Not sure it anyone still looks back at this section of the forum, but I found it extremely interesting. The question I have is more of a top-down question. I currently grow blue spruce, in multiple numbers (hundreds/maybe a thousand potted up now, and maybe another thousand almost ready to pot ). Mine are 2-3 years old, so early stage. Grown from seed. Some from "majestica" blue spruce seed which seem to grow quite eratically to be honest. In any case, I read of blue spruce cultivars like Hoopsi, and Fat Albert. I believe they are grafted onto Norway Spruce understock. What I don't understand is how the colour (very vibrant blue) is common to all grafted stock. I assume that "they" (whoever "they" are) select specific/specimin adult trees and take scions exclusively from that tree? Who would maintain the Hoopsi "trademark" i.e. select consistent adult trees? I assume certain of the "progeny" may then be a source of scions, thus improving the variety? Also, I know I can buy grafted Hoopsi grafted stock (a year or two old) but if I wanted to graft my own Hoopsi, how would one proceed (and is this type of activity monitored? i.e. purchase a Hoopsi adult tree and presumably take my "scions" from that tree??) Alternatively, if one of my current trees grew with a vibrant blue colour (I seem to have a few out of a thousand) could I then use that tree for scions, a number of years from now? (provided I obtained or grew Norway Spruce or some other suitable understock). Sorry, you can tell I'm very new to this. But any information will be helpful.

why dont you want to learn something???? in your zone.. some time in the next 30 days.. bare root it.. snap some pix.. stick it back in the soil.. post the pix.. let us debate it.. and THEN.. go root prune the heck out of it.. and replant it ... below is a pic of a 6 foot cherry ... you can prune that pines roots just the same.. and replant it.. and being a weed pine.. 99% success... with PROPER WATERING and MULCHING this summer ... the goal is to do it.. 6 to 8 weeks before bud extension ... so the roots have some time to get pumping.. before the stress of bud extension ... i simply dont understand why it has to be trashed ..???? and if you do NOT maintain PROPER water all summer.. and it dies.. by fall ..... well... fall is planting time ... at least 'look' .. and at least try ... inquiring minds want to know ... ken ps: on rereading this.. why isnt your tree mulched.. part of your problem.. is winter sun has thawed the soil enough.. to accept excessive moisture.. PERHAPS.. a good mulch blanket.. would have tempered this winter issue ... who knows ... what mulch does in winter.. is keeps the soil cold.. during warm snaps ....

Good Morning, Everyone! Thank you all for the "welcome back". I missed each and every one of you. Stormy here today on this Good Friday. Dark and a bit chilly out. Good weather for gardens though. Glad for the rain though. We've had high temps and high, dry winds this past week and wildfires every day. Nothing close to here, but close enough that I could smell the smoke. My dogs erupted in chorus with every firetruck that passed by over on the highway.(hehehe). I took pictures of the gardens on the 31st. Glad I did, as the hot, dry winds dried out all the pretty yellow Jonquils later that day. Blasted hot winds ruined them before our Easter Sunday family picnic and egg hunt. They were magnificent in chorus with the yellow forsythias, white Bridle's Wreath, and Redbud trees now in full bloom all over the garden. My beloved Jane Magnolia is breathtakingly beautiful this year and smells so wonderful. I planted out some Orange Perfection Phlox yesterday. Tried them last year, but they didn't make it. This rain may ensure these do. I dug around in the bin at the store until I found one, just one package with moist peat inside. Holding it up to to sunlight, I could just make out something possibly alive in that dark green plastic bag. Makes me mad to pay five bucks for dead rootstock. They are not the best looking root stocks I ever saw, but think they will make it. I only need one to survive to establish a nice clump this year for next year's blooms. I also planted a package of purple Liatris and a package of Freesia bulbs for summer blooms. I love the smell of Freesia. Yummy. All the Peonies are up and beginning to make tiny flower buds. Hopefully the red ones and deep magenta ones will bloom this year too. If they do, it will be their first time. Some deer came into the yard this winter and ate the top branches off the one surviving River birch sapling, but it is recovering nicely now. I caged it with a tomato cage and for now they are leaving it alone. They are "camped" up on the hill, hiding in wait for my juicy, delicious roses to start blooming, no doubt. :[ I've been taking the dogs for walks up there every morning and hopefully their pee and poop will make them think twice about coming any closer to the back yard. My English Shepherd could easily take down a whitetail deer. DH said this weekend he would finish stretching field fence around on the inside of the existing barbed wire fencing to keep out critters. That won't keep deer out, but it will keep our dogs in, so we can let them run loose on the property. That will be great. They need the exercise and I need them to do their job protecting the place. They love it, too. Hopefully the raccoons & coyotes will take the hint. Keep Out! Anyhow, so far so good. Gotta go check on my chicks. They poopy up their water really fast and will be ready for breakfast. :) Talk to you guys later. ~Annie

Brian: It would be nice, for tree lovers like us, to be able to get a variety of hybrid pines, but the problem is that there is no market for them that would re-pay the investment of setting up production. The one that may, at some point, be available, is loblolly X shortleaf. The idea behind this one is to develop a tree resistant to fusiform rust, which in some areas is a big problem with southern pines, including loblolly. I am not sure if there are others that will have a commercial market worth exploiting. Another factor is that there are regular pines that are very nice. One thing holding back pitlolly is eastern white pine, which is a flat out gorgeous tree, and which is very productive. It's wood, however is inferior to the southern pines, but it does find a ready market. If I didn't already have knock-dead gorgeous white pine groves, seeming to tower to heaven, at my timberland in far western MD, I might not be "messing" with loblolly, and pitlolly, so much. Northern growers also have red pine--not my favorite pine tree, but productive. The only genus that I know of where there is a great tree fancier's interest in hybrids, is the oaks. You can find all kinds of hybrids there, and I have been sampling some. But here's an idea: if there is something you really, really want--maybe the pitch X pond, you may be able to do a search and find out who, and at what university, has worked with it, and then give that person a call. He night be able to tell you if your idea is a good one, and-- you never know--someone might be willing to send you something. --spruce