According to the accompanying plant tag, this tree and a companion one were planted in 2011. They stand at the west end of the Visitors Center at Hidden Lake Gardens. Their age at time of planting is not available. @frankrichards16 photographed them in April, 2015, and has uploaded pictures of them as they appeared then. A comparison of those shots with the one I took in October, 2020, provides visual confirmation of my assertion about their rapid growth. Note, the brown needle color seen in Frank's photos is natural for this plant. Those winter-browned needles will have turned green again during the ensuing growing season.

That would be wonderful info added as a visible comment to plant entry rather than hidden as a post attached to the photo.

Calif_Sue said:That would be wonderful info added as a visible comment to plant entry rather than hidden as a post attached to the photo.

I considered that, Sue, but since my remarks referenced specific specimens, and particular photos of those specimens, I opted to go with a photo comment. I take the warning that appears when one starts a plant entry comment pretty seriously, and didn't want to overstep the mark.

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in on the matter, though. If a similar situation arises, I'll consider splitting my observations (general vs specific or particular) between plant entry and photo comments.