Unexpected update:

My son must've been 'roaming the bog' today and sent me a picture.

Another:

Progress report: :-)

Over a week ago, I took the tubes off the Hop Hornbeam, after they reached the top, just to let them harden off and get some sun for the rest of the season.

At the same time, I switched Celtis occidentalis from a 2 ft. tube to a 4 ft. tube. It's grown another foot since and is right at the 3ft. mark. Still a single leader.

The tubes didn't seem to work too well for the Thuja o. They just wanted to spread, so I removed the tubes on both, to start getting direct sun.

Thanks for looking! :-)

Picea abies (same one as previously shown).

Tsuga canadensis started pouring it on. Put on a good 1/8" new growth! (since previous picture shown earlier in this thread) ;-)

Celtis o. hit the 4 foot mark today. There are side branches beginning to form near the top of the tube so it's time to remove the tube and let the tree get some sun and harden off for the season. :-)

Celtis occidentalis.

One less tree to prepare for winter. :-o

That's an Ostrya virginiana in the immediate background, about 2-1/2 ft. tall. It will be an understory tree once the Celtis and Quercus m. get to be large trees. But that won't be for a while and it's 20 ft. between trees. :-)

Last update for the season. :-)

Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) - (1) Got to 4-1/2 ft tall, hardening off nicely.

HopHornBeam (Ostrya virginiana) - (2) 2-1/2 ft. tall, hardening off nicely.

Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) - (2 Yard planted) Main leader made 4" tall, some branches 5". (1) Extra in pot will overwinter. Sorry didn't have a scale you could read on camera very good.

Will have to 'check the bog' (141) next spring. :-)

Norway Spruce (Picea Abies) - (1) Survived, it grew some and still in the pot, will overwinter it. Pic 2 week old but you get the idea. :-)

Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) - About nine pots look like they could make it, will (try to) overwinter them.

The was a great experience imo. From seed to a diverse a group of new trees, here (and other places). :-)

Bill, I’m envious. Growing anything from seed must be very gratifying, but watching a tree develop over a span of time would be extra special. My humble opinion...

Thanks maackia!

It's also nice knowing that I'm doing my part, starting more trees in an area that needed replacements after that horrendous storm demolished so many. :-)

Good work, looks like fun. I have some volunteers coming up in my garden that look like the Picea abies. Maybe I'll let them grow and pot them up or move them as they get bigger. Up till now I've just been pulling them, oh well.

I've been following this all year Bill, it's one of my favourite threads on the forums.

It's inspired me to post my own thread for my 2019 seedlings, which I might get around to today.

Quick question on your tree shelters, which you may have answered at some point above but I didn't catch it on a quick scan just now: Did you drill those air circulation holes yourself? Or did those tubes come with some at the base of the tube?

The extruded translucent tubes that I bought, were from our local 'soil & water' conservation office. These particular ones didn't have holes, save for a couple 'tie straps' to go through. So I drilled some in.

Some tubes I've seen are perforated or have a row of holes the entire length of the tube.

I like having a couple of rows around the bottom perimeter that I either drill or punch. I don't think you can over do it. :-)

A quarter inch diameter is a good size bc it limits the size of bugs that can enter. I almost lost the Celtis when it was first planted, only 2-1/2" tall by a bug that ate almost all the leaves, so for a tiny seedling, it may be wise to use some mesh over the top of the tube. Fortunately, the tree came back and is the one in the last picture.

Yes, It's important to have good air circulation, especially during the hot weather.

Awesome, thanks Bill, I will do the same with mine. I have a roll of window screen material that I could use that may work.

FWIW: We have good snow cover so my new Thuja o. should be protected quite well for this winter.

I talked to my son who told be 'the bog' didn't have time to freeze before all the snow came so we'll find out if that's a good thing or not. It should mean the deer won't be foraging there bc it's too unstable and rabbits generally won't dig the deep snow for food.

Here's what the Thuja in my side yard looked like today. :o)

(the chicken wire a little further up in the pic is protecting a cutting of Red Osier dogwood I rooted/planted a year ago, rabbits seem to like it).

Planted one of the surviving 2019 Tsuga canadensis in the ground today. ~4" tall if it would stand up. ;-)

I chose a place in the yard that has the highest accumulation of snow during winter, hoping it will remain covered later in the spring. There's a grove of young Red pine to the south (right) that should keep the area shaded in February-March, in a couple of years.

Have you tried Quercus ellipsoidalis?

No, not from seed.

Put the 'second best' Tsuga seedling in a protected area of the yard today. Did I mention these were seeds from the 'Minnesota State Champion Tree' ? :-)

I just saw your earlier post with that thick snow cover. I don't even remember when was the last time we had so many snow... I kinda miss those winters, to be honest.

