Thanks for taking the time to respond. I have some photos and there was a discussion regarding these trees in the thread linked below. I think, based on a post near the end, I had deduced that they were Siberian Elms. I never did post a reply though so I will double check that leaf texture in the morning. Thanks again! -Tina Here is a link that might be useful: Link to ID Thread

spedigrees: Limestone varies in magnesium content. If you go to your local agricultural store--I am not sure what you have up there--and ask for “high mag limestone“--crushed or pulverized--they should be able to direct you. The analysis is always posted on the bag. Dolomitic limestone is generally “high-mag,” but perhaps other types of limestone have a high magnesium content. Our soils here in the northern Shenandoah Valley are very high in magnesium, and high mag limestone underlies a good portion of our soils, and high mag limestone is readily available. And, almost all the NS in this area look very nice, in spite of our hot, dry climate. As for soil acidity--that should not be a problem for Norway spruce, unless the soil is extremely acidic, maybe in the low 4’s. At my timberland, where the soils are a bit below 5, Norway spruce does very well. I am not sure what an optimum pH would be, and it would probably vary with soil type. Maybe somewhere in the 5.5 range is "safe." As for magnesium for Norway spruce--this has been fairly well documented. I titled my original post “a hypothesis,” but there is substantial evidence. A site factors study done at SUNY Syracuse some years ago now, noted that “at least 75 kg per hectare” is needed for good NS growth. Studies in Europe, where there has been extensive decline in NS forests, has shown that the acid rain causes a reduction in the availability of magnesium, and supplementing magnesium often solves the problem. And, I have made some personal observations--not scientific, and without all the facts--that magnesium supplementation can make a dramatic difference. But, the main effect of magnesium may not be in height growth, but in the fullness, density, and lushness of the foliage. I have seen many poor looking, thin foliaged NS trees growing reasonably fast in height. Also, the thin foliage on some Norway spruce trees has causes other than a lack of an optimum supply of magnesium. And, I know, some of that is genetic, and not correctable. As for your experiment: Yes, 5 years should be long enough to show some results, but no sooner. The limestone has to dissolve into the soil, get down to the roots, and, because NS hold their needles for several years, the "thickening" of the foliage may not be vis1ble for several years. BUT, and this is a big "but," the effect may not really show up on very young trees. It may help the growth rate, but as for foliage density, that is never really noticeable until trees are somewhat older and larger--maybe not until they are 20 feet tall or more will any difference be really clear. As for the growth rate: white pine usually starts growing faster than NS. How old are your trees? How tall? NS trees don't begin to grow fast until they are about 4.5 feet high, and that could be only after 6 to 8 years. At that point, they should "take off." On the best soils, and in the right climate, an average of 28 inches is possible, with some years the new shoots elongating up to 4 feet or more. But growth averaging 20 to 24 inches is good for many sites. Norway spruce and white pine, assuming equally good strains, should grow equally well over the first 50 years. The white pine up to about 18 years should outgrow the NS, but after that NS should catch up a bit. After 50 years NS should outgrow the white pine for some years. SUNY Syracuse did a growth curves study for NS, and found that for the first 60 years--after the trees reach 4.5 feet in height, there is no "curve" as such, but a straight line. White pine growth curves bend sharply over to the right after the first 18 years or so, and at 50 years the growth averages about 1 foot, while at the same age, NS trees can still be growing 28 inches per year. But this rate does begin to decline not too long after the 60-year mark. On the best sites both should eventually make 150 feet or more in forest stands. Open grown NS should make 120 feet or more on better sites. As for the blue spruce and magnesium, I really don't know. Tom may be right about this. --spruce

I took the posted advice and composed an email to the company CEO about this mess and copied in both the first HR employee that I was working with along with the HR director who was supposed to be following up and finding out why the delay. I had also been playing phone tag with three different people at the labor board and was getting no help there. Seems no one really knew if they could help me. I had the state insurance dept lined up for my next step. Before sending my email I tried calling one last time and finally reached a receptionist who understood how upset I was and why I didn't want anyone's voice mail and wanted to speak to someone in HR. It took her several tries and she kept putting me on hold but would come back to let me know what steps she was taking and to apologize for the wait. She finally was able to connect me to the original person that was taking care of things till she went out on her own FLMA leave and I quickly brought her up to date and told her that I was taking steps to go to the CEO and the labor board and the state ins dept. Turns out she had turned over my paperwork to the HR director and after talking with me she put me on hold and went to see why nothing was done. Hello the paperwork was still just sitting on the director's desk! She then tried to talk me into applying for Medicaid instead of Cobra because the Cobra is very expensive. I told her that I had Cobra once before and the cost should be the same that the company would pay if I was still employed. Main reason is by electing Cobra I will have no lapse in coverage and it should run until next year when I will have to find a plan on ACA. It then took about 5 minutes top for her to send everything to Ceridian Benefits Services! Of course the issue now is that we are way pass the time limit of 45 days that an employer has to get the information to me to elect Cobra. And if I am denied because of this time lapse, my HR contact assures me she will make sure I get the coverage. We shall see. For sure I will be contacting the state ins dept if there is a problem and already have the info lined up and all my emails and forms ready to send to them. What a bloody nightmare this has been. One good thing is that the FDA has approved two new promising drugs in the last two weeks to treat Pulmonary Hypertension. Thanks everyone, just being able to vent here has helped and your responses have made things easier for me. Kat

Thats funny, lazygardens already posted that link in another thread, go there to see the reply. And you really should not knock something untill you try it OR talk to someone who has! There are plenty of skeptics out there about MANY things, but plenty more out there that are greatfull they did not listen to them! Lisa