Hi, I can send you cuttings from my three different types of willow trees that I have. I have Corkscrew or Curly willow, Weeping willow, and Hybrid willow that grows upright to form a graceful, lacy canopy. I also have saplings of Silver maples and Green Japanese maples. I would love several of the Ponderosa Pines! PLMK Thanks, Elly

Looks like an aster. My first guess would be Solidago ptarmicoides, Upland Aster -- check out the link provided and see what you think. You'll have a better shot at a positive ID when it blooms later. S. ptarmicoides is a nice garden plant, by the way, and has recently been reclassified as a goldenrod (Solidago) masquerading as an Aster. Asters and goldenrods keep the taxonomists busy and earning their keep. :) Here is a link that might be useful: Upland Aster

.I feel like I should make the conifer forum page my home page ==>> way ahead of you .. lol ... zone info is so shotgun ... its all about your micro climate ... and frankly.. no one but you can figure out what your garden is.. zone-wise .. variables include.. winter sun ... mulch ... prevailing winter winds [this one is real important.. the bigger the plant] ... how bad winter is ... snow cover,if any [keeps soil temps constant] .... altitude ... depressions [i swear hidden lakes.. in a glacial kettle.. 10 miles from me.. is a z6b ... rather than my 5b .... because.. my theory.. the winter winds howl over the hole they are in .. and i lost a lot of money buying things that thrive 10 miles away ... that failed in my former flat.. horse pasture ] ..... etc ... peeps swore i should be able to do Pinus wallichiana [sp?] in my garden ... i lost about 4 of them.. when i was at your spot on the learning curve ... what will grow in your little slice of heaven.. is up to you to find out.. and you do it.. by killing plants.. lol ... i suggest you do your research in advance... [surely like i do religiously .. NOT!!!! .. lol].... and i suggest.. that the ones you want to try pushing zone.. you start smaller.. so that you can protect them the first few years ... by wrapping some burlap around them .. or something or another .... which you could still do on this one ... but it wont be easy at that size .... on top of a zone challenge.. you have an extremely large transplant ... which may be stressed on that alone [though that growth rate would not indicate such] .... insure.. that the soil in the root mass does NOT dry out in winter.. IF you can water w/o freezing the roots into an ice cube.. that is a soil issue and ground freeze issue.. if any [not that qualification repeating.. i dont know YOUR SOIL ] .... one way to water .. is to use ice cubes.. which melt when the soil warms.. and gently add moisture.... as compared to you dumping a 5 gallon buckets on the wrong day .... a smaller challenge plant .... might get better adjusted ... established.. and be able to make it thru a questionable winter .... because all said and done.. you are at the whim of ma nature ... and she can be a real witch .... like when a z4 winter rolls thru for you one year .... sooooo .... its all part of the excitement of learning.. i hope for the best.. for you ;... keep up the questions.. we get bored talking to ourselves all the time.. new blood makes it much more interesting .... ken ps: most nurseries.. good ones.. should let you TAG a plant... giving you the opportunity to insure you get it ... and then go do your research ... and have the tag removed.... if you opt away from the decision ... pps: you dodged a bullet planting in july ... i hope you know that now.. especially on a 6 foot plant .... never forget.. just because you buy it.. does NOT mean its the proper planting time.... though apparently .. this one is a beast .. lol ... other conifers may not be so forgiving ..... God will this ever end ... and i dont understand how a july transplant.. grew 2 feet in the interim ... was there any fertilizing.. ???? i hope it gets the clue.. and starts slowing down.. hardening off.. for winter ...

As you read about trees, you may find ones that are more suited to particular microclimates of your land. For example, I ended up going with an Overcup Oak for part of my yard because I am at a lowland area that gets a lot of rain from long steadily sloped hills. Overcup oaks can grow in submerged waters for a while and they like moist lowlands as opposed to dry hilltops. I would encourage you to think in terms of five areas: 1) Trees that tend to grow together in nature, like beech-oak-hickory forest as an example; 2) groupings that create good variety of fall color (both in terms of color itself, and when in the season the leaves change); 3) groupings that create year-round interest (e.g. for winter, have some evergreen or trees with interesting bark or branching patterns in each group); 4) trees like white oak that attract/support insects, and thus will attract birds and wildlife to your land; and 5) “layers" of the groupings, like canopy trees, understory trees, shrub layer plants, and ground level plants. Again, keeping in mind that some things like to grow together (pines and azaleas) while other things like maples will use their roots to crowd out nearby plants. Still, other plants like pin oak emit chemicals that discourage competition from nearby plants. Some plants like rhododendron and eastern hemlock like consistently moist but not soggy soil (think steep bank near a stream.) You are right to approach it slowly, as it is a life's work! Think variety, and think in terms of mature size of the plants.