I have been told I'm doing better than last year

[gbhunter77]

Lol just kidding, shimpaku are my favorite material. Due to the sheer volume of trees I was getting I have limited myself to shimpaku,maple and pine black pine but Scott's pine has its rewards too,like it loves Michigan winter, I just have to do more reading on how to remove needles when and h many. My tropicals have been thinned out a lot. The bougenvelia just barely survived under lights so that will be something maybe in 20 years or more if it survives another Michigan winter indors. Just have to be slow, think about what I'm cutting and why, like chess.

[The Ficus Guy]

I'm starting to dislike tropical plants just because the cost of keeping them in winter. Michigan has a short growing season so artificial lights chew up power.

I disagree, fluorescent lighting is pretty cheap. No more than a few bucks a month (for T8s, at least).

[gbhunter77]

It worked on most of my tropicals but never on the bougenvillas they lost all their leaves and just sat there. I use plant lighting about 450W so like 35$ a month here in Michigan. All other tropicals did well. Unfortunately the bougies are my favorite. I had a pixie but it did not survive the winter. Perhaps bulbs closer together will yield better results. The temperature in the growing chamber is 70 at night at 90 during day wich I'd 16 hours long under the lights.

[tomc]

I am covered in dirt, heck even my dirt has dirt on it.

I still have two upright yew to take a couple towns over,

BUT

My local service station is digging out their hedges and replacing them with annual flowers.

The autumn olive weren't that exciting, the boxwoods however were to die for. Literally, each one with a soil ball is in excess of ten stone.

Now this isn't that good of a time of year to repot trees, but I'm giving them a hard chop and potting them up in nice roomy 15 gallon landscape pots.

Tree (2) boxwoods, free for the asking
landscape pots (2) free from free-cycle
Soil less than $ 6 bought by the 50# bag

Now These trees might die from transplant shock. They were headed to a landfill anyways.

I might die from exertion.

But they still dirt cheap...