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Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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Posted by justintx 7B-NorthFt.Worth (My Page) on Fri, Dec 1, 06 at 19:29
| From reading the "Heat Tolerant Conifers" thread, I bought P. chihuahuana & A. numidica (1 gal plants). Should I wait until warmer weather or should I stick them in the dirt? I live north of Ft. Worth, TX in 7B. Right now, lows are in the 20's - highs in the 50's. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| I'd plant now, as long as the soil is not hard frozen. Might be a good idea to cover them overnight if a hard frost is forecast. Resin |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late??
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| "Might be a good idea to cover them overnight if a hard frost is forecast" Ooops, hit 'post' too soon - that should continue "in the first week or two after planting, until they adapt". Obviously not necessary to cover for every frost in perpetuity!! Resin |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Fri, Dec 1, 06 at 23:38
| They're never going to adapt. They might become more hardy with age. |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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bboy,
They're never going to adapt? Please explain. I'm very interested in your experience. I understood them to be zone 7 and tolerant of more alkaline tight soil than other Picea or Abies species. We got down to 4 degrees one day last year, but most of the time, the low 20's is what we consider a "cold" front. (I know, I know - that's not cold to ya'll) :) |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| I think Bboy is using 'adapt' in a different sense to how I am - maybe a better term for what I meant is 'harden off' or 'become fully dormant'. What I meant is that they may (possibly) have been kept warm in a glasshouse at the nursery before mailing out to you, and may therefore (possibly) not be fully dormant for winter yet. So just a very few days protection from the worst frosts until they do get a chance to go 100% dormant. What I think Bboy is referring to is that their inherent genetic ability to tolerate frost won't change, and of course he's right about that: if they won't survive -15°C this winter, they wouldn't in subsequent winters either. At an arboretum in zone 7 Denmark, Picea chihuahuana was very badly cut back (but not killed) by an abnormally severe winter when it went down to -27°, while Abies numidica was undamaged. No idea what those temps you refer to represent, as far as I'm concerned, 4° is a chilly but not cold winter day, while the low 20s is a very pleasant summer day, getting hot but not too hot. Right now as I type, it's a nice mild 11° here, we're having our warmest autumn on record, I think there's been two mornings with a touch of light frost so far. Resin |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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Resin,
I failed to specify my use of Fahrenheit. I'll "coddle" them a bit after planting as you suggest. I truly enjoy having something no one else has tried, but I don't want to foolishly fight "ma' nature". |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| justintx, I am curious where did you buy these two, and how does the Picea chihauhuana look compared to most of the other spruce trees? |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| Hi forrest30295 - Picea chihuahuana looks quite similar to Picea pungens, with (very!) sharp, bluish needles. Despite the foliage similarity, it is not very closely related though, with distinctively different cones with smooth rounded scales (it is more closely related to some Asian species, notably Picea torano). It can reach 25-35m tall in the wild (it hasn't been in cultivation long enough to know how large it might get in gardens). Resin |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| Resin - thanks for the description. I didn't really know EXACTLY how they would look. forest30295 - I haven't received them yet- from ForestFarm. Should be here any day. I'll post a picture when they arrive. |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| After I started the heat tolerant conifers thread I started looking around for Piceas and Abies. I considered ordering from forestfarm but was worried that they'd be too small for the price. I did order an Abies Cilicia, Abies Marocana, and a Picea Wilsonii from Stanley and Sons which will be shipped Monday. On a side note I also ordered a Pseudotsuga Sinensis and Wilsoniana, and Tsuga Sieboldii and Tsuga Yunnanensis. I just recieved a Taiwania that I ordered Friday so later I will post some pictures of those conifers after I recieve them. |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| The University of Idaho is sending me their catalog. They recommended an abies equi-trojani. Might try one of those as well. I'll take a look at Stanley & Sons. I would like to get a bigger specimen. |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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forrest30295
Stanley and Sons appears to be wholesale only. Did you order that much or is there a "back door"? |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| It is wholesale only with a 10 order minimum on 1 gallon pots but if you are a collector who regularly orders conifers they're a great company to choose. |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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forrest
I need to buy some more ground!! My 85 X 125' lot is pretty much full with the house and 13 different species now. I've already been accused of trying to re-create the "Black Forest". |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| forrest, Do you think Stanley and Sons will sell to me a couple of trees. They have some that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. osprey |
RE: Picea chihuahuana & Abies numidica too late?
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| I think they have a collector's program, but also you could make friends with someone at a local nursery and usually you can get them to order something for you without much difficulty. |
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