Im Blue yew

location Z9 swe

being grown conifers since 1993 I like species and
rare cultivars have 23 acers.I am a conifer addict
I also have a yard (tiny growing area).I grow many
conifers from seed always checking seed trays for
new cultivars.

Well, naturegirl is really an over 50 woman, not a girl. I've taught environmental education to elementary students at nature centers, where I'm known as Mrs. H, for the past 15 years. As I remember it, a disagreement with other teachers about conifer reproduction first brought me to this forum. I like natural grown conifers in wild places, but enjoy seeing the great variety of trees others grow in home gardens. For now my "collection" is big box store common landscape types planted 25 years ago when we moved to a newly built, unlandscaped home. Last month I took the chain saw to two of the blue spruce that had long outgrown their space.....took a lot of the branches to the local Christmas tree recycling spot. Wonder what they thought of THAT tree! So now there is some room for new things...hmmm...I may join the conifer collectors yet!

For now, my garden is mostly many different types of vegetables. I get to choose new varieties every year! I'm thinking this year I'll have at least 10 varieties of beans and at least that many varieties of both tomatoes and peppers. Lately, I've done more with flowers, both annuals and perennials, especially those that are attractive to butterflies.

And I kayak as much as I can....whatever that has to do with gardening :)

>I have been the victim of both Internet fraud and online identity theftEeeeeek!

I like to go by Dis. I just had my 50th birthday as well. I guess it' s too late to grow up now. I'm a homebody whose idea of a nice day is to sit under a tree with a pot of tea at my elbow and a good book in front of me. I also enjoy camping and hiking.

I am a 'hit and run' gardener preferring trees and plants that don't require a lot of messing with. I also like a naturalistic garden style. Carpets of needles or leaves are beautiful to me.

My interest in conifers has always been there. I especially like the sound of wind through needles. It reminds me of the wild places I love. Conifers bring a bit of the mountains to my yard.

I live on a largish suburban lot that came with a pretty row of arborvitaes along the front. I added a twisting juniper 13 years ago. It is now finally big enough to start looking beautiful.

I plan on adding two Deodars in the back to give some shade on the west side and that beautiful sighing sound when the wind blows.

I just wanted to make this available again to some of the newer collectors and conifer enthusiasts here on the Garden web. Though nowhere near complete, this is a nice start to a registry of people who visit these forums regularly.

Introduce yourself as well and maybe we'll know you as 'John' instead of Coniferdude18Ohio!

:)

-Will

Real life name, or nickname: Philippe

Approxiamate age: mid 40

Conifer experience: 3 years

Conifer interests: Dwarfs and miniatures. Pinus, Cedrus, Abies

Home state: France, near Paris. We live in a flat 5th floor, and have a terrace of about 1000 sq ft.

Personal collection notes: My small collection (25 specimens) started with a Pinus Densiflora Umbraculifera (one of my favorites).

Any other notes: All plants are in containers (mainly wood and some ceramic).

Jeff

Age: 25

Conifer/tree experience: 6 years

Conifer interests: It all started with trying to identify trees growing up at my parents house. Over the years my interest has snow-balled into creating my own collection of my favorite trees, at my new house.
Home state: CT
Personal collection notes: Most of the trees were either grown from seed or I collected in nature by me. I have an around 20 different kinds of trees growing.. everything from all three redwoods, baldcypress, ginkgo, tulip tree, falsecypress - 4 different variations), western red cedar, weeping alaskan cedar, purple beech, leyland, blue spruce, serbian spruce, larch, green giant arb, deodara cedar, weeping willow, sweetgum, sycamore, dogwood, japanese maples, easten white pine, yew and many more. I will be adding more unique cultivars as well and hopefully create little 'conifer islands' that others on this site have done so beautifully.

I come here to get inspired and to learn. : )

J

Real name is david bard age 74 live on 1 acer in union city mich.
Have growing conifers for abought 7or8 years have abought 150 to 200 try to buy all differnt.
I plant some every year.
I have a pond in back yard I built my self hobbies are woodworking have a 30 by 40 shop build furniture for yard and house.
I check the forum every day.

