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Gardening

Another plea for help

(17 Posts)
spottysocks Mon 06-Jan-20 18:23:38

Please can anyone help with identifying this conifer? Really hoping it's not going to grow much more. Many thanks

midgey Mon 06-Jan-20 18:38:17

If you don’t like it.....get rid! Or you could freecycle it.

jusnoneed Mon 06-Jan-20 18:43:14

There are so many I wouldn't have any idea what it's called but you can keep it trimmed to the size/shape you want. I have one of the lemon scented ones in my back garden which I keep at about 7 foot high, and in a narrow column shape. I give it a trim about three times a year - easy to do as the new growth you cut is quite soft.
Don't cut too far into it or you will be left with brown twigs.

M0nica Mon 06-Jan-20 19:05:55

I have a similar looking conifer and mine has been in the garden for about 15 years and is not much taller than yours

NanTheWiser Tue 07-Jan-20 17:28:08

It looks like a very dwarf conifer, maybe juniper, but there are so many, unless you are an expert, it's very difficult to say!
I doubt that it's going to grow very fast.

spottysocks Tue 07-Jan-20 18:52:53

I've decided to keep the conifer, unless it grows like mad this year! it's the only thing left (apart from weeds) in the flower bed.smile

Namsnanny Fri 10-Jan-20 02:59:48

Looks like a dwarf juniper to me, but not 100% sure!

willa45 Fri 10-Jan-20 03:47:36

Because of it's small size I can't be sure, but it also looks like an Arbor Vitae which is quite common here in the North Eastern US. If I guessed correctly, you just need to cut it back periodically. Left alone, it could easily grow to 12 feet in a few years.

spottysocks Sat 11-Jan-20 20:27:48

I hope not! shock

gmarie Sat 11-Jan-20 20:57:10

I agree that it looks like a juniper of some kind. When my kids were young we had a very tall one on the property line. I didn't like it because it was prickly and contained a LOT of spider webs, but toward the top it was home to a cute family of opossums!

SpringyChicken Sat 11-Jan-20 21:41:27

On plant labels, the height stated is often the height after five or ten years, not the ultimate height. Unfortunately, a tree doesn't stop growing at ten years old.

How much growth does it make in one season? Even if it grows just 6 inches per annum, that's 5ft in ten years. If you want to keep it in check, you'll need to trim it annually, not cutting into the old wood. You can't leave it alone for years and then lop off all the excess growth in one go, it doesn't work like that.

Torreya Wed 01-Apr-20 07:59:01

It's a Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Elwoodii' that's been trimmed. Left to its own devices, it can get to about 20' (we have one about 45 yrs old that's nearly there!) If you keep it lightly trimmed (ie take a couple of inches growth off regularly) you should be able to keep it in check for years.

Oopsadaisy3 Wed 01-Apr-20 08:56:22

I can’t tell how high it is, but I’m concerned that the wall in the photo is your house?
If so, it shouldn’t be that close and should be chopped down now before it causes problems with the roots.

MadeInYorkshire Sun 05-Apr-20 10:58:37

I would make a 'lollipop' or shaped tree out of that!

craftyone Sun 05-Apr-20 11:10:07

get rid or move it away from the house, even if you keep the foliage clipped, the roots would carry on growing and spreading out.

Bagatelle Sun 05-Apr-20 12:04:47

Pl@ntNet is quite good for identifying plants. You take a photograph and see what it comes up with. It isn't always right but it gives you something to go on.

spottysocks Fri 10-Apr-20 19:13:33

Sorry for the late reply, I don't seem to get message notifications so I've only just seen it.

The conifer isn't on the house wall and it doesn't seem to have grown much so it's staying for now smile I might trim it a bit though just to even it up.