floramakros,

Where do you live and what Zone? My area doesn't give us a lot to go on.

Cham. lawsoniana depending upon where you live can be a non starter.

Dave

I just dispatched an old one last month. Over the 10-or-so years I had it, 'Barry's Silver' grew to about 6ft/2m in height and, my oh my, had it gotten ugly with seemingly more non-shedding internal dead stuff than the cool, fluffy white stuff. Adding to the insult is that it grew right outside of my office window, meaning I had to look at it every day. Yuck! Good riddance.

My advice to you is to try shearing it hard at least every year to keep it small and tight. My feeling is that this is a temporary landscape fixture if left to its own devices.

best of luck,
~Dave

I thought by now it was old news Dave, I'm CA 9. I can quickly be at 8 or 10 by driving a couple of miles...lol. Where is it a "non starter"? To the other Dave, thanks for the tip! I'd even be willing to replace it every 3-5 years to maintain that wonderful white foliage. Hopefully that won't be necessary and it'll thrive, fingers crossed.

I have one in CA Zone 9b. It's gorgeous. However, it's only been in for four years, during which it has grown from about 2' to about 3.5'. Floramakros - I have it in partial shade (and I'm not as hot as you are) and its color, texture and form couldn't be lovelier. However, I don't know what it will be in six more years...that is the trouble with a lot of these little guys when you buy them little and don't really have any sense of what they will look like when they mature. The non-shedding internal dead stuff (per Dave) above is an issue with some Chamaecyparis - I have a 'Curly Tops' right by the front door that has brown peeking out amongst the blue.

Re: C. lawsoniana - they succumb to phytopthera pretty fast around here unless grafted onto something else, which presumably these cultivars are.

Make that 4.5'. Grows faster than one might think...Dave O I fear that I may have the same experience that you did...but boy is it pretty right now. We had our first frost last night (don't get too excited you guys in zone 5, etc - this means that it is 35 degrees per my thermometer on the roof, just a dusting of white on the ground) and everything is sparkling in the morning sun and the 'Barry's Silver' looks like it was cast specifically for this photo shoot!

Well if it's old news why does your bio say you live in the US with no appropriate Zone listed.

It's a non starter depending where you are trying to grow it as I said in the above post.

Washington and Oregon with some of California thrown in best possible scenario for success.

Cham. lawsoniana pretty little things when young but issues abound if they survive to any appreciable size. Those concerns are also a non starter if you are willing to replace it every 3-5 years.

Have fun. Post a photo.

Dave

This post was edited by dcsteg on Thu, Dec 13, 12 at 16:57

The lingering dead brown stuff is a feature of juvenile foliage forms, is most often seen on C. pisifera versions. My 'Barry's Silver' may now be above my head and has not opened up. It is in a sunny position.

"Well if it's old news why does your bio say you live in the US with no appropriate Zone listed."

Assuming this is a question without a question mark, are you the same dave I've been communicating with for a couple of months now? Have you missed the 10,000 references I've made to my location, some of them directly in response to your previous questions? ;-) If you were Otto from Munchen and we'd never chatted before I'd expect a friendly "Hello, I know about this species, where do you live? I should warn you it has a very limited cultivation range" but if I already said a local pal told me it would do fine here I'm not really looking for location advice, am I? I'm just sharing info on an unusual and beautiful cultivar, I didn't ask if it would grow here, I know it will. I'm surprised you seem so annoyed. When I ask "Will BLANK grow in CA 9" however and my exact zone location is relevant I include it, otherwise it seems superfluous. To each his own I guess.

Hi Sara, yes mine is grafted. A dusting of snow, huh? I haven't seen one at my home for 25yrs, that's due to spending most of that time in San Francisco. All we got there was a really bad hail storm every few years that would leave some melting on the ground, but they came any time of year even during the summer. 15 minutes later all the hail had melted. The city gets actual snow about once every 50 or so years. I expect to see a dusting myself now that I'm living here in the Sac Valley and winter temps are lower but nothing so far. My citrus trees aren't complaining! ;-) If I really crave snow it's only a 2 hour drive to nothing but snow, mountains and conifers as far as the eye can see. Two hours in the other direction takes you to beaches including some nude ones! Looks can be deceiving though, the Pacific up here is freezing any time of the year, makes for excellent seafood. Those surfers are crazy! I hope my guy thrives as well as yours is doing, it sounds like a beautiful little tree. Take care.