That Eastern hemlock seedling looks quite vigourous. :) Are these growing fast by the way?

Last couple winters we had a lot of snow but it can vary from year to year.

The two Hemlocks above were grown from seed last year and didn't do too well for me (1-1/2" high all season). I think they didn't have enough light early on and too cool.

This year they've improved with better lights and warmer temps (added 3" so far) but I don't think they're considered 'fast growing'.

Oh, and just to update:

The hop hornbeam(2) came through winter quite well. They both are leafing out without any apparent damage. No more tubes on these as I want them to branch out like a smaller tree that it is. Ostrya viginiana:

One of the Thuja occidentalis came through very good and has continued growth. The other, in all day sun, I think, took a beating from the Mothers Day freeze or sun burned. It's making a come back but I may replace it. Here is the on that looks good. 7" tall, It's got some growing to do. :-)

Hackberry came through good. I had to snip 8"-10" off the terminal end, could've been the MD freeze or just winter kill, idk.

Celtis occidentalis:

eta: the hackberry is back in it's tube for another foot or two:

The Norway spruce went to my sons house/woods. :-)

6-9-2020

The hackberrry is liking these 90d+ temps, rain and high humidity. :-)

The Thuja occidentalis in my yard are branching out under full sun conditions. Approximately 10" wide x 8" tall. I haven't gotten word from the bog/tundra lately so not sure if those are doing as well.

Update:

After Celtis occidentalis getting to 6 ft. tall and severe winds whipping the top part of the Hackberry against the chicken wire, I decided to remove the deer protection.

From past experience growing seedlings in tubes, I knew the trunk would be tall and spindly and would need support for a while. So what better time to start hardening off than now (early July)?

The trunk was so thin (1/4" dia.?) and the top 2-1/2 ft. is new growth, this is a little more unstable than even my Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust) that I grew a year earlier. That one still needs one stake and a tie near the top, to prevent partial bending over at the bottom (but it's close). The rest of that trunk is pretty stiff and stable after supporting it last season.

So, here we go. It's branching out nicely at the top and even the smaller side branches are sending out new shoots even though I shortened them with the clippers several days ago.

I had to put the lower tie on to keep the trunk from bowing out, that's how unstable it was. I'll remove them as they lignify. (more to come end of summer). :-)

Now I just have to hope deer don't chomp into the middle of the trunk like they did last year to the HL. That made a nasty wound that is finishing it's encapsulation this season. I might use the 'fishline' technique too on this.

eta: Just another pic after using a stick to straighten up the top.

Pictures began coming in from the Floating bog yesterday. It appears there was a good winter survival rate for the Thuja occidentalis seedlings. :-)

Got the Hackberry down to one stake and one tie. NNE wind 10-15 mph today (view is from SE to NW). I let it go with no stake and it still leaned a little too much to the left. Maybe let it go in a couple of weeks.

The HopHornBeam are on their own. I'm keeping a rabbit fence around them bc of their low growth. I'm not worried about deer browsing them at this stage, they generally only eat the branch tips this time of year. Nice growth and are fully 4 ft. tall.

I do still have one tie on the specimen in the back yard, but it only leans an inch or two left, so I might just release it, in hopes it will become a more interesting form.

The Tsuga canadensis (MN state champ tree seed) in the ground haven't grown much but have 'thickened up'. I'm thinking they probably are putting roots down so maybe more growth will occur next year.

#1 best of seedlings.

#2 best of seedlings:

The one left in the pot (#3 best) has out done them all but could be a result of a very mild solution of fertilizer that all my potted plants receive.

The Thuja occidentalis that was winter sun burned this spring has recovered and the center stem is growing again although suffering somewhat of a set back. The side branches are growing as if nothing happened.

Today, 20+MPH gusty wind with only one stake and a very loose tie.

The tree swayed and bent, almost bent over. When the wind died down, it stood back up perfectly straight. So it's on it's own now. I put the tubes on to prevent possible deer damage but may remove them during the day if winds get too strong.

Thuja occidentalis (east side of house).

FWIW:

Celtis occidentalis is now loosing it's leaves. It's stood by itself all Fall. I tied a stick to the main leader to take some of the 'curve' out and that added to the weight up top but still standing.

So second year from seed, grown in a 'Tube' and very tall & spindly (early this season) is standing on it's own (hopefully next season too). :-)

Time for an Update: :^)) 07-20-2022

I just thought I'd show these trees again, like a progress report.

