Gorgeous and awesome choices. I'm jealous of the good mulch you seem to have available. Only place around here that delivers by the tonnage has more fines in it than I'd like.

Ignore the 'Purple Prince' crab in the center - it'll be removed within a few years.

===>>> WHAT????

you are going to wait until its so big.. your will bust a lumbar disc moving it???

do it now.. or at ground thaw.. and be done with it ...

besides.. it will probably start suckering to no end after the move ... perhaps destroying it would be better ... and you can do that later ....

otherwise.. sublime .... i think you are a bit over-planted ...

i have seen silverray at 12 foot tall.. and about 8 foot wide ...

live and learn...

and please do keep entertaining us with progress pix

ken

Excellent Job! It also looks like you have a good scenic in the last picture... something I wish I had around here. I do agree with Ken in the fact that you might be a bit over planted in that bed. When I started 3 years ago I planted everything so they were around 12' apart. However, after seeing these 'Dwarf" conifers grow over the past 3 seasons... this fall I started planting my new arrivals 20-25' apart. It looks like in about 4-5 years those plants may begin to crowed one another and would have to be moved.

Thanks for the nice words Jon, Ken, and Rick.

Yeah, I know I planted them rather close. I'm coming around to the viewpoint that it'll be easier to move them in a few years than it would be to maintain them in containers over the same period. Container maintenance becomes a bit much (for me, at least) above a hundred container plants, and a major goal was to get a lot of plants into the ground. I'm planning for the next several years, not the next several decades like some of you folks. I don't mind moving them when the time comes, and I'll have more space opened up by then. Call it planting at the Fletcher density...well maybe not that close :o).

I buy the pine bark nuggets by the bag; they're not available in bulk around here. Local garden centers and big box stores have them for ~$2.5-3.5 for a 2 cubic ft bag, so it comes out to a little bit more than bulk mulch delivered. It's worth it IMO for the aesthetic value and also for its greater longevity - the nuggets will last much longer than shredded hardwood mulch, which needs to be replaced every year or two. A side benefit is that its much faster to apply mulch from bags.

-Alex

Alex, Super nice! Im like you ,who needs a seven foot area in a garden with a six inch plant in the middle. Thats what shovels are made for. Well done and real attractive!

Al

Im thinking of using some Root Control Bags / Grow Bags in my yard for the same reason. I want the density. I usually dont mind taking a chainsaw to old plants to make room for new ones, but occasionally I just want to relocate them. Have you ever thought about that option? Im still toying around with the idea my self.

I'm coming around to the viewpoint that it'll be easier to move them in a few years

==>> be careful with this.. as you get older .. lol ... at 50+ i dont want to do what i used to do ... especially in volume ... one or two here or there ..... but when there are 40 of them in what used to be called a nursery ... you got problems.. well.. i do .. lol ...

its now called bed F ... lol ... unfortunately ..... though growing well.. they are rather regimented in straight lines ... whatever ... i will now call it scion stock .. lol ...

ken

Very, very nice, Alex!
I love what you've done there.

Josh

Nice work Alex. It appears we have very similar tastes in plants, rocks and bark. I'm jealous of your 'Wichtel' specimen as well, it's a nice, robust, healthy plant. Do beware though that this specimen can burn easily with too much sun and mold with too little. It's a tough one to grow perfectly, but all the more reason to try and do so. The rare specimens that do make it 30-40 years without incident will be marvelous indeed.

Looking forward to before/after photos in a few years.

-Will

I knew it was a temp bed all along.....
'getting them out of the pots'

'Groovy', Alex!

Dax

Thanks, Al and Josh!

Dax, a temp bed, that's funny. Well, I guess that's what it is for some of them, I just don't know which ones yet.

Jason, that's an interesting idea of using Grow Bags to house plants you plan to move in the future. You could even create the modular landscape, move things around every year to see where they are happiest for ultimate planting.

Will, I put 'Wichtel' in a special spot that gets a bit of morning sun, 2-3 hours in the summer and under an hour in the winter. I have wanted this plant for years, but kept postponing on account of the high price tag and susceptibility to problems. Hopefully it will do well here.

Thanks everyone for looking and for your comments.

-Alex

A temp bed for some, of course, come on!

Dax

Nice work Alex! I've been thinking about going to bark nuggets as well. It almost gives it a more rustic, natural look IMO.

Just a suggestion, take it or leave it but I'd suggest using your leftover soil and shape the bad like so.

Look at it this way...easier to mow and more plants! Spacing looks fine to me. In 3 to 5 years you can start to make some decisions on what if anything has to move vs simply removing. Enjoy the plants now...some plants will outlive you, others will not. You never know so do what makes you happy with spacing.

{{gwi:9976}}