Tree suggestions for a newbie please

[Myka]

Ok thanks! I will do more research on the photo itself and see if I can find it listed. What a beauty!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hi Leo, I'm looking for these azalea. Tropicals won't be available here until late January or mid-February. If I'm looking at a list to order rather than in person, what am I looking for? I see "Azaleas, deciduous" and "Azaleas, evergreen". Is it the evergreen I am looking for, or do I need more info than this? 'Girard's Hot Shot' has caught my eye (after Googling haha).

Any idea which cultivar this white/pink Satsuki Azalea is in the foreground? *jaw drop*

In a general way you would want to look at ''evergreen azalea''. As @Shinjuku said above, there are thousands of hybrids. Many sold by nurseries, under the ''evergreen azalea'' category are winter hardy, which means they will need a a sharp winter chill. In those catalogs look for azalea that are listed as only being hardy to zone 8 and warmer. These will be more sub-tropical, and won't need as much cooling off in winter. Kurume azalea need a sharp cold spell. Most Satsuki need a sharp cold period, but are generally not as hardy as Kurume azalea. Most Satsuki are hardy to zone 7, a few are hardy into zone 6, you need to read the catalogs to know which is which. I can't tell you where to find the ''florists azalea'' other than waiting until they show up in your local florists. There are wholesalers for the florists types, but not many mail order retailers that would carry them for retail.

 

[Myka]

In a general way you would want to look at ''evergreen azalea''. As @Shinjuku said above, there are thousands of hybrids. Many sold by nurseries, under the ''evergreen azalea'' category are winter hardy, which means they will need a a sharp winter chill. In those catalogs look for azalea that are listed as only being hardy to zone 8 and warmer. These will be more sub-tropical, and won't need as much cooling off in winter. Kurume azalea need a sharp cold spell. Most Satsuki need a sharp cold period, but are generally not as hardy as Kurume azalea. Most Satsuki are hardy to zone 7, a few are hardy into zone 6, you need to read the catalogs to know which is which. I can't tell you where to find the ''florists azalea'' other than waiting until they show up in your local florists. There are wholesalers for the florists types, but not many mail order retailers that would carry them for retail.

Ok thanks Leo! The ones I found are zone 6. I will wait until my local shops get their tropical shipments in January or February.

I did find some kind of live little spruce (I believe...sharp, short needles) that was being sold as a live Christmas tree kit for kids. I found one with some interesting branches, and it's small enough I can wire some movement in the trunk. Will at least allow me to get my hands dirty, and then I'll put it outside to sleep. I bought an Aralia to practice wiring too.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Lemon cypress often sold at Christmas, is a sub-tropical, might be okay in your window. Definitely not winter hardy.

The potted Christmas trees, can be stone pines, and Aleppo pines, both are sub-tropicals. Might work in the window, but probably not, they need very intense sun.
Some potted Christmas trees are dwarf Alberta Spruce, which would be hardy if slowly acclimated to outside. If you get one of those, keep it in the window the remaining winter, put outside in spring, then leave outside.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

It takes 10 weeks to 16 weeks of progressively colder night temperatures to prepare a tree for winter. It takes 24 to 72 hours of warmth above 50 F or 10 C to loose most if not all of their winter hardiness. Any hardy tree brought indoors quickly looses hardiness.

 

[Myka]

Lemon cypress often sold at Christmas, is a sub-tropical, might be okay in your window. Definitely not winter hardy.

The potted Christmas trees, can be stone pines, and Aleppo pines, both are sub-tropicals. Might work in the window, but probably not, they need very intense sun.
Some potted Christmas trees are dwarf Alberta Spruce, which would be hardy if slowly acclimated to outside. If you get one of those, keep it in the window the remaining winter, put outside in spring, then leave outside.

I have seen the Lemon Cypress locally, and figured it looked like a "warm tree", so I didn't buy one. They left little to the imagination anyway, very perfect little trees. Of the ones you listed, the Dwarf Alberta Spruce is the only one that looks similar.

It takes 10 weeks to 16 weeks of progressively colder night temperatures to prepare a tree for winter. It takes 24 to 72 hours of warmth above 50 F or 10 C to loose most if not all of their winter hardiness. Any hardy tree brought indoors quickly looses hardiness.

Oh wow! Ok, so this tree is definitely not going to make it into dormancy this winter. Eep, I guess I better be nice to it so it can make it through dormancy next year. Thank you for this information. I thought I could harden it off over a couple weeks.