Reach for the sky

I’ve been sitting next to my nice warm woodstove while enjoying the snow falling outside my large picture window. From where I sit, this unusual snowfall has covered the landscape almost as if giant spoonfuls of whipped cream have been dropped and plopped on all the plants, completely covering the ground. One of my conifers seems to be stretching up and out of that whipped cream coating as if someone had just given it the command, “Reach for the sky!”

Reminiscent of the stately Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), Juniperus communis ‘Compressa’ stands tall and narrow like a marble column in the ancient city of Rome. The one I’m looking at must be 20 years old and it stands approximately eight feet tall with a width of just over a foot.

Unlike the Italian Cypress, ‘Compressa’ is hardy into Zone 4 (-30º F) so I know this is a plant that my friends in the mid-west can also enjoy. When acquired as a young plant, ‘Compressa’ is excellent in the rock garden and very suitable for use in container gardening with groups of miniature conifers and selected annuals or perennials or by itself. Mine is planted in the rockery in well drained soil where it receives a few hours of partial shade. I know that it would also thrive in full sun but may need to be protected from the intense winter winds in the mid-western states.

Worthy of a place in any garden, ‘Compressa’ stands out all season long with its tightly held bluish green foliage, narrow form and apparent desire to reach for the sky.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

 Thanks to Iseli Nursery for the photo links.

A break from conifers

I’ve got to tell you about an exciting garden plant that is sure to please almost eveyone. My wife loves it for its variegated holly-like foliage which she uses during the holidays in her decorating. I love it for its multi-season appeal and nearly care-free maintenance. Others love it because it is deer resistant and not bothered by other pests.

Although Osmanthus heterophylla ‘Goshiki’ is not a conifer, I do love it. With its holly shaped variegated leaves emerging with pinkish tones and maturing to golden yellow and green and its managable growth rate, I think it should have a home in every garden. A very versatile plant, ‘Goshiki’ is suitable grown in containers, the rockery or allowed to grow large in wide open spaces. If you desire to keep it small, it responds well to heavy annual shearing.

From a distance, ‘Goshiki’ will appear as a golden mound or broad pyramid. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the delightful patterns of color on each leaf and that their shape is similar to, but not quite as sharply pointed as holly.

Evergreen, hardy to zone 6 and limited only by the gardener’s imagination, ‘Goshiki’ is useful in a formal, casual or whimsical garden and it could be an accent, hedge or featured specimen. Did I mention that I love it?

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Thanks to my friends at Iseli Nursery for the photo links.

My Dear ‘Nana’

I first became interested in dwarf conifers back in the early 1970’s. In those days, I was working with a landscaper primarily doing yard and garden care. I had the opportunity to mow lawns and pull weeds in some of the finest private gardens in my area. That was when I was introduced to my first love. She was a beauty, short for her age and bigger around than tall with lovely dark green, tightly held foliage. I’m going to guess that she was nearly 30 years old at the time and truly a sight to behold. My boss called her “Dwarf Hinoki,” but I came to know her as ‘Nana.’

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana’ was my first dwarf conifer love and that admiration has lasted all these years. She’s so soft and has a wonderful rich dark green color all year long. In fact, I’ve noticed as it has gotten colder over the past couple of weeks and some conifers have bronzed or become yellowish, ‘Nana’ seems to get darker and darker. In spring, as her new growth begins, she’ll brighten to fresh grass green and darken as the new foliage matures through the season.

‘Nana’ is one of the true miniature conifers that is well suited to rock gardens and container gardens of all kinds. Acquired when small, ‘Nana’ will be perfect for a trough garden for several years. When she outgrows that space, she may be easily transplanted to a container all her own or into the landscape. She’ll just need well drained soil and a sunny location.

