Free Trees At Lowe's - (Any Updates? How are your trees growing?)

[silkiechicken]

I suppose I should add to the "frozen ball in pot" comment. The frozen ball was probably not frozen to the point where the roots themselves were frozen. The frozen temps of winter here were in the upper 20's, so not far below the freezing point. I don't think the plant tissue itself has actually frozen due to the ions in the tissue. Most big trees and little trees that sit outside int he ground have roots below the frost line.

I would assume "free trees" for earth day would be of a local variety... but with big companies, you never know.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
So do you think it's best to plant the "free trees" in the ground or leave them in pots for now?

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, if you have a good place to plant, I would plant. The only reason mine is potted is because I haven't had the cargo space to take it home yet.

But really, I don't know about your types of trees. The western red cedar I have in a bucket is a native plant to the Pacific North West, specifically the coastal areas in WA/OR up into Canada. It just thrives in the climate here and even the little 4-5 inch tall babies that sprout naturally in the spring often make it through their first winter short of something stepping on it or eating it. The tree I have can do well in swampy wet soil to clay like mountain soil, and can even grow to reproduce in the shade of larger trees... which is probably why it is growing pretty well in a bucket on a north facing balcony.

 

[Imp]

It would be really hard to keep these trees alive in pots over the winter, in most of your hard winter climates. It is not too late to plant them or you can plant/bury the pot in the ground (no deeper than the soil in the pot). Either way provide extra protection to the roots by adding several inches of mulch over the roots, and it wouldn't hurt to protect the foliage also from hard frosts and bitter winds. Roots can grow in the winter so fall is not a bad time to plant.

Our trees from Lowe's are European Larches? It says to keep them in a pot for a year. Are these evergreens too?

Arabianequine,

I have a weeping european larch tree. They are not evergreen, and they will lose their needles in the fall. When mine was young the needles turned brown and dropped, in late fall. Now that it is a few years old it is turning a bright yellow. Beautiful color. Google for some great pictures. Also when the leaves/needles come back in the spring they come out in small swirls, I think that is my favorite time. I don't know how they will do in Eastern Wa. Mine also handles severe pruning well.

Fun! We got 6 TINY redwoods from Home Depot a couple years ago and put them in pots. Only 2 survived the first 6 months (probably my fault) and now they are about 4 feet tall. I've re-potted them twice and keep them in pots since I have no idea where they will end up.

Several years ago a co worker came back from a trip to Ca. with 2 redwood burls. She gave me one in a bucket of water. I set it on top of a pot of soil. It grew roots and has been growing since. It candles 3-4 times a year. Don't know if that's normal. It also has been mostly growing horizontally, just started growing up last year.

Imp​