Send Brent an email with the picture of the dying Bentham's Sunlight attached. He is very good about sending replacements for plants that are in less-than good condition.

Matt

If he's very good at replacing how did that get sent out in the first instance? It's an insult...

Good choices, glad the first two look ok.

No excuse for the bad quality 'Bentham's Sunlight', but this plant should have bin growing in a shade house, he grew it in full sunlight.
It will not die, it need some extra attention in the first year.
Remember that you also have to plant it in a shady location...

the future is in the buds.. and those look OK ...

but it really depends on what you paid for it ...

for 15 or 20 bucks.. i have taken this risk ..

for anything more .. it should not have been sent ...

but what i hate.. is when it is NOT sent on the sellers decision .. and then someone complains ..

just out of curiosity.. would you have complained if they did not send it ... or called for a substitution???? ... a credit .. etc ..

contact the seller and discuss with them..

and for sure.. IF THEY MAKE GOOD.. YOU COME BACK HERE AND TELL US .... at least give them a chance to remedy the situation.. as the typed word is forever ... and as far as i know here.. there are not that many complaints about this seller ....

and i am not sure i would rely on email .. talk to them ...

ken

I agree with Ken somewhat... I would have called the seller and asked for a refund or a replacement. If the seller said no replacement or "We will send you another plant if you send the old one back" - Then post a negative review letting us know the seller didn't stand behind there product. Mistakes do happen and this could be one of them. Conifer Kingdom seems like a good company with a lot of good reviews... if they are they should stand behind there product. I bet you won't have any problems.

Now the buds may be OK as Ken said and it may push next year. However, there isn't any excuse for a company to ship a plant like that. You couldn't sell that plant to me for $1. I would contact the company and simply ask for a replacement or a refund. That plant probably didn't cost anymore than $20, but still that's $20 out of your pocket. Gambling on a plant like that isn't worth it, I've tossed away better looking plants than that in my garden because they weren't up to my expectations.

Thanks, everyone. I didn't want to complain or smear the company... just get some expert eyes on this poor little guy to see if there was hope for him. I took Matt's advice and sent an email with a picture, and I'll follow up with a phone call. I'm sure everything will be fine. I trust your corporate experience with them. And I'll baby this little guy along. If he lives, he will be my miracle child!
FYI-the plant was $36.

Small grafts of golden varieties often defoliate. I wouldnt be too woried. It does need some shade the first couple of years, until the roots can get established nicely. But it was probably an oversite when shiped and not worth the money as is, in my opinion. It probably looked nice when the begining inventory was done, then moved out of the Greenhouse and with too much sun and after a shady greenhouse, sun is a recipe for burnt golden foliage. It needed some shade for a few weeks to prevent burning. Im guessing it was one of the nicest ones chosen to ship. There is no way Brent would of walked up and pulled that one to ship. Better to just send a refund,credit or ask about a substitution when mistakes in inventory are discovered. It happens, and Im sure he will make good on your order.

Thanks, all. Brent answered right away. He was apologetic about the appearance. It was the best they had in inventory. He was more than willing to give a refund. I decided NOT to take the refund but to try to nurse it to health. Your comments about the healthy buds have given me a little confidence that it will live.

Coniferjoy -- "this plant should have been growing in a shade house, he grew it in full sunlight." You were right on, as usual! He doesn't have enough shade.

I have lots of shade. More than I'd like!

I will buy from CK again.

Thanks so much for being a nice customer.

Edwin - We grow 'Bentham's Sunlight' in 40% shade, but in Oregon it needs more than that, likely 60-80% shade which we plan to accommodate in the future.

Until our crop looks better, we've removed them (and another 2 yellow spruce varieties) from inventory so additional defoliated plants do not get pulled for orders.

There's a lot of people who would take a chance on a poor specimen rather than having nothing at all...some places will actually give you the plant for nought...others to cover the cost of doing business.

A happy ending!
FiddleGal, you're my kinda Gal.....and customer.
Brent, you're my kinda Guy....and businessman.
Mike

Thanks, Mike. I agree with pasadena... I'd rather have this than nothing. If it makes it, I'm a winner!

Brent, don't deprive us. Nurture those babies along and in the spring we'll all be gobbling them up!

Fiddle, give the plant a small scratch test on the understock in a couple months. If its green you are golden, pun intended.

Bottomline this is a tough but rewarding plant. Conifer Kingdom is a well run business as you can see so if you do have problems I bet you'd get a replacement on your next order with no questions asked.

The Abies squamata 'Flaky' I've seen from them have been looking primo. Very tempted to get one for myself!

Thanks, whaas! I'm excited to watch it turn from an ugly duckling into a swan!

That 'Flaky' is one substantial tree! Primo, indeed!

'Flaky' isn't differend from it's species Abies squamata.
For this reason it should not be used anymore...

Here is a link that might be useful: Why named 'Flaky'

I thought I heard a species plant was selected for exfoliating bark at a young age and thus named 'Flaky'.

Do all the species plants exfoliate at a young age of 3 years?

And I'll baby this little guy along. If he lives, he will be my miracle child!

===>>> alls well.. that ends well ...

but .. lets be clear ...

you are going to have the same burning problem that he did ... and those problems will continue for years ... until it builds a root mass necessary to get over the vagaries of ma nature ... [and i might suggest you will struggle to find the perfect shade.. as too much weakens the plant .. and too little burns the plant] ... this is the root of daves theory of buying larger plants.. and putting up screens for a year or two ... but i cant live with that.. and they are planted.. and left to fate ....

i had two pines ... cesarini var. and burkes red ... that lost EVERY SINGLE NEEDLE in spring ... 3 or 4 years running ... all that would be left would be those buds .... this happened until they got to about 3 feet tall ... and must have finally got that requisite root mass ... and do note.. this was a winter issue in my z5 ... though i cant recall how damaged they were by summer.. i bet it was both.. losing heavily summer damaged needles ...

anyway.. there is your gauntlet.. it has been throw down.. maybe you are a messiah and can make things happen that others cant ... or maybe you can ..

good luck

ken

As far as the 'Flaky' goes, I was under the impression that 'Flaky' was selected by Talon. Not too different from the species, but a nice one among several. Plants grown from seed are going to have differences. You will find good forms and bad forms. Flaky will be different than all others grown from seed in subtle ways most will not see. I am keeping 'Flaky' attached to my plants name. It is one plants DNA and different from all others from seed. If only at a cellular level. Just my opinion. It is good information for the consumer to know however.

Are there any rules on what qualifies as a cultivar? Or deserving of a name?

Oh, Ken! I am no messiah. I'm a pure novice. I'll take all the good luck you have to give. I've been thinking I would put it in a large pot for a year or two. I have lots of versions of "shade" on my deck and front porch, and if it's in a pot I can keep the snow and dogs off it and also control its water. I have to try. If it lives, I'll share the picture.

OK, Edwin, I'll just use "Flaky" as a nickname!

Ellen

Thank you, Ellen!