Name: Rick Sample - Just incase you're wondering =)

Age: 27

A little about myself: I purchased 3.50 acres when I was 22 back in 2006, two years later in 2008 I built my house. In 2010 I added onto my house by building a 3rd garage bay for my second hobby which is building my Mustang. This year I have started conifer collecting and the overall design of my backyard.

Within the next 5 years I hope to have a beautful conifer collection that features a park/garden type theme.

Real life name, or nickname: Ken or KJ

Approxiamate age: 40

Conifer experience: Well, only several years really. however I planted my first conifer some 30 years ago. It was a Douglass Fir. I'm not sure of the exact type, but I want to say Pseudotsuga menziesii. I was 10 when I planted it and I cant remember 100% though. Last I saw a few years ago it is now one of the few trees left standing in what was our old back yard. It looked to be about 65 feet tall now. It was about 1 foot tall when I planted it. I still live near there and I will do my best to go back and take a photo of it. I have been on GW for almost 10 years now, but had mainly posted in continers, balcony gardening, bananas, and palms forums until recent years.

Conifer interests: Spruces, Firs, Pines usually the narrow conical, spire like ones.

Home state: From D.C., grew up in MD just outside, and have lived in Northern Virginia (Old Town Alexandria)for about 12 years now.

Personal collection notes: It's small, mainly in containers. Consisting of about 15 or so plants. (we currently rent our house) About 1/2 natives.

Any other notes: I have been an avid gardener since I was a small child. The first ever book I read when I could first reed was a TREE ID book. I have always been enamored by the outdoors, nature, plants, trees, etc. Most of my gardening experience is with containers having lived in apartments with balconies for many years, although I do have quite a bit ofin ground gardening experience as well. I have not bought a home in this area because I (we) do not want to stay in the Washington D.C. metro area, and the prices here are nothing short of INSANE. I also became a Certified Master Gardener in the state of VA in 2010. My two passions are in fact polar opposites. Tropicals (Palms, Cycads, Bananas...etc) and Conifers. Although there are some tropical Conifers, and some cold hardy palms and bananas. Cycads are also palm like, but much more closely related to conifers than their tropical appearance would have you believe.

The thing that drew me to Conifers when I was young were, Their remarkable ability to withstand bitter cold, the way snow looked on them, and the sound of the wind rushing through the spruce and/ or pine trees. I find that to be a wonderful, and very soothing sound.

(One more side note) as I said I have been posting here for just short of 1 decade, and these forums have hardly changed format at all. They are just about identical now as they were back then. I honestly which they would get upgraded to a modern format. Something like Vbulletin. Its much easier for most to use in terms of posting links, photos, etc, and also keeps track of each members posts, as well as stats. GW is a great forum, but it is SORELY behind in the times, and has been for quite some time now.

Hi my name is Heidi and I own a small nusery in Washington state.
I'm in my mid 40's and love gardening. I do love conifers the most but you couldn't tell it by my garden. I think I need to plant one of everything. I would call it a collectors garden. I have 10 acers and if Ihad more time and water I would probably plant it all.
I love gardening and my Blue heeler dogs as I have 6 at the moment. I also like sports and fishing.
I am still learning about plants as I learn something new everyday.
I actually have a degree in physical education but would rather work in the garden than teach. I try to help people learn new things as well as I learn new things like how to properly pronounce umbrella pine.

Real name : Tom, but scot or scotjute will do.
Age : 55-60
Location : Waco Tx area
Interests : Native Texas Arizona Cypress -rough-bark and Bald Cypress -Tx. Hill-country strain. Also Eastern Red Cedar.
Experience : been dabbling with Bald Cypress, Eastern Red Cedar, and Southern Pine for over 45 yrs. Started in north La.
Am working to get the native Tx. strain of Arizona Cypress into Arboretums and other places where the public can see them and the unique genetics of the Tx. trees can be preserved in case of a forest fire in the Chisos Mts. of Big Bend.