"My 'Barry's Silver' may now be above my head and has not opened up. It is in a sunny position."

Congrats bboy, sounds big and beautiful. I was surprised by the sun tolerance but your anecdote seems to confirm it. If he keeps his cotton candy mine will never be replaced, if he doesn't, just like a boy band member of Menudo, we'll find a younger version and let him retire! ;-)

flora...you missed the whole point. Now that were into missed question marks (?) as part of the discussion its time to break it off. I was never annoyed, other the the fact you spelled my name with a lower case d. From now on I will completely avoid you. You do the same for me.

You should write a book. The subject matter will be diverse. From soup to nuts. If it's about conifers don't forget to mention them and number the pages. There will be many. Tit for tat. We are even.

You go and enjoy your 'Barry's Silver'. Beautiful cultivar. Have a good Christmas also. I wish you well.

Sorry I tripped your trigger. That was never my intent.

Otto

This post was edited by dcsteg on Fri, Dec 14, 12 at 8:24

dave, I've read both your edited post above and your nastier unedited original and I still need an interpreter to help me figure out your point and where your anger is coming from. Why should I avoid you? We've had many pleasant conversations beforehand, this series of posts of yours is coming out of left field as far as I'm concerned. If you seriously want to stop communicating with me it's your loss, don't worry I'll live. If seeing your first name in lower case offends you, never appear on the charlie rose show, they display it that way for all their guests including the president. I return your Christmas wishes in the warm spirit they were given and wish you and yours (and your plants) all the best in the coming year, hopefully we'll be on speaking terms.

Sincerely, the always spelled with a lowercase "f" floramakros

One more time although I hate too.

"Where do you live and what Zone? My area doesn't give us a lot to go on".

"Cham. lawsoniana depending upon where you live can be a non starter".

What is nasty about that and where is anger involved? Just a simple question and comment.

You don't need a interpreter you need help.

What has Charley Rose have to do with anything? This is not the Charley Rose show.

I have come to the conclusion you are just a simple troll that occasionally visits this forum to get their fix. I think I gave it to you. Some how you learned just enough about conifers to be dangerous. Normally the above question and comment would not offend anybody except a screwball like you.

Make no mistake I meant this to be offensive. I want you to see the difference. Nothing like my first post.

Now come back to me. Trolls always do.

dave/Otto whatever makes you feel good.

Clarification: the 'dusting' that I referred to was frost! Was gone 15 minutes after the sun came up.

I think that the 'Barry's Silver' can take full sun in the PNW a lot more easily than in the Sacto area...'full sun' up there includes the says with cloud cover! Here I am sort of in between those two extremes, hence a little bit of afternoon shade.

"One more time although I hate too."

No need, in a thread of only 10 or so msgs you don't have to selectively quote to do damage control, unfortunately for you everyone can figure it out pretty quickly.

"floramakros,"

You were the first to refer to me in lower case, how dare you! (tongue firmly planted in cheek with mock anger to reflect your biggest complaint, pot meet kettle ;-)

"Where do you live and what Zone? My area doesn't give us a lot to go on. Cham. lawsoniana depending upon where you live can be a non starter.

Dave"

At first I thought you were joking or didn't realize I had written the post, if I suddenly ask Jason what state he's from after he's told me several times he's in Florida he'd probably rightly consider it strange too. This was my entire response to you:

"I thought by now it was old news Dave, I'm CA 9. I can quickly be at 8 or 10 by driving a couple of miles...lol. Where is it a "non starter"?"

