get them in the ground and start enjoying. Always a great focal point conifer. Dave

Stake Away! Yes, you most certainly can. Here is one of our maples, a Crimson Queen that we purchased 25 years ago in a 5-gal. can. About once a year we made sure there was a branch headed up, and tied that (loosely) to a thin bamboo stick, tied to the trunk. Ours looked much like yours at first with a couple rather thick branches headed sideways, and this poor little skinny branch held upright with a chopstick. Eventually the leader gets thicker. A couple times when we selected a new leader it snapped off, but then we found the next best one. You need to do it when you have a supple little branch. These two photos started out mega pixels, and I dumbed them down to under 60kb to post here. I hope you can see in the close-up how the trunk has formed over the years. The first pic has chicken wire up, as raccoons have come in recently to decimate the baby tears ground cover.

stuartlawrence Lots of folks do not know how to take care of these guys, me included. I've managed to kill at least five of them. Then I discovered the formula how to keep them alive. Here is the rules :-): - A.K 'Ice Braker', contrary to many believes, are sun tolerant (that's my surprise as well). - And it is also a part shade plant - No difference rate of growth whether it is full sun or part shade. - However, if it is pot planted, then it needs very well drainage soil. The number one killer is root rot. You can water them once every two days during the hot summer. Once a week if they are in part shade. - Most of my ice breakers are in pots because they look much nicer in a pot than in the ground. I also notice that the growth rate is much lower than the ones in the ground. Some can only grow an inch a year and very dense. I know how you feel when such an expensive plant dies on you. But try again and you will love it, specially in the spring when the new buds burst out. Again, keep this in mind; Very well-drainages soil. Good luck then John N.

i wonder how many times.. i chose one .. and 5 years later.. the other .. uncut .. took off and took over .. every leaf is a food making machine ... so i would not cut off.. ANYTHING for 3 years ... except.. if you insist ... the duplicate leader ... do think in TREE TIME ... not the 'i planted it yesterday and i want it perfect now' time .... and 3 years is nothing ... ive had a couple national tours and many big shot visitors over the years ... trust me.. they never run up to the perfect specimen ... they seen them all before ... but boy are they interested in the oddities ... storm damaged.. deer ... whatever ... its the weirdos that grab attention ... but you do whatever makes you happy in your garden ... ken