Celtis occidentalis: Free range? (Is that a horticultural term?) ha-ha

Deer like to nip the lower branches.

The trunk is beginning to show its form.

Ostrya virginiana: (east side of the house). It grew remarkably this season from ~5 ft to guessing near 10 ft. Water only no fertilizer on this one. I had to stake it again until it hardens off later this season.

Ostrya virginiana: (Back yard). I cut an errant root right about bud break. I think that slowed it down but then I didn't have to stake it either. Live & learn but it'll be fine. lol

Thuja occidentalis: (back yard twin) The one that winter burned a couple winters ago. I moved it to a new location last Fall to avoid utility ROW problems. About 16" tall now and growing.

Thuja occidentalis: Front yard east side. About 3 ft. tall.

Tsuga canadensis: (back yard) It's my #3 potted 'back up' State champion MN tree seed. I ended up replacing the original bc it didn't perform well (probably my fault). It's over a foot tall and looking healthy.

Tsuga canadensis: It's another replacement for the other T.c. from State champ seed that wasn't performing. I grew this one from seed collected somewhere in the northern New England states so it should have good provenance to grow around here.

As an aside:

I can't report on the Thuja o. we planted in the bog anymore as the land was sold to other people to buy land for a new adventure. Kids! :^)

FYI: Any trees not reported on in this last post, from earlier in this thread were either gifted and planted to the wild or died, or both. :)

Final season update: 9-9-22

The 3 trees that made remarkable progress since last update.

Thuja occidentalis from seed made 41" in overall height. I gave it a haircut a few weeks ago to prevent competing leader from taking over.

The two Hemlocks, first one from Dr. Kehrs tree in Brainerd and one from collected seed in northeast NH, both liked the warmth and moisture we experienced in August.

24" tall. (The thin stake helps prevent snow from crushing the small plants during winter).

The NH tree is about 18" tall.

That will about do it for my growing season. Temps went from 90dF yesterday afternoon to 60dF last night. A shower of cold rain came with it. Lows in the low to mid 40's forecast next several nights. That'll slow things down.

:^)

The compost around your hemlocks is a good idea as they are very shallow-rooted and don't like competing w/grass. Crushed needles of hemlock are very fragrant.

Thanks, beng!

I pulled the mulch back on most of my newer trees, last spring, and layered on composted manure, before re-mulching. That included my original 5-1/2' Hemlock. Things seemed to look much healthier this season but maybe that was just me. ;-)

8-21-2023: update!

Just thought I'd post some of the later of the few trees that I haven't updated yet on this thread.

Excuse the tree protection, these are already set up for sun shades later this Fall.

Tsuga canadensis: Seed from the 'Rocky Gorge NH'. 33" tall

Tsuga canadensis:

From seed collected at the once MN state champion tree in Brainard MN.

I don't know why so much of this year's growth was on the main leader. 45" tall. It had a lot more sun than the one above, but I'm satisfied with the growth of both of these.

Thuja occidentalis: East side of house. Seed grown from I think a local tree. 57"

That's all that're worth posting about. ;-)

eta: this threads original postdate was April 12, 2019.

(Houzzs method of tracking dates is unusable for gardeners when wanting times of year, month posted etc.)

I thought your hemlock died. You obviously have more.....

Yeah, one down two to go. :-))

The above are in locations where winter burn should be less of a problem. Future updates coming.

I like your labels. Very classy.

Thanks floral.

DW likes them too because when she shows friends around the yard, she can make a quick reference if needed. ;-)

Thanks for posting the updates. Really interesting read!

9-12-2023:

There's a story behind these two newer Tsuga c. ;-)

This all started in Sept 2018 when I collected seed from (at the time) what was the Minnesota state champion tsuga c.

I never grew much from seed before and by Sept 2019, the 3 or 4 little seedlings were barely an inch tall.

I put them into the cold frame for the winter and got them to start growing better the first months of 2020 (april-may?) after I brought them into the house.

At the same time, I started more seeds I collected somewhere out in northern New Hampshire.

When the growing season began, end of May, I planted two of the best State Champ seedlings outside in the ground, in two sperate areas. My vision was a spot that might provide more protection from sun and wind during the winter (I was already struggling with a larger tree that sunburned every winter I didn't cover it).

First area: State Champ tree #1. I figured the red pine would keep late winter/early spring sun off the tree, even though it might take a few more years for them to mature. Snow accumulates more in this end of the yard also.

Second area: State champion tree #2. It doesn't show in the picture but the small shed is just right of the new tree. To the left is a red pine that I'll someday sacrifice when the tsuga is ready.

Stupidly, I simply watered these without any fertilizer at all and by middle of summer, they didn't look good at all.

