Cher, I've been thinking about the difference in color between this one and Ken's and I remember when I was shown the second tree at the nursery that was the fuller version of what mine is 'supposed' to look like, it was not golden either. I remember clearly that the person helping me said it was a Golden Korean Fir a couple of times. Mine didn't have a label, but he had another one that looked just like it that had a label and he looked at that before telling me that. I actually believe he might have been the owner of the nursery too. Ken, aside from whether the tree will become the pretty gold color or not, that would be unfortunate, if it ended up not being a cultivar and became much too large for the space. Thanks for trying to figure it out. I am going to take some time to think about it, at least until the weekend. I'm also going to call the nursery and try to determine from them what happened to the labeling. Maybe send them a representative photo of an Abies koreana 'Aurea' and a photo of my tree planted. See if they can get more information to ID the tree. tsugajunkie, we soaked it really well when it was first planted. Filled that moat up three times, and it is deep, and it drained pretty quickly actually. Then I put the sprinkler on that whole area for 2 hours. Yesterday, when I looked at it, I thought I heard a 'sigh' when I passed. (g) Even those pollen sacks/baby cones, whatever they are, looked plumper. But -- I share your concern about the roots. Is your concern that the tree will not remain stable even after a few years in the ground? Or that the roots will never grow out into the surrounding soil? I normally work with perennials and shrubs and rarely buy a tree, and this was my first conifer purchase, so I have no experience in what to expect as far as what happens to 'root bound' in a tree. My nearest experience to this, was a 6ft Princess Holly, that was B&B and left too long and was sparse & pale. It was on sale for $30. and I brought it home and when I went to plant it, half of the rootball was like cement. Three years later, it is full and green and seems to have recovered completely. I would love to know if anyone has bought a 'pot bound' conifer and how it worked out for them? And I'm wondering, how this tree would grow if I kept it. Will it actually sprout new branches along the trunk in places where branches have broken off, or will it only produce new growth on the branches that are left and at the top? As for staking....I thought the general consensus now, was that trees that are not staked, will more quickly increase their root mass to stabilize themselves, if they have the challenge of wind to deal with? Ladylotus, thank you for your encouraging comment. :-)

Thanks Eliot, I can't explain why I remember these stories but I do. Some stories I have bin told, othhers I red in books or from articles and ofcourse this forum is also very important! Indeed it's only 'Silberlocke'. The Horstmann part is taken away because to avoid a mixed up situation with another Abies koreana cultivar found by them with the name 'Horstmann' So there's Abies koreana 'Silberlocke' and Abies koreana 'Horstmann'.

No doubt you are right about that! I cannot imagine the younger generations having anything to do with this. I am an antique dealer and an advanced collector of many things. I am obsessed with some things that most people would find boring, especially the smart phone obsessed generation. Trees are my newest obsession and while they cost a lot less than what I buy and sell, with but very rare exception, everything has its price. Plus, trees die. Antiques generally don't die. I have seemingly lost 2 of these silver firs now and they were costly compared to most, and I am just ill about it. It's a combination of the waste, the money, and how much I enjoyed it. I have about 100 conifers of all different kinds, plus some European beeches and red maples for contrast, and some holly thrown in here and there. I have a daughter named Noel. I had a dog named Kringle and another named Holly. See a pattern developing here? Red and green... Conifers... Still, my favorites are the yellow and white variegated varieties. I love Abies Koreana Aurea. I have two that are about as tall as I am. They replaced two I killed the first time around. This year I actually tented one of them this summer to protect it from the sun. It seems to have worked. We'll see. I have both white and black dragon's eyes--the black is amazing, plus Ogon Janome, Chief Joseph, some variegated thread branch cypress, Carsten's Winter Gold, Trolgold, Watt's Golden, Ogon, Burke's Red, Gold Drift, Goldilocks, etc. But hands-down the best plant I bought last year was a Mugo called Amber Gold. It was variegated yellow to saturated orange to green in the winter. Amazing. The color was better than Chief Joseph or Carstens. Looks different in person then on the web. I see Conifer Kingdom has it. I really like Abies numidica 'Baronagel' and will pursue one. Thanks!

is the veranda indoors.. or outdoors ... this is not a houseplant ... you will be hard pressed to grow it indoors for an extended period ... note potential size here: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cambium+layer&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images your plant has already budded out.. the newer lighter green growth ... since the top did not.. it is dead ... prune back to live growth ... all trees releader.. though it might take a couple years ... why??... bad stock to begin with.. the transplant and potting.. perhaps watering issues ... who knows ... trees like full drainage.. a sip of water.. and then it all runs out the bottom ... and no more water.. until near dry .. insert finger.. and dont water until its dry down a couple inches ... do you imagine.. it was ever in dormancy??? .. if so .. it probably didnt need any water during this time ... i doubt the xmas decorations had anything to do with this .. unless it was on top of a furnace register ... and it was blasting hot for weeks ... and even then.. the damage wouldnt appear like this ... btw .. thing happens with conifers.. tree .. in tree time ... which means.. whatever happened.. could date back many months.. from the time you actually noticed it ... and that is what makes it hard to figure it all out ... i dont know about that media mi in the pot ... but what works.. works.. the big question is??? .... is there a hole in the bottom of the pot ... if not.. that might be the genesis of something. ... lol .. dont want to commit myself to far.. ken ps: welcome to the forums ...