I used upper case for your name so hopefully no problem there that would trigger your anger...the rest was a friendly reminder of the many messages I've written about where I am, the unusual zones in CA, some directly written to you. The term "non starter" is me quoting you, it's not an insult, just an honest question about their cultivation range out of curiousity because you raised the issue, not because it has anything to do with my original comment starting this thread. Maybe reading comprehension was stressed more in the days I went to school but even so I can't imagine so quickly forgetting the bio of a frequent poster especially one I've chatted with many times before. All you had to say is you mistakenly thought I was somebody else, a newbie from God knows where asking can I grow this in my area. Or once you figured it out after my friendly reminder you could have let it go. Instead you escalated.

"Some how you learned just enough about conifers to be dangerous."

ROFLMAO! I didn't know conifer knowledge was a state secret we were trying to keep out of the wrong hands, you sound like you're talking about nuclear weapons. Just so you know if it hasn't been obvious in my posts, conifers are my newest plant interest and the group I have the least experience with growing outdoors. Araucarias grow like weeds in SF no experience required. My inspiration to start this new collection was the beautiful grove of Canary Island pines I have in my new place. If you think my coniferous knowledge is dangerous, you should check out my carnivorous plant experience for example, on your scale of danger I'd be listed on the FBI's most wanted! ;-)

"Now come back to me. Trolls always do."

Yep they do, you forgot to mention the part where they proclaim they will avoid/ignore you right before they send you another insulting post baiting/begging you to continue the fight, you've just illustrated that personality quirk for us quite nicely. As long as we're being totally honest, I'm going to repost your original unedited response to me to show everyone an example of you not being belligerent, Merry Christmas...

> Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:03:32 +0000
> From: dcsteg@everestkc.net
> Subject: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Barry's Silver'
>
> [This is a follow-up to your posting on
> GardenWeb's Conifers Forum, located at:
> http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/conif/msg1203102925126.html ]
> _______________________________
>
> flora...you missed the whole point. Now that were into missed question marks (?) as part of the discussion its time to break it off. I was never annoyed, other the the fact you spelled my name with a lower case d, at anything and from now on will completely avoid you. You do the same for me.
>
> Where do I live? It's spelled out for you.
>
> You should write a book. The subject matter will be diverse. From soup to nuts. If it's about conifers don't forget to mention them and number the pages. There will be many. Just kidding.
>
> You go and enjoy your 'Barry's Silver' Beautiful cultivar. Have a good Christmas also. I wish you well.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> dcsteg
> _______________________________
>

Yep..I was right.

flora your comment... "Have you missed the 10,000 references I've made to my location",

You haven't been around that long on this forum. I am seeing 7-30-2012. I am not impressed with your long dissertation in the last post. Just confirms your a troll.

Why did you take the zone 9 CA out of your posts? It was still there 11-13. Oh...it's a secret. Since you have posted 10,000 references I guess we all should know it by memory now.

Keep your replies to a half of page. I don't want you to hurt yourself with brain lock up. Trolls usually disappear after they get their fix. Your a tough one. Come to think about it.... my last post. I'll shut you off.

Go hug your purple conifer and lay in your science fiction alien flora flowerbed? Watch the carnivorous plants. I sure would hate to see you leave us. A hell of a way to go. A troll eaten by a carnivorous plant.

By the way, you never posted a photo of the purple conifer Edwin asked for.

Just as I expected.

Post away...I won't be back. Promise.

Dave

"By the way, you never posted a photo of the purple conifer Edwin asked for. Just as I expected."

And Wolfgang never posted the information about winter color changes in Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshino' he promised me on 11/13/12, according to your logic he must be a troll as well. Luckily most sane people don't think the way you do. I just assume most people here have real lives and miss a response or two, you apparently are one of the few lucky ones who can spend hours researching the archives. Nothing you've said about my length of time on this forum is a secret or hasn't been said by me directly, where did I claim years of being here? I never entered a zone when I registered because I didn't know the current zone for Davis, someone here actually told me in a thread, I'm thinking it was Sara but I could be wrong, all I remember is the thread I started was called "Zone Revisions" researchers out there please inform us (I'd spend time tracking it down myself but you're not going to read this anyway). My default setting is no zone info, it only shows up when I type it in manually, I've been too lazy or busy depending on your opinion of me to learn how to update it. But I'm really insulted by your whole line of questioning, if it's such a big crime why doesn't Gardenweb make entering a zone mandatory? Of course trolls like me who really live in Alaska could enter a false one but I don't see why those above 12 would waste their time. As long as it's optional and we have the right to choose I suggest you back off. Read this thread from beginning to end again; there is only one poster here who perfectly fits the label of troll, look in the mirror...when you edited your post one of the things you added was the line of apology at the end, I thought it showed a tinge of human conscious and regret at your tone towards me, obviously I was mistaken, it's gotten much worse.

