discrepancies on tags for evergreen trees

I bought a few evergreen trees. I wanted to look them up to see which ones to put where. Everywhere I looked had different heighths than the tags on the plants said. I wanted taller trees for back border areas.

Birds Nest Spruce : tag says 6 feet tall. Internet on various sites say anywhere from 18 inches to 6'. Most sites say 3'.

Mugho Pin (mughus): tag 4 feet tall. Internet sites say2'-4'.

Little giant arborvitae: tag said 6'. Internet sites say 4'

Doe anyone grow these and have first hand knowledge of what the heighths could be? I did not want dwarf trees. The tags did not say anything about dwarf on them. DM

Dwarf - as it applies to plants - means that the cultivar will be smaller than the species. Not that it will be necessarily small in size. For example Euonymus alatus ( Burning Bush) grows to 15'. The dwarf form grows to about 10'. Heights given on plant tags are usually the plant height at 10 years. Sometimes plant tags are printed incorrectly too. I've had that happen.

As for conifers, size is determined by growth rate. Take a look at the explanatory page of the American Conifer Society for a explanation of what size is.

http://www.conifersociety.org/cs/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=3

The American Conifer Society has a lot of information about cultivar sizes in their searchable database. The DavesGarden Plant Files data base is thoroughly vetted. If your cultivar is listed there you can rely on it to give you accurate information.

So, check the Plant Files, then the American Conifer Society if you have to, and then get out the shovel. You have some planting to do!

With many nursery labels, the so-called "maximum" height is actually the height reached at 10 years old, even though the plant may go on getting taller for many decades after that.

The nursery also has a typo on one of the tags, it is Mugo Pine (no 'h').

Resin

If you are a MT resident, make contact with a DG member here by the name of Soferdig. He is from MT, and he will be able to recommend a whole suite of appropriate conifers that should perform well for your conditions and in the size you desire.

Thuja plicata (the species that makes up the Ross Creek cedars) would be at the top of my list to recommend.

Thanks for all your help. I guess I have learned a lesson about buying because of a good deal. The Bird's Nest Spruce is suppose to get 6' tall, but according to alot of sites, they say it takes ten years to get 1 foot. I guess I have to wait 60 years for it to get 6'. DM

There's quite a few Birds Nest Spruce at the nursery I work at and they apparently got quite large in a not too long time. They remind me of muffins and never stay upright in the back of the truck. Their roots looked quite vigorous and were into the hogfuel on the ground. I've seen a few in botanical gardens which are huge - can't say 6' but one big mass. Tags & internet aren't always accurate.

growin: You made me feel better since you have actually seen them. Thanks

From The University of North Carolina
Picea abies nidiformis Bird's Nest Spruce
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/shrubs/picea_abies-nidiformis.html

Hardiness Zones: 3 to 6
Habit: Evergreen
Growth Rate: Slow
Site Requirements: Sun; moderately moist, well-drained soil
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Width: 2 to 5 feet
Texture: Medium
Form: Dense, rounded symmetrical, flat-topped, spreading shrub; depression in center
Flower/Fruit: Grown for foliage
Foliage: Dark, dull gray-green leaves; flat, thin and slightly curved; crowded on branch; horizontal layers

From the Ohio State University:
Picea abies 'Nidiformis' - Bird's Nest Spruce - a miniature spreading shrub that is 1' tall by 2' wide at 10 years, and 2' tall by 3' wide at 20 years of age (a very slow growth rate), medium green to gray-green in foliage color, with a depression in the center of the shrub (and therefore a theoretical spot for a "bird's nest") in youth that levels out with age; best in sunny sites as a foundation, specimen, group planting, or facer shrub; a much slower-growing and smaller-maturing alternative to low shrub Junipers

The ones at work were 2-3' wide and atleast a foot high. They were kinda growing together. I kinda doubt they were there for that long.

i think mugo pine has a few different cultivars (is that the correct term ? )
at the Chicago Botanic garden i have seen a tree type that was
about 25 feet tall or more, and a shrub type that was a large shrub,
about 8 feet tall, i like this plant

Yep! More like a few dozen named cultivars ;-)

There's also botanical variation in the species; in the west and north of its range (Pyrenees, northwest Alps, Jura) there is a subspecies P. mugo subsp. uncinata which is a tree, up to 25m tall, while in the south and east of the range, P. mugo subsp. mugo is only shrubby, up to 2-5m tall. They intergrade where they meet in the central Alps.

Resin

Also dwarfs - I just added a Pinus mugo "White Bud" to the rock garden.