Picea Pungens.. Pathetic

10 years ago

We bought four Iseli Fastigiate trees on clearance late last summer. Took pity on them, really... As you can see, they look really shabby. We bought them with the intent to use them in our yard - potentially as screening from the neighboring driveway (as seen behind) .. but we are still working out the landscape design (along with a new garage for nearby area) and so they wintered in the spot shown. I am wondering what the suggestions would be to get them looking more healthy and less scrubby. We do want to transplant them to a permanent, suitable area. It looks like there is some browning on the lower limb needles, but only sporadic browning on needle ends on higher branches. Any background/ care information on these guys would be helpful. I never thought much of conifers before, but after perusing this forum for the last year, I think I am a convert.

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Comments (7)

outback63 Dennison
10 years ago
Two simple questions. Then we can get started. Were they B&B or potted?

How did they look after sitting in a nursery/big box store all summer?

What is dead or brown now will never fill back in. Just looking at them they are a very poor representation of what that cultivar should look like.

Sometime, items that are on sale are non-returnable. If that's not the case her load them up and return them.

Dave
PrunellaPlum
Original Author
10 years ago
They were ball and burlap and sitting in (splitting) plastic containers. I think they'd been wrapped for a long time. We bought them from a local large nursery and, like I said, they were clearance priced. We bought them looking roughly (no pun intended) the same, except rabbits gnawed on some of the lower branches this winter. I guess our rationale was, the trees were priced low enough that if they did not survive the winter we wouldn't be out a fortune, and if they did survive there could be the possibility that they'd bounce back in time with some TLC. Were we really naive?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
hey

conifers are trees ... and they bounce back at tree speed ... NOT annual or perennial speed ... so it might take a year or two for such ....

we will have to see how they bud out... strongly or not ... and that would be the best indicator of how things go in the future ...

if they can not be permanently planted now ... do NOT do so after they bud out.. wait for the fall planting season ...

with transplants of this size.. you need to insure deep watering thru the whole of what you planted ... and then near drying in between.. some random spraying and surface watering will not be sufficient ...

ken
PrunellaPlum
Original Author
10 years ago
Should we cut off the bottom branches? Are there any examples of what one would look like with bottom branches pruned off?
dcsteg
10 years ago
How may limbed up Iseli 'Fastigiate' you growing Ken?

Why are you trying to convince PrunellaPlum that some day they might look good.

Not in a hundred years.

Dave
PrunellaPlum
Original Author
10 years ago
Dave... please elaborate! I need all the opinions about these guys that I can get! We should just give up?
dcsteg
10 years ago
It's a toss up as what kind of look you will be happy with. Google Iseli 'Fastigiate. Compare yours with the photos.

Now you decide. Personally I would not deal with them. For others time means nothing, just wait and see remembering they will be missing the lower third of growth. You could back lower growing companion plants up against them to cover the damage. An acceptable solution to resolve your concerns.

Hope this helps.

Dave