"Post away...I won't be back. Promise."

Famous last words...your promises are as valuable as your logic at this point, I'm guessing you can't help yourself but here's hoping you finally get the will power to succeed.

I looked at mine today and it is well above my head. However, some brown is now showing. But I think it is due to crowding from closely adjacent specimens of other kinds of conifers.

"I think that the 'Barry's Silver' can take full sun in the PNW a lot more easily than in the Sacto area"

That makes sense to me Sara, I'm starting it in a sunny location but if it starts showing stress I'll replant it in a shadier bed. It's already shorter than its neighbors so hopefully their shadows will help as well.

Yes bboy, that delicate foliage would not take to contact very well, I can imagine a windy day smacking by some branches of a nearby rougher-leaved tree really beating it up. Wind damage might also explain the rough look of some older specimens. At least we can enjoy the beauty while it lasts.

I found the zone thread. Really interesting info. I owe my thanks to Gardengal for telling me my new zone (but you were there too Sara so my memory wasn't all bad! lol) The link is below, enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Zone Revisions

I was talking about the old dead brown junk on the inside showing due to the specimen developing gaps in the outer shell, and not mechanical injury to the new, live growth. The effect of the crowding of the planting location on the specimen's density would be that of shading.

There's the rub...too much sun and you risk burning, too little sun and the form loses shape and opens up...I'll err on the side of giving it alot of sun and see what happens, of course we're experiencing another downpour as I type this so the sun isn't a major factor today! ;-)

FWIW, there has been a very successful program to breed for resistance to Phytophthora in C. lawsoniana. These resistant clones are now being used for rootstock for the cultivars - haven't heard whether it is making a difference, but should.

That's great news Jason, I honestly don't know what my rootstock is, here's hoping it's one of them, I should look into it. Thanx for the info.

That would be a big plus in No Ca - I'll look out for it. Not sure what they're grafting the C. lawsoniana cultivars onto now. Ron do you know?

I think the Lawsonia cultivars are typically propagated from cuttings. Since grafting is a good deal more expensive than rooting, naturally there'll be some resistance from a lot of nurseries to switching propagation method, especially since the benefits of the disease resistant cultivar may not become evident until long after the plant is sold.

Buchholz has a disease resistant clone which they use as an understock and have available for sale:

Here is a link that might be useful: C. lawonsia 'D.R.'

Yes, he showed it to me when I was there in September. Some specialty nurseries around here will not carry lawsoniana cultivars unless grafted onto soe kind of sturdier understock. That may be enough of a motivation.

grown on Guardian® root stock, an exceptional under-stock developed by Oregon State University, which is resistant to Phytophthora lateralis

Failing old public planting of 'Alumii' in Tacoma was determined by a specialist in water molds to have more than one species attacking it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monrovia

What is the mortality rate for non-grafted lawsoniana cuttings? If it's very high I understand why they wouldn't bother carrying them, do they only live on average a year or two?

I live in Seattle, zone 8. I have a Barry's Silver planted approximately 9 years ago that is more than 9 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide. I'm suspicious that it is beginning to revert, at least in terms of size. The brown interior is beginning to be more visible, but up until now, this tree has been gorgeous, with no burning, no maintenance. Don't think I've ever watered it except for the first year. I almost wish it would die, as it is way too big for its location, but too big to move and too nice to cut down. Everyone who comes into my garden seems compelled to pet it.

Make your own post with pictures

ron

was there a question , there ?

maybe not