My oldest specimen has a prominent place in my front garden, and I’ve recently purchased a second little plant in a four inch pot. I’m not sure exactly where this little beauty will go, but I couldn’t resist her during my last visit to the garden center in November!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

My green thumb turned blue

The cold Arctic air that I mentioned last week has moved into our area. I understand that what those of us in the Pacific Northwest will experience over the next few days is nothing like what many of our friends are enduring in other parts of the country right now. A good friend took his eleven year old son to the “big game” in Green Bay and managed to survive four hours of -21º F wind-chill Sunday. Conditions like that give me a new appreciation for our gray rainy days here.

When cold air does make its way into the PNW, I also renew my appreciation for hardy conifers and how great they are for those areas where the winter is commonly far more bitter cold than here. In an earlier blog, I mentioned a handful of dwarf Colorado Blue Spruce that I am particularly fond of. One of the most popular ones on my list is Picea pungens ‘Montgomery.’

Growing at perhaps one third to half the rate of the Colorado Blue Spruce, ‘Montgomery’ is a dwarf version reaching a height of 10 to 12 feet in 20 years. When young, ‘Montgomery’ will grow as a globe shaped mound. Its striking, consistant blue color will certainly draw the attention of passersby. As it matures, it will form a broad pyramidal shape eventually growning into a neat and compact version of the much larger parent tree. Some people prefer to prune out the developing dominant leader to encourage a broader than tall mound shaped plant into maturity. Either way, ‘Montgomery’ is a fantastic garden plant with brilliant blue color and extreme hardiness growing in zone 2 (-40 to -50º F).

‘Montgomery’s hardiness is an attribute that I don’t need to be concerned with where I live. I love it for its generally care free nature, great form and color. With all the shades of green in the garden, I’m thrilled to have ‘Montgomery’ as one contributer to the exciting range of blues to make my garden a real joy.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

 Thanks to Iseli Nursery for the photo links!

Satisfy my soul

Quite often, when I am enthusiastically discussing conifers with my friends (whom I like to refer to as pre-conifer lovers), I will guide them to the realization that not all conifers are evergreen. This part of our conversation usually falls somewhere between, “Not all cones are pine cones.” and “Some conifers appear to have berries.”

Today, while doing a little mid-winter garden cleanup and protection from a possible snap of cold arctic air dropping over the PNW, I was admiring the unique winter beauty of my Weeping Larch. Perhaps I was influenced by the pleasantly hypnotic rhythms of Bob Marley playing on my mp3 player, but I noticed for the first time how much the exposed branches of Larix decidua ‘Pendula’ looked like beaded dreadlocks flowing in the winter breeze. Early in the spring those locks will burst forth with soft, light green needles covering the branches to give our “Rasta Tree” a full thick head of hair. The needles darken some as they mature through the summer and then blaze with bright golden yellow tones in autumn before they drop to the ground making a golden carpet beneath the tree.

I could stop there with my excitement about this great garden specimen, but I have not mentioned the versatility of this Weeping Larch. Imagine using this great tree as a tall centerpiece, a corner accent, or cascading over a wall. You might even choose to work with its very flexible branches to create a unique sculpture or topiary. Not only are the larch generally more tolerant of wet soil conditions than other conifers, but with zone 2 and 3 hardiness, many will thrive in cold areas as far north as Alaska.

With all these positive attributes, the larch certainly are another genera of conifer that satisfy my soul.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Thanks to my Iseli friends for the links!

Sparkling like a precious gem

Every once in a while I come across a plant in the local garden center that seems to sit there and draw my attention in a seductive way like a Sirens’ song luring me away from the mission that brought me there in the first place. If that is not enough, it usually is a plant that I already have in the garden, healthy and happily serving its purpose.

One of those alluring plants for me is a dwarf conifer with light green finely textured foliage and white variegation that almost seems to sparkle like a precious gem. I’ve mentioned before in the blog, that the dark grey winters where I live can sometimes suck the life right out of you. That’s certainly one reason why I love conifers so much – it’s their ability to brighten and add life to those dreary, dark winter days. Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Mariesii’ is certainly a plant that can brighten a dark day and shimmer with excitement in the brighter days of spring and summer!

I