Kathy from central IL, 50ish

Gardening evolution: Started twenty years ago on one acre of empty flat prairie with lots of ornamental grasses and perennials. Wanted hostas so planted various deciduous trees, especially flowering ones. Put a windbreak of Austrian pines in and a couple of conifers made their way into the main gardens - weeping white pine, weeping norway, fastigiate white pine, a Tanyosho. Had to have viburnums (for the birds) and weigelas (for the flowers). The Austrians were beautiful until about five years ago (that was a big planting mistake). Started taking them out a couple of years ago and while looking for what to replace them with truly discovered conifers...and got hooked. So the once empty prairie is now a rather eclectic mix. Like Mike said, when it comes to plants, I want them ALL.

Conifer interests: Weepers, pillars, blues, yellows

I honestly which they would get upgraded to a modern format. Something like Vbulletin.

Agreed! I've never even seen this clunky format elsewhere.

Oh and by the way, I'm severnside.

It's as good as an approximate name, consider it my nickname here.

I would also collect every conifer on this and other planets but my beloved garden is limited by size and it's tremendous two country view means no specimen can be more than 10' high. A judicious collection means I have to draw the line in so many places but still represent cultivars with enough spread. This is why I really like seeing other peoples pictures to enjoy the specimens I can't have. Galleries rule!

Name: John Place
Age: 37
Location: Saint Louis, MO
Experience: Only a couple of years -- not much really. I have planted a few interesting small conifers.

I don't post much here as I am new to conifers, but I read everything and love the photo intensive threads. Gorgeous.
Anyway early late 50's lady, gardened in South Florida for 35+ years and collected everything. Moved to zone 6 in '07 and started over from scratch with no idea of what I wanted to do and even less of a budget with which to do it.

My special area of expertise is combining a "wishes it was meticulous" yard with giant breed dogs with neither of them suffering or giving anything up in the process. I do tend to micromanage everything and am always reminding myself that we relocated to provide a better environment for the dogs to begin with and to expect them not to affect the aesthetics of their own space is kind of ridiculous.

Anyway, started on a five year plan and am happy with my progress. Wish I could have more of the larger specimen conifers- as it is I order teeny plants so that I can afford everything then try and be patient for ten years, so it's sparse early on. But this is my retirement home so I (knock wood) have the time to see it all develop.

Here is a link that might be useful: photos of my yard

Real life name, or nickname: Donn
Approximate age: 64 next month
Conifer experience: (years collecting/studying) 2 months, although I've grown them in my gardens for over 50 years.
Conifer interests: dwarfs and miniatures
Home state: NY, gardened in Indiana, Ohio, upstate and downstate NY
Personal collection notes: a couple of hundred ornamental grasses.
Any other notes: Conifer collection begins next month with a road trip to Bethlehem Nursery.

I'm Wolfgang from Germany. I'm fascinated by nature,animals,all trees and other plants and specially by conifers. I have been collecting the cultivars of the Taxodiaceae-family ( mostly Cryptomeria ) since many years ( so they are hardy in Germany,not Glyptostrobus or Athrotaxis). But I also plant other conifers I like ( some Cedrus,Pinus,Picea,Cephalotaxus,Taxus,Torreya,Thujopsis ).And I plant trees and shrubs with interesting leaves, autumn colour, nice bark ( p.e. Prunus serrula,Acer griseum...),flowers ( Rhododendron,Magnolia,Hamamelis,Hydrangea....) and fruits.
I'm also fascinated in all southern conifers and I have some in pot.
I have been planting since 40 years but unfortunately I changed my gardens very often . So I lost a lot of older plants. The last garden I started new at 2004, a smaller part is from 1982. So most of my conifers are younger and small. My garden today is 2,5 ha = 5 acres; no fence round and I fight against wind,deers,slugs and mice.

