Mature blue shag white pine

I am new to gardening and plants. I've owned my home for about 4 years and have planted a few things and been pretty disappointed a few times. I am in Northeest Ohio, zone 5a. I saw a blue shag white pine at a local nursery and fell in love. Does anyone have a picture of this shrub after 5-10 or more years? I always hate buying plants and finding out they look very different when they are "grown". Here is a picture of the one I saw at the local nursery. Does it retain its round shape? What does it look like after a few years? Any help or pictures would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Here's the picture, sorry about that!

Hi irukandjia- There is a part of Dave's Garden just for this-it is called PlantFiles. To find it, look up at the top of your screen, click on Guides & Information, then select PlantFiles in the list. Once there, you can search out Genus "Pinus" and cultivar "Blue Shag". I have made an active link here, but really you want to learn to use this yourself, so you can look other things up
Once in there, this particular variety (also called a cultivar for CULTIvated VARiety) has about a dozen photos for you to look at. These photos were put in by various DG members, and a few do indeed show what it looks like after many years (Hint- 2-4 feet which is says on the label is not really true, conifers like this, however slow growing, do gradually get big, just veeeeerrrry slowly. Make sure you look around in the entry, people have put in comments and zip code reports.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/138194/
Have fun, let us know what you decide. In a few years, maybe you will upload a photo of it, or post a comment for the next DGer who falls in love.

I wish I could answer in the affirmative, but unfortunately no. However, I did see a large P. s. 'Nana' at White Flower Farm in Litchfield, CT, which is a similar clone. It was only about 15' tall, but had to be close to 30' wide. It might be worth doing a web search to get a look at it. Better yet, make your way to Litchfield. You won't be disappointed.

While immersing myself in the northeast this past summer, I tried to find a 'Blue Shag' (what a great name) on the campus in Storrs, which is where Dr. Waxman made a name for himself. Besides 'Blue Shag', he also named 'Sea Urchin', which is worth seeking out. BTW, I've got a couple of Blue Shags, but they're quite small. Can I get back to you in twenty years?

...or do what Pistil says...

Thanks for the help :) sorry - I'm new here and didn't know about that.

Haha - yes you can get back to me in 20 years. Maybe I'll have my own picture by then and we can compare notes. I tried doing a google search for images, but some of what I came up with was the wrong plant, or just more pictures of nice little tiny ones. It says they only get about 4' tall, but I know with conifers that tends to mean 4' at 10 years and continuing to grow for as long as it's alive.

When I moved in, my house was about 15 years old. Just the perfect age for all the landscaping that was done when the house was built, which looked great the day it was built, to start to look overgrown and crazy. After ripping out all kinds of things (I stilI have a completely deformed Japanese maple that looks like it's bent in half because they planted 3 giant burning bushes behind it that eventually grew together and into the japanese maple), I'm finally figuring out what I want it too look like.

It kind of seems to me that gardening is like keeping an aquarium. There are lots of pretty fish they'll sell you when they're babies, and if you're not careful, or if you don't do your homework, you end up with a giant monster that looks completely different and is huge and hard to get rid of.

Again, thanks for the help and sorry for the post! I'll check the place you recommended.

No need to apologize, we are happy to help. There is a lot of info in this website, I am still finding areas I never looked at. There was a good chance someone like Pseudo could answer your specific question. Those Google searches can really help, or you can waste a lot of time looking at the wrong thing.
p.s this is a fir, not a pine. I took this pic yesterday. I love the lime green new cones. I really don't know how big this will get either, taking a chance it won't be 100 feet tall, but if it does get that big it will be another person's problem!

Pistil, that looks like 'Horstman's Silberlocke'. The largest I've seen is about 15', but that was in St Paul, MN, which might as well be Siberia compared to your benign climate. I planted one last spring and it came through winter without a hitch. I've also got a seedling Korean Fir that is looking pretty good.

I wasn't going to weigh in on this discussion, but since Pistil and Pseudo pulled punches and postulated pompously...well, now I must pontificate.

irukandjia:

I want to thank you for your statement that really hits the nail on the head - to wit...

That is spot on.

I see that you barely live in Ohio - right there on the edge of Michigan. If you really want to see what conifers grow up to be, you ought to visit the Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton, MI - only about an hour from you. It is one of - if not THE - finest conifer collections in this part of the world. You could check out their website to learn more about them first. They probably have an accession list somewhere.

http://hiddenlakegardens.msu.edu/

Other than that, I don't have nor have ever grown 'Blue Shag'. I do support all the kudos above for firs (Abies sp.) of which I have and have grown many. It is a genus that is well-adapted to your part of the world near the Great Lakes.

There is nothing like going out and seeing grown specimens (much better than pictures). You can stand right up next to them to appreciate size/scale. You can fondle their foliage for a sense of texture. You can whiff their scent, and appreciate their color(s). And it's healthier than only sitting at a computer screen.

Good luck in your research.

Mmm, I've never been to Tipton Gardens -- I'll have to check it out.

I second VV's appreciation for the aquarium analogy. I thought the same thing when I read it. Good work. :)

Thanks everyone! I will have to make the drive to check that out. Nothing like a good day trip.


I did just plant a silberlocke Korean fir. It's probably around 3-4 feet high. We will see how it does. I've got a clay loam soil, so I'm guessing odds arent great. But it's a beautiful tree so I'm giving it a shot. I do love the idea of going to the hidden lake gardens. I like having things that are a little different so it sounds like a great place to start. Thank you!!

Yep, it's a Horstmann's Silberlocke. Good eye Pseudo. And I guess us punch-pulling, pompously postulating nail hitters think alike, since we all bought one of these ;) I wish we could all go to the Arboretum together. Jokes and trees, a perfect day.
Here it was last August:

I love it when sap oozes from the cones. My cones are still in the shy phase...

If you're into cone-envy, check out my personal cone-fave
Picea abies Pusch.
And apologies to Irukandjia for hijacking his thread...

oh I dont mind. I love it! do any of you live in an area with clay in your soul? mine is listed as clay loam.... I am trying the Korean for but I am not too optimistic. just wondering if any of those trees with beautiful cones would make it here.

Hidden Lake Gardens...here I come! Thanks for all the photos, just beautiful. Yeah Wee, I got cone envy. You guys are just enablers and I'm weak.

Drat.

Welcome to Dave's Garden Irukandjia, and welcome to the wonderful world of gardening!

Holy Cow Weerobin- that's amazing. Tell me more about this one? Maybe a new thread all it's own would be good so other people might notice the cone photo. I suddenly have a new malady called Cone Envy.
irkandjia- I may have feet of clay sometimes, but my soul is a perfect sandy loam...
My fir is in clay with gravel. I only planted it last year, so I am like you, crossing my fingers. But it is near the edge of a rock wall so I hoped it would not get too soggy.

Pistil, the cones only have that color during a week or so in the early spring, then change to typical brown. But the little tree (about 2-3ft now, 10yrs old) can look as nice as a flowering tree in the spring.

Spruces like the one above with the beautiful cones do fine here in the Midwest. I haven't had as much luck with firs. It's annoying that VV can grow them so easily. I've situated them every which way. I've read several articles re: which firs are most likely to tolerate our summer heat/humidity but still most have failed. I currently have a pouting Silberlocke still among the living, but certainly not photo-worthy. And I've got a couple little dwarf firs doing OK for a couple years so far. As far as I can tell, I think they are fussier about ideal drainage than other conifers and my only survivors get afternoon shade. All that I planted in full sun have gotten toasted. I have a couple conifer berms (in full sun, of course) which all the other conifers love.

Yes, Wee, we just close our eyes and plop in those splendid Abies sp....

I can only guess that maybe the length and warmth of St. Louis growing seasons are factors that are working against you and success.

I cannot say that Abies koreana is a good long term choice for KY landscapes. I don't know of any/many except MAYBE for some of the very dwarf forms located in preferentially cool microclimates.

Looking around at mature landscapes in your community should provide direction on species that have the capacity for success. MoBot, Forest Park, and other institutional landscapes could be starting points, as well as conversations with local knowledgeable arborists and horticulturists.

Full sun, good drainage, north aspect slopes, and maybe slightly acidic soils are choice components of sites to raise happy firs.

MoBot was decidedly an abies-free zone until just a few years ago when they have put in some new conifer plantings including several abies species. I'm following their success or failure with interest. Of course, they can put in specimens 10-times the size of my guys. I've actually had a little more success recently (meaning they're not dead yet), so maybe I'm getting the hang of it. Time will tell.

A fir that has done well for me is A. fraseri. They are surprisingly drought tolerant, even in our droughty soils. I'm not saying they'd do well in steamy ol' St Louis, but it's a much tougher plant than I would have thought. We've got several here of varying age/size and they all look good.

Getting back to pines, here's a Blue Shag look-alike with a twist: 'Vercurve'. It's one of my spouse's favorite conifers and I like it more with each passing year, but I suppose that's true of many plants.

Pistil, I like your idea of all going to the arboretum together. How about if we all meet at Denver Botanical Gardens on July 28?

Just passing through. Blue shag is a lovely dwarf conifer. There is a lively and healthy grouping of them at the Arnold arboretum in Jamaica Plain, MA, not far from the structure with the bonsai-- growing in full sun. They are perhaps between knee and waist high, not in the least demure, and they do look like a giant shag rug when all planted together.

This group's color isn't exceptionally blue if that is what one is looking for. I believe the spruces and firs have more frequently nailed the blue color. I have a baby pinus parviflora 'Gimborns Ideal,' an upright column which is pretty blue. The Missouri Botanical Gardens should be a good resource for what thrives where there are long hot summers.

Hmm, I doubt I can get the time off this year, but it's a great idea. I will amend my schedule request to get a bit of time off then but I won't know for a while. I assume Pseudo has a plan already in place to go there? With a bit more lead time I could be sure of time off. Denver sounds like a fun, interesting and central location. I have a separate plan cooking for a fall trip to Ohio to see family, and so that's about it for this year. Any interest in setting up a tentative date for spring or summer 2016?

I was being facetious...but hopeful. Yes, we'll be vacationing in Colorado this July and are planning on being at DBG that day.

Tell us when (and about where) in Ohio, and maybe something serendipitous could surround that...

If spring 2016 is the target, aim for late April/early May - I'm in Washington DC every year then and there are lots of gardens there (as well as the wildly popular MidAt forum folks).

I like the D.C. idea, and I have put it on my calendar. Who knows, it could happen. Denver I don't know if or when, I again may have ill relatives that need help this summer, but I might come. I have cousins in Denver, but I just found out they are moving to Barrow,Alaska so might be gone, dangit.
Also, if any of you ever head out here to Seattle, let me know and maybe we could do some tree watching.