Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Conifer rescue, 0 by Weerobin

Weerobin wrote:
The theme for this weekend is 'Neglected Conifer Rescue'.
Not a mission for the weak-of-heart.
I planted a gazillion cute dwarf conifers on a limestone hillside right outside my living room window.
I pictured one of those great conifer rock gardens you see in botanical gardens.
15 years later, it somehow morphed into a botanical free-for-all.
Yesterday I started the job of trying to bring it all back under control.
I thought my experience might serve to help others starting down the same path to avoid the same pitfalls.
I think my over-riding suggestion is to allow room for these guys to grow.
#1 is a picea pungens I rescued from an innocent-looking juniper (j. x pfitzeriana Saybrook Gold).
I love this juniper when it has room to spread - beautiful arching sprays of golden foliage.
But it was smothering the blue spruce. I pruned the juniper to expose the spruce.
But pruning the juniper also left a gaping hole in the otherwise dense foliage of the neighboring pine.
#2 Next I rescued a pitiful picea omorika Nana from an overgrown chaemacyparis pisifera filifera. I don't know if the spruce will ever recover its nice form.
#3 Here are two runts, pinus koreana & a thuja who I found after clearing away layers of jungle. I suspect intervention too late in their cases...
#4 A different picea pungens also overwhelmed by neighboring golden juniper. I cut is back, so maybe now he can get a little sunshine.
#5 is a trailing juniperus procumbens nana which has trailed all the way down the slope.
You can see the coniferous jungle it's escaping up top.
Lots of work left to do today, but it's raining, so of course I'm posting instead!

Edited to correct ridiculous spelling errors...

This message was edited Jun 22, 2014 11:54 AM

This message was edited Jun 22, 2014 12:00 PM