I like the nursery bed; everyone needs one of those. Everything looks healthy!

Those look like unique young plants you have there Keith. Thanks for posting them.

tj

Very nice seedling Acer, looks like a keeper to me.

Cool stuff, would like to see more of them as they grow.

Wow, quite an assortment of rare and unheard of plants Keith! I'm excited to see how your grafting skills creates a great collection over the years.

Hope some of your rain heads to places it needs it more. Perhaps dcsteg could use some in July! :)

-Will

Keith, thanks for showing us your nice new conifers!
What's the history behind the Picea pungens 'JB's Broom'?

I really like that JB's Broom & Sharp Cheddar. Your garden bed is lovely and I really like how you've done your nursery and using the blocks the way you are. Very creative.
Cher

Keith,

Nice grafts! It's a real treat to get a glimpse of your interesting and rare plants, thanks for sharing. I really like 'Evermore' and 'Dahl's Green Ball'. Also very interesting to see your nursery bed. When do you plant your grafts out in the bed...is it the spring after grafting, or do they go another season in the pot?

I know you've got to have more rare gems to show us, please post more pictures.

Alex

Boy those are nice...
So you have better survivability planting new grafts in a nursery bed and digging them up to replant than growing in pots? Or do you plant the rootstock in the bed and then field graft? We need to know more!

Barbara

Thanks for all the comments:

Conon & Cher & Alex & Barbara: I graft in March & my setup is in my basement. I don't field graft, but have a local friend who has modest success with that method l. In the past, I have kept in pots so the raised bed idea is new this year.

The raised bed was put in this spring. With the cement blocks, it is expandable or shrinkable as needed. I have grafts from this winter planted out. I am confident that this is a better option for me than a pot yard. . The density if planting will probably require moving or root pruning many of the plants next spring.

tj: I have a P. abies 'Calvary Upright' pushing new growth in the nursery, inspired by your photo and the plant at Bickelhaupt

Illinois-John: Nice to see another midwest conifer nut. Love what you are doing at your place. My yard is chaos with a couple of areas beginning to take shape. I am much more accomplished at acquisition than landscape planning and implementation. I have grown a bunch of acer seedlings, but these two really stood out

Will: I wish I could have had some of the rain last summer. It has been a see-saw here. In the past 3-4 years we have had record 12 month rainfall on both the low and high end. Like many, last summer I was desperate for rain. This spring, I feel like crying when I read the forecasts.

Joy: I will put a link to GW post on 'J.B.'s Broom' at the end of this msg. (looks like it has periods after the initials from that post). I got my scion from D. Horst last year and again this year. One of the best colored pungens I have seen. Makes a beautiful, tight globe. Is it in Europe?

Keith

Here is a link that might be useful: Picea pungens 'J.B.'s Broom'

Great stuff, Keith! Thanks for sharing. 'Keokuk Koner' is amazing. I'd love to get my hands on one of those. 'Furby' and 'J.B.'s Broom' are equally cool as well! I'm glad to see 'Sharp Cheddar' is doing well for you. This years growth should start to color up for you as it hardens off.

Matt

This post was edited by dietzjm on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 18:19

Nice! Thanks for the tour! The raised bed seems like a good way to go.

You will like that 'Calvary Upright', Keith. Some of the best billowy spring growth out there. Unfortunately, I moved mine last year and between the heat and drought it is barely alive. I may need to give Randy Dykstra a call.

tj

Keith, thanks for the link to the Picea pungens 'J.B .'s Broom'.
It's a true gem which isn't in Europe yet...