Why I Oughta...

The small Skylands Spruce tree that went into the 'island bed' in our front yard has a number of cones clinging to the tips of some of the upper branches that have sort-of 'unfurled' and grown the past few weeks.  The cones - once tightly wound - are now a little bit more 'open'.  See below for a photo of one of the cones.  Note the chicken wire ring to keep the (dang!) rabbits from gnawing away the tips of this tiny tree: 

Last month, I posted a couple of photos and details of our new Skylands Spruce tree ( ) in our front yard island bed .  This is a tree that I've looked at for years and finally found one (a small one) that I put in our garden.   I've noted tree buds forming (and setting) on various trees in the Fall/Winter over the years, but the past few years, I've begun to observe conifers a little more closely.   Here's one that is in the middle - the Dawn Redwood - which is a deciduous conifer tree - a conifer that drops its needles.    This post looks at the buds of the Dawn Redwood .   This past August, I posted a photo of the 'buds' being set on the Weeping Norway Spruces that I planted last Fall IB2DWs and how I observed them last season turn into new sets of needles.   I'm learning more and more about the health of conifers and the types of signals they send throughout the growing season - and during dormancy.  This post from the Co...

Fall Planting 2024 keeps rolling right along with the planting of a six-pack of groundcover plugs.  These are something I've used WIDELY in my garden: Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'.  #3 on my 2024 to-do list was to keep going on groundcover (or...as I want to call it "living mulch"), so these six help that cause .  I've had some 'hits and misses' with Ajuga , but have learned a little bit about it over the years.   I opted to put all six in the newly 'extended' Island bed in the front yard.  I decided to plant the Skylands Spruce tree in the back of that bed, so I had to add a good amount of mulch to extend it back.  I figured that was a good spot to put down some groundcover.   Below you can see four of the Ajuga Chocolate Chip planted on the northside of the bed - but right at the feet of the new Skylands Spruce.   I put the other two in a little bit more of a 'protected' area - under the canopy of the Northern Glow Korean Maple.  I...

Fall Planting 2024 continues with a second front-yard conifer tree: the Skylands Oriental Spruce. Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’.  This is the second, small conifer tree that I put in our front yard in the past week - with the first one being the Oregon Green Austrian Pine .   At the end of September, I wrote about the Skylands Spruce and detailed the golden needles - among other features .  I've been thinking about a Skylands Spruce in our yard for years and now...thanks to Nat's Mom...we have a small one.   I extended (back towards the house) the island bed that features the Northern Glow Korean Maple and the Spring Grove Ginkgo.  Now, there's a Skylands Spruce.   I had a lot of luck with Fall Planting (#FallPlanting) conifers last year, so *fingers crossed* that trend continues with these two new conifers this Fall. Below are a few photos showing the tree and the island bed: Below is a look at the island bed from the sidewalk - the Skylands ...

Skylands Spruce - Picea Orientalis 'Skylands' is a tree that I've been thinking about for years.  I've only come across a couple of them in the nursery trade in all my years looking - at the Hidden Gardens nursery.  Hidden Gardens is now solely focused on bonsai, so their nursery is closed, but I grabbed these couple of photos of a couple of trees - a #6 and a #10 container.   But, before we get to the photos, what is Skylands?  Missouri Botanic Garden has a page up that lists the details of the tree : 'Skylands' is slow-growing, upright, conical-pyramidal form that typically grows 8-10' tall over the first 10 years. Over time, it may eventually reach 35' tall with a spread of 10-12' wide. Exterior needles are bright yellow in full sun or yellow-green in part shade. Regardless of sun exposure, the yellow needle color typically tends to fade as the summer progresses. Interior needles are green. Foliage may burn in full sun locations in hot summer clim...