Are you going to prune to control size?

Yes of course, not gonna let it get taller than 10-12 ft.

a majority of winter damage is caused.. when the ground freezes solid ... and the dormant tree can not process water .. then add blistering winter winds ...then add snow reflected sun that can actually thaw tissue on sunny days ... only to refreeze when it gets cloudy or that night ...

does this happen often in your z7? ...

if its a zone appropriate tree ... except for that once a decade horrible winter ... i just dont see an issue ...

also ... do understand.. that your plants will probably lose al the needles below the first whorl ... as they already look damaged .. this will not be winter related ...

do any of these look like they should be 5 feet form the house?: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pinus+thunbergii+forest&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

ken

And if that down spout is not routed anywhere , you can't plant a conifer there

ron

Freeze thaw cycles are often a problem here. But these pines have proven to be very tough for me the past 1.5 years so maybe I’ll give it a shot. I’m just super cautious because these are irreplaceable treasures grown from seed... and I did also mean to ask about those dying needles. I understand pines losing the bottom half of their needles but this ones like 75% of it.. that is still normal?

That pipe goes directly on the ground beneath it. But there was a dwarf Alberta spruce and emerald green arborvitae there that I chopped down. So those obviously didn’t mind but I’m not so sure about my Japanese black pine..

Seems like a very poor location for a tree that wants to grow as much as 60' tall and 20' wide. I wouldn't even plant a compact cultivar like 'Thunderhead' in that location.

Soo , your gutters drain right next to your foundation ?

WHAT , ARE YOU GOOFY ?

Put the thunbergii elsewhere. Pines do not take well to pruning unless you candle prune them. Not only is that tedious as they get larger, the candles of thunbergii are an attractive feature that you’ll have to hack in half every year and although you can slow growth they will get bigger every year or they will die. You can’t keep them small forever If these are treasures, treat them as such.

tj

Freeze thaw cycles are often a problem here.

==>> you really need to move to zone 3 or 4 .. for a few years... so you really understand this stuff ...

i will try again ... WHEN THE ROOTS ARE FROZEN IN THE FIRST THREE FEET OF SOIL ... then freeze and thaw of needles.. might be a problem ...

it really has little to do with a one night frost warning ...

and we arent talking about fruit flower first/freeze issues in spring ...

just because you get personally get cold ... doesnt mean a zone appropriate plant cares one wit ...

i had had poorly tended pines lose every needle.. and as long as the buds stay tan [not turn black]... and otherwise its properly watered ... it will return ...

i often say.. dont kill it with too much love ... and i tell you the same.. these are just pines.. plant them.. and water them for a year.. and then jump back ...

that you raised them from seed only adds emotion.. which isnt really a variable here ... i found when i overthinked things.. is when i screwed it up somehow ... so i just started putting things in mother earth ... removed all pot variables.. and presto ... increased my success rate significantly ...

ken

Here's 'Thunderhead' in Maryland. I'll let OP decide if she has room for it.

FWIW OP lives in NJ, 'Tunderhead' was introduced in NJ. However it was selected by my friend Bill Devine, formerly propagator of Angelica Nursery in Maryland. SOURCE

The above distraction regarding winterhardiness is irrelevant.

The down spout most likely connected to a 'tile' or tube that channels the water further down the landscape. So that area may not get any extra water during rains. More so if there is a wide overhang of roof above the area.

What if it was in the spot where the stump is right now on the right of the juniper? I was going to train the trunk to lean to the right more and slant it to the left. If still no then I think I will just plant my juniper there. The downspout does seem like it’s connected to something underneath. But it was wet around it even under an overhang. The other spots far away from the down sprout also under an overhang was dry though. Anyway for the pine, my plan was to prune the candles in half every year, or completely remove them if I predict it will get too big, and control the size like that. I wanted to eventually learn niwaki techniques and make the trees shape as such. Most of those are only 10-15 ft tall anyway even as very old trees. So that’s why I thought I can put the pine in that tight space.

Can't help you with the planting but....

Your down spout and tile are probably plugged with leaves and such. It's quite common for that to happen. All the water will back up and soak the area around the down spout making for wet conditions.

It's the joys of being a home owner. Yearly rain gutter and down spout unclogging.

Well I guess that adds to my already overloaded maintenance list of my new home then... I wonder if I’ll ever get my garden complete lol

What would be the fun of that? A garden (to me) is an ever evolving pleasure.

Just to echo dbarron's comment.........to a serious gardener, a garden is never done. Or complete :-) It is most certainly an evolutionary process over time.

I've never heard of a garden being "complete."

I meant like getting all the big projects done. I know that there little edits to the garden you need to make here and there after the garden is already established. Currently on my list is to make a rock garden, a meadow garden, a woodland garden, a vegetable garden, a water garden and all my trees in other random spots. I need to get all materials and supplies for this and actually do the labor. I at least want all the big stuff done and later I can make small changes/additions. Another thing is that because many of my plants will be propagated I tend to want to do that as soon as I can because the sooner you propagate the sooner the plants will get big and develop flowers.

If you are already thinking you have too much to do maybe you won't actually enjoy having added all those other garden features.

BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL QUESTION

Where does that down spout lead ? I would want to know

and if there is the beginning of your "rock" garden , the bed needs widening

ron

I would have to do some digging to find out. Hopefully I can get to it today with my crazy schedule. The bed is currently 8ftx30ft. The first 3 feet is under an overhang so not putting plants there. So thats pretty much 5ftx30ft then. Also I think I found a better spot for my pinus thinbergii. There used to be a big silver maple there until last week and the stump was grinded. It will be in the center of that bed where the logs are. Will there be any negative effects to my pine there as the roots of the maple start decomposing?

'do some digging to find out'

Heruga, here's a couple of links that might help you understand your drain problem. ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmK6QdjcWdY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-eQwwU5YFY

Pretty much all the pinus thunbergii around me dies after 10-20 yrs or so from the pine wilt nematode.