Not wanting to keep messing with these struggling trees, I pulled them and sometime in midsummer of 2020, planted the last two Tsuga c. I had, that I had kept in pots and were growing quite well on the plant table under controlled conditions.

One was a MN State Champ seedling and the other was from the New Hampshire seedlings.

So, with more experience and a garden hose to get through the dry spells, they pretty much look like they do pictured above in my last post.

Below shows the NH tree better in its sheltered location. I may have to sunshade it a year or two yet.

This is a better shot of State champ tree (left center) on the SE corner of the yard.

:-)

Your next to last pic shows either something on the camera lens, or amazingly long stem-growths on the hemlock?

lol: Not the greatest picture beng, I'll admit. ;-) You're probably talking about the Larch on the left?

Here's a closer view of the New England 'Rocky Gorge' hemlock (inside the chicken wire).

I was satisfied with how good everything o mine grew considering the scant precipitation all season.

Good sheltering of the hemlock. Again tho, the growth on your larch is amazing. That might be a characteristic of larches, as my 2 (Japanese and hybrid) started very fast. The hybrid died of prb'ly root-rot, and the Japanese slowed way down and now even at 35 ft tall is questionable how it will end up (lower branch loss). Prb'ly Amer larch would do better as it's native to the endemic disease/environmental issues. This huge European larch died very suddenly in a Bedford, PA cemetery. Just turned brown and gone.

I've read Larix laricina is one of the fastest growing trees in north America, at least for the first 2/3 of its 150-year lifetime.

And something about liking phosphorus in the soil which around here is at fairly high levels ATST.

Even though Larix is deciduous in nature, it should, in the next year or so, begin to provide at least filtered shade on the hemlock from the SE, late winter and early spring. The critical time for winter burn on sensitive plants like young Thuja & Tsuga.

And I have options if things get too crowded back there, I can remove the red pine and by then the White spruce that resides ~10ft. more to the left (south), can take over supplying shade. It's already as tall as the red pine.

And the small shed may need replacement by then. A little like 'Garden Editing'. ;-)

Our sun angle is already down to 47d, 20d lower than mid-summer and will drop another 27d by winter solstice.

Below gives you an idea how the shade falls as the shadows lengthen. This is about what it will look like on March 21.

:-)

Eastern hemlocks take well to pruning if that were ever necessary, and certainly they are shade tolerant and compete easily with surrounding trees (actually prb'ly like it).

I agree.

The one I had out in the open didn't work too well.

It's starting to make sense why the Brainerd tree grew to maturity.

It was hardly 6-8 ft. from a large house with a basement, so most likely the ground never froze completely on that side of the tree.

Admittedly, there are other trees in that part of the state growing well but the specifics are a mystery.

This is all I got, so will be my last attempt growing Tsuga.

Stay tuned. ;-)

11-15-2023:

I didn't think that the Red pine grove was going to be enough to provide the shade needed to protect the Tsuga c. yet this winter. So I constructed some sun shade over the chicken wire surround. With high 50's and sunny, it was a good time to go and check it out.

This time of year, with low sun angle (25*) it might have been enough with just the pines for shade. But in March with sun angle increasing from 40* to 47*, that's the critical time for these trees to sunburn, I'll probably have to add the burlap the next year or two until the pines get taller.

Tsuga c. from State champ tree seed on the left, Hicksii yew center. High noon.

Another angle of the State champ tree.

Tsuga C. from NH collected seed. Afternoons may be more of a problem than mid-day at this location.

I know, I know, 'Artificial shade' but you have to consider, this is a managed vision for establishment and growth here and is only temporary until either the trees adapt or die. Simple strategy when you think about it. ;-)

4-3-24:

Another thing I'm trying on the Tsuga(s) this year, is leaving space from the ground to the bottom of the burlap, to allow sun to penetrate closer to the tree, helping thaw the ground at the base of the tree, earlier in the spring. The frozen ground is the real culprit for these trees.

It's a challenge to not want sun on the crown and yet still want sun at the base. No good way I can think of to do that without a lot of messing around and no, I'm not installing an electric blanket.

Even with the space under the shade, it allows sun underneath only part of the day and shade the rest, slowing the thaw process. I'm sure it must help to a certain extent and things can vary from year to year.

4-21-2024:

Just for the record, I took sunshades off the two Tsuga canadensis today.

For there not being any snow most of the winter and very high winds at times, enough so I was out there doing repairs on the shelters, I would say things came through exceptionally good.

No brown needles or any other signs of degradation. Rain forecast end of the week. Bring it on. ;-) State champ seed:

Rocky gorge seed.