But my second hobby are animals/pets. I like bird-watching, grow up sick and young lost birds, we have cats and dog and next year again hens,chicken,cocks,ducks.
And my wife and me do a lot of gardening for our own food. We grow our own potatoes, vegetables, we make our own jam, apple-juice.....
I'm not a nurseryman, all is hobby. I studied Biology and Geography and work as a teacher.

Wolfgang

Jason
34 y.o.
lived/gardened in Ohio, Minnesota and now, north Florida since I was a child
I am a professor at UF (forest pathology). My professional and personal interests intermingle. I do research on diseases affecting trees (including rare conifers), but also have a large collection in my research greenhouses and on my 5 acres. At my home, I am lucky to have some awesome native woodlands with very high diversity including mature longleaf pines and Zamia integrifolia (North America's only native cycad). In my cultivated gardens I grow a wide range of things including Amentotaxus yunnanensis, Araucaria angustifolia, A. bidwillii, A. cunninghamii, Calocedrus macrolepis, Cunninhamia, Cupressus cashmeriana, Fokienia hodginsii, Glyptostrobus pensilis, Juniperus bermudiana, J. flaccida, Keteleeria evelyniana, Nageia nagi, Pinus devoniana, P. lumholtzii, P. strobus var. chiapensis, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Taxodium mucronatum etc. In my greenhouses, i grow a much wider range of things including most Araucariaceae, Podocarpaceae and others. I am experimenting with grafting Araucaria araucana on bidwillii and angustifolia and Wollemia on Agathis and Araucaria to overcome root rot sensitivity.

Hi Jason - how old is your Pinus chiapensis, and how is it doing?

As an aside, it's a distinct species, not a variety of P. strobus (see link below; pdf file)

Resin

Here is a link that might be useful: Systematic Botany 32: 703-717 (2007)

I usually don't post-but I visit almost daily for information and to look at the beautiful photos. They are an inspiration. I will try to post a few pics later:-)

Name: Rhonda
Age: 40+
Experience: minimal:-) I would say less than 3 years.
Interests: Chamaecyparis, Picea, Pinus-but looking to expand.
State: Eastern Iowa
Personal collection notes: I started looking into conifers because I found that perennials and deciduous shrubs were not giving me the "look" I wanted in my front yard, especially in the colder months. My "collection" is still small-I think I have 17. I have limited amounts of sun-but the conifers I have so far are doing well with what they receive.

Resin,

Thanks for the reference. I had thought it was still being considered as a variety. My one plant (from Chiapas) is still doing o.k. However, the tips that hadn't hardened off were damaged in the cold last winter, but it re-growing well now and maybe I will be lucky enough to see some cones in another couple of years! I will post a photo of it soon.

My name is Gary Ganser. I have been a member of GW for a couple of years. I always enjoy the forum but cannot contribute often because of my basic ignorance in gardening and my schedule. I live in the Northern part of West Virginia near Morgantown. I live at my current location for 20 years. I am interested in any garden worthy plant that will grow here. The Japanese maples do well but surprisingly pines do OK even in partial sun. Hemlocks do the best. I live on one of the first ridges of the mountains going East from West Virginia to Maryland -about 10 acres on the southern slope. My house is surrounded by boulders. Extremely beautiful place I have to admit. Not due to my efforts. I am near retirement and live with a wonderful wife, 3 dogs and 6 cats. I am a Professor of Mathematics at West Virginia University

My name is Barb. I'm 50 this year.
I live in a rural area 30 minutes north of Denver Colorado. The farmhouse and barn were built in 1948 on 2 sloped acres along a 65 mph highway. It used to be 55 mph, but everyone needs to get there faster now. ;o) I have 7.9 ph clay soil, 13 inches average precip. per year and occasional ferocious winds. To balance those challenges, we also have 300 sunny days a year and a great mountain view. I moved here because it was an affordable place to keep my 3 horses (lawn ornaments).
I started gardening 5 years ago and got interested in conifers for wind breaks. I planted 25 6 inch Juniperus Scopulorum seedlings 2 years ago and since they all lived I added another 25 this year. I also planted 25 Pinus Edulis seedlings from tubes this spring and lost every one, so I still have much to learn.
My focus right now is testing out different conifers that will tolerate the conditions here and gradually add to the windbreak on the north and west sides of the property.
I planted Pseudotsuga Menziesii, Pinus Strobiformis, Abies Concolor and Picea Glauca this spring and am planting Picea Orientalis, Picea Omorika and Pinus Leucodermis this fall.
I find this site invaluable for the knowledge of the contributors and the kindness you show us rookies!

Just call me Lucretia--yep, I'm paranoid about personal information on line. After a couple of decades in the space program, when cancellation of the Shuttle program was announced about 6 years ago, we saw the handwriting on the wall and made a move from Florida to the Pacific Northwest. I've been "growing" conifers for probably 15-plus years--plenty of slash pines and bald cypress in Florida (mature trees as well as young plants added to the landscape.) Starting out in Washington with a backyard of weeds, clay and rocks (something new to us--there were no rocks in Florida, just sand and shells) we planted the ubiquitous dwarf Alberta spruce and mugo pines that we found at the local box stores. We've since gotten a little more educated and fallen in love with Pinus parviflora, Picea omorika, and other conifers--some that make us laugh (like the dwarf parvifloras), some that are just stunningly beautiful, and some that are a combination of both (Picea omorika 'Pedula Bruns'--how can that tree NOT make you happy?) We're working on a landscape that can remain reasonably attractive through the dry, dry, DRY summers here without supplemental irrigation--so far conifers and old garden roses are winners.

I see several people here from whom I've bought plants so I'll jump in

Real life name, or nickname: Jerry

Approxiamate age: 60

Conifer experience: (years collecting/studying) Seriously 12 years

Conifer interests: Species trees from around the world

Home state: WA

Personal collection notes: Currently most interested in the Cupressus, or whatever it is this week; love the challenge of growing less hardy plants in zone 6 and being surprised

Any other notes: Have been more seriously into Quercus since I re-discovered my love for oaks on a California Cupressus collecting trip in 2008

A little late to this party; we had a death in the family and I'm playing catch up.

I'm Mark W and I've been gardening for nearly 20 years, 10 in Southern California and 10 in Chicago. I studied biology and chemistry at IU and went on to do some research, including a stint in a paleobotany laboratory looking at fossilized Fagaceae remains.

Currently, I'm a medical writer, with a focus in cancer research. I garden on a 1/4 acre plot that I've christened Everblue Pointe. As you can imagine, the emphasis is on blue varieties, particularly the P. pungens cultivars. It's also a "white garden", because I only plant perennials with white blooms plus lots of variegated woody plants. Kind of obsessive, but there you have it.

Gardening in Chicago has proven to be a challenge, because we go from one weather extreme to the next in the blink of an eye. Tried Abies this year and failed due to the erratic weather, but I will try again next year.

I'm also getting involved with bonsai, and am hoping to focus on P. parviflora.

Hi everyone, I'm Nathan. I'm 27 and live in Boston, though I'm from southwestern VA originally and probably will be headed back down that way in the next year or so.

I've always been into vegetable gardening, mostly chili peppers and tomatoes, until I started working at a local garden center and nursery this spring. Access to so much good plant material (with a discount) was the little push it took to get me over the edge and into ornamentals and conifers, specifically. I'm really interested in most things Pinus and Chamaecyparis, in particular.

Seeing as my little apartment doesn't afford any space for my trees, my community garden plot has slowly been transformed into a holding pen of sorts for all of my plants. At the moment I am torn between three options for the winter: letting things ride as is, digging pots into the ground, or sinking them into my raised bed which has a much lighter, faster soil than the rest of the garden plot. All of my trees are currently planted in a potting soil/gravel/bark mulch mixture. Everyone seems to be pretty happy so far, maybe with the exception of a Korean Fir, but I'm still afraid the mix is a little heavy.

Now, on to the trees.
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This is what I'm working with so far, L to R (please correct any mistakes I may make): Pinus strobus fastigiata, Cryptomeria japonica 'Sekken', Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone', Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis', Pinus densiflora 'Oculus-Draconis', Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Little Jamie', nameless chili pepper, Abies koreana 'Aurea', and Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold'. There are a couple more Little Jamie's tucked in there, and that herb underneath the Sekken is comfrey. I've found it to be a pretty good low-strength fertilizer. The twiggy looking Acer palmatum in the back is 'Jiro Shidare'. It was old, unsaleable stock (completely defoliated) at work and destined for the dumpster, but it was still very much alive so I just couldn't resist taking it home. I've had it for about two weeks now, and it's budding out again already.

I've lurked on here for a long time, and with a little urging from another thread, decided to go ahead and introduce myself. I'll probably be more of a learner than a contributor, but I'll chime in if I think I can help. Thanks to everyone on here who provides amazing pictures and knowledge. To a young collector like me, it's an inspiration to daydream about what could be some day!

Hello Nathan,

it's Cryptomeria jap. ' Sekkan '.
Great ' Oculus-draconis'.

Wolfgang

hi nathan ....

now take the giant leap .. and do a post about your potting issues ...

hit POST A MESSAGE ...

type your brains out.. or just copy/paste what you put here ...

and then ... if its not there at first.. AFTER PREVIEW.. just under where you type/edit.. hit the box so that replies come to your email ...

otherwise.. peeps might be answering your questions here for years.. and you will never know.. unless you come back to someone elses post.. over.. and over ... its called hijacking a post ... your hello is spot on .... but your other issues require a new post.. have at it man ....

also .. what is the native soil in that garden plot.. and why is the raised bed 'faster'??? and what is the potting media you are using????

the two issues are drainage.. and 'holding dormancy' .... any facts you can add in regard to either will be great ... in your new post

ken

Thank you, Wolfgang! I'll be sure to correct that in the future.

The 'Oculus-draconis' was my first purchase, it will always be a very special tree for me. Here is another photo from a few weeks ago. Not sure if anything should be done about the split leader.

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I'm in and out of here - I try to pop in at least once a month and obviously comment far less.

My name is Randall - caught the conifer bug in 1976. Joined the Iseli Nursery team in 1980 and have been there ever since. I love gardening of all types but my passion is dwarf conifers. I built a small hobby greenhouse several years ago and for the past two winters, I've started grafting again - just for fun! After going through a rose phase and a perennials phase, I'm finally back on track planting conifers in my garden. :^)

I love lurking here and try to keep up with what's going on, but only so much time to spend - busy with gardening, photography, music, other artistic endeavors.

I'm a lurking learner, purchased a Colorado Blue Spruce and await it's arrival. My name is Tina, I'm 40ish. Air Force wife of an EOD Tech. I live in South Dakota. The beautiful Black Hills. We have 1/4th an acre of land to work with. Currently reseeding the lawn. (a nightmare to kill off all the weeds!) Own two dogs, a Great Dane and a Blue heeler.

Anyway, I love coming here, learning from everyone, oogling all the images you folks share. I'll be certain to post pictures of my spruce as it grows so I'm contributing. :) I've my eyes on another which is a Pine Japanese White Pinus Parviflora 'Tani Mano Uki'. I found that on Girards website from anothers post mentioning this website and absolutely fell in love with it. :)

Cheers!
~Tina

Great line-up of gardeners so far ! Most reassuring in this world of non-stop competition and so-called high performance.Thanks folks! T.
PS And if you don't have room for a BIG blue spruce,try this one...

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Picea glauca v. albertiana 'Sander's Blue' ,now approximately 2 ft ( 60 cm) high after 4 years in the ground (was 8" / 20 cm when planted)

I am relatively new to the forum but I am newly fascinated with conifers and want to learn all that I can. I've been a serious gardener for 20+ years and had a small greenhouse business 10 years ago. I found out that trying to be a full time nurse and having a business just made me unhappy with both things and feeling like I did neither as well as I wanted. Plus, I never had time to work on my own gardens (Windhaven Gardens was my business.) So I gave up the business and renewed my love for playing in the dirt.
Fast forward to now......still fine tuning my gardens and planting trees for the future while downsizing the perennials a bit. Of course that doesn't include my addictions to hostas, heucheras and ferns, to name a few. And now the conifer bug has bitten and I'm contriving ways of adding those to my 3/4 acre. I don't have many as of yet but I can see that changing in the near future.
You all have inspired me and I love the friendly and helping group of people that hang out here. I promise to post more pictures when I have something to post.
Thank you for inspiring me!
Robyn

Name Dimitris 37 y.o.
I live in Greece (hardiness zone 9). I am a medical doctor. I started collecting conifers a few months ago. I live in a farm and have 1 acre of land that I want to decorate. I am particularly affascinated by the white-silver forms of Picea and Abies as well as the miniature and dwarf forms. I still need to expand my collection. Unfortunately most species are not available in local nurseries or if they do are quite expensive.
I usually buy from online nurseries from Netherlands and Hungary.
I think it is the most complete forum for anyone who wants to make a collection of conifers.

Name is Ralph, and I'm 19.

All I know is what I read in the papers.

I got a fairly early start in growing plants - I transplanted an eastern red-cedar when I was 12.

I use my age as an excuse for planting things that shouldn't do very well around here. I'm in Indiana somewhere. Interested in mostly trees and woodland plants, don't really have much experience with conifers.

And BTW, "Jim" works. Always found it odd that there aren't too many fellow "Hoosiers" on GW! Interesting to get so many different points of view and experiences. Sorry if I overly bore anyone!

Hi! My name is Dan, age is mid-40's. I'm a dentist living in an area 35 miles north of Montreal,in Quebec (z 4). I've always been interested in plants but really started getting hooked on conifers during a trip to California in 1987, when I saw my first giant sequoia. Since then, I began collecting seeds during travels and trying to grow them as well. By looking at all the information posted here and all those incredible photos, my interest grew to collecting also cultivars as well as the species. Big or small, I don't mind, but I mostly like the colorful ones for the contrast they bring to the greens. I have a 1 acre piece of land where I grow about 35-40 species of tree and in the last few years I started to add some dwarf and minis also. And I have a small "northern desert" sand bed where I grow about 15 varieties of winter hardy cacti and succulents. A project I started last year was to build a small scale (very small) nursery for conifer collectors and freaks from this side of the border to help them get unusual and hard to find cultivars. I read the forum quite often but I don't post as much. I wish I started this sooner in life... my yard is always work in progress, but it's mostly my kids who will enjoy the sight in 30 years!(and who will eat the nuts from my black walnut and hickory trees!) Oh, and I have to mention that although some won't agree...I like to do some zone pushing(it's kind of a disease here in the land of eternal cold) That's about it!

Dan

Hi, our names are Lenka and Milan Simanek. We are 48 and 52 years old. We live in the Velesin, which is in Czech Republic in Europe. We have a relatively small garden,about 16 ares = 0.395 acres, with our house and workshop building. We are interested in conifers about 15 years, 12 years the husband actively fastened conifers, looking for a new witch brooms and exchange scionwood with friends. We already sent several photos to the GW Mesterhazy Zsolt from Hungary. In the garden we now have about 1600 pieces conifers, about 60 rhododendrons, deciduous trees and some other minor species .... Our 3 adult childrens help us in finding a new brooms.

our garden
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Holy broom heavan and welcome! I'd encourage you to make a seperate post, properly introducing your cool gardens and plants. :)

-Will

Ditto!

Jim, the lack of Hoosiers is due to Badger dominance. Although I'm a Panther myself.

Hi, I'm Ellen. I live in the state of Washington just a few miles north of Seattle. I'm a freelance musician and gardener, and I just developed a love of conifers a couple of years ago. I only have a third acre and the back half is all Western Red Cedar, a conifer I have a love/hate relationship with, so I have to be extremely selective about my plant shopping! Even though I just got started in the conifer addiction business, I do have a Picea pungens 'Ruby Teardrops'! I read all your posts and learn a lot!

I purchased an Austrian Pine Nigra Oregon Green compact and I want to know if the description is true.

It states that it will grow no taller than 10'-12' and 8' -10' wide. I bought it at Home Depot and need some assurance that it will not grow to 20-40' high.

shrublover- best to start your own thread rather than ask on a 70+ entry old thread that has nothing to do with your question.

tj

My name is Doug and have been checking the forum for only a few months.My first cultivar purchase was a 3 gal.P.
thunbergiana,'Thunderhead'.its still one of my favorites and have planted it on three different properties.
10 years ago this month I walked into the Oregon Garden in
Silverton OR hoping to give some volunteer hours to the upstart project.I'd retired from my airline job in S.F.Cal.and
returned to the old hometown and was looking for something keep me busy.After about a year of tending to a wide variety of tasks,I was asked by the understaffed horticulture group to tend the 1 acre conifer garden.It gradually became my major focus and continues to take much time and energy.The project has allowed me to become familiar with countless individuals in the nursery world and of course the ACS,my favorite group of coneheads.The knowledge of forum participants is invaluable and
I hope to meet many of you down the road.

shrublover, thanks for reviving this topic!
I didn't knew there was such topic, so after almost a year it's time to introduce myself too. :)

My name is Alexander, I'm currently 19 years old and I'm from Belgium, somewhere near Antwerp.

My nickname (a giant sea reptile which is extincted for 155 million yrs or so) may seem weird for use on a gardening forum, but it's a relict of me watching "Walking with Dinosaurs" more than ten years ago; and now I got quite used to it. And best of all: that nickname seems to be always available! ;)

I started liking conifers as a small boy when walking through spruce forests in Wallonia and Germany.
Since a few years, that "liking" developed itself into a fascination; beginning with mostly spruces and firs, and now for all conifers, especially the Pinaceae.

Living in one of the most densely populated regions in one of the most densely populated countries in one of the most densely populated parts of the world, I sadly lack space to plant all trees I would like to plant.
Driven by the eagerness to still have as many as possible I'm currently exploring the world of the dwarf conifers.

I'm also occupying myself (in a very amateuristic manner I must confess) with growing conifers from seeds extracted from cones I found in the wild.
Disadvantage is that all those species are regular forest species, and thus will get too big too soon, so I'll have to find a way to get rid of most (give them away, plant them somewhere where I'm allowed to), but that's one of the things you don't think about when having fun! :)

Hi, I'm Krystal. I'm brand new and still learning this forum. W e just bought a house about 2 years ago and are looking to do some gardening, landscaping and projects. I'm interested in some conifers for a specific area but still learning. I'm 31 and I'm a contract analyst. My husband is a teacher. We have 1 son, 2 years old. :)

Real life name: Anton
Approximate age: Mid 30's
Back in 2005 we had a new house built in Northern California with no landscape. I put a P.P. Hoopsi into the ground and I got hooked... and so the collection had begun. Our local nursery offered Iseli and in 2009 we took a road trip to Oregon to visit their gardens, along with the Oregon Gardens.

Only a year later we had a once in a life time chance to move to Oregon for jobs. In 2010 we packed everything up (literally I drove a U-haul with my collection / dug a lot of plants up! ) and moved to a suburb just South of Portland Oregon.

Our house is on about 1/3 of an acre and the old owners neglected the landscape - A perfect clean state for me to work with. Older plant material has been removed, dirt, rock, pathways and boulders now reshape the landscape. Close proximity to some prime nurseries helps a bit too... those including Conifer Kingdom and European Nursery. Some large specimens were left in the ground. I have made a noticeable transformation of the property, although I think I transplant and move things around more than I put in the ground at this point... or so my wife says.... I enjoy companion plants as well. I think I have 30+ Acers in the ground / containers.

This last year I have become involved with the ACS by volunteering and participating at some events - as a result I have made new friends who undoubtedly share the same passion. I look forward to meeting some more cone heads in the years to come.

Alpestris