Japanese Umbrella Pine

I've just moved into a new home in Jamestown, RI that has one of these up against the front porch (facing East) and it is very happy. It...Read More is maybe 10' tall. An arborist has advised me to move it before it gets any bigger. I absolutely love it and love the privacy it provides the porch but I suppose I should take the advice. I'm wondering how extensive the root system becomes in order to avoid mangling the waste pipe between the house and the street when transplanted. I'm a bit dumbfounded by the earlier poster that took a few "pieces" from a friend that grew into a "monster". From what I've read, they grow VERY slowly and the are quite difficult to propagate. Perhaps not the same tree?

On May 31, 2010, calmauzor from Milford, DE wrote:
"I know I shouldn't laugh, but so many of these comments sounded just like ME! ...Read MoreI too, fell in love with this plant when I first saw it and got just a few pieces from a friend. Well, these few pieces have mushroomed into a huge, garden-devouring monster!".................He must have been mistaken about the type of plant/tree when he commented.
I first saw this tree last year when I happened upon a nursery that opens to the public once a year (and that's barely advertised). It was the most unique trees I had ever seen. Their biggest one stood about eight feet tall. I was fortunate that the nursery had smaller trees for sale. I bought one that was only 6" tall for about $15.00. I planted it in with my perennials in rich top soil and did not fertilize it. It wintered fine here in Millville, MA which happened to have snow on the ground for about 3 months this past year. It has grown about 3" since planting last summer. Definitely a slow grower. Then I met a couple and visited their home to discover they had the very same tree and theirs stood about 6' tall. I was told their tree was about 16 years old. It was so full and gorgeous. That was in Smithfield, RI.

I know I shouldn't laugh, but so many of these comments sounded just like ME! I too, fell in love with this plant when I first saw it an...Read Mored got just a few pieces from a friend. Well, these few pieces have mushroomed into a huge, garden-devouring monster! I still do really like it's looks ... very graceful and pleasing .... but it's no longer welcome in what's left of my flower-bed. I've started first digging it up and then hoeing out all the roots I can possibly find! It totally consumed my bee balm and don't know what else. Don't want it ANYmore!

We purchased a beautifully landscaped house here on a mountain in Princeton, MA, about a half zone colder than the towns around us, w...Read Moreith lots of wind and ice and snow. But with lots of tall oaks and hickories around, we are sheltered.
Two of these trees are on a corner of the house, shading a sun room. They are spectacular. Just about 15 ft each, they catch the eye of everyone who walks the gardens, and no one (myself included) seems to have ever seen one before. The best thing is that their openness prevents their interior from being dark like most other pines. Light permeates, and the ground underneath is clearly visible and accessible to all the garden residents, fuzzy and feathered alike.
A great specimen, or anchor. Totally maintenance free, with a beautiful natural conical form. The needles need to be seen, since they're like no other conifer. The new growth in early summer makes for an intricate eye-catching texture.
These are interplanted with rhodys, azaleas, variegated euonymous, and a dogwood close by. This collection has a great 'prehistoric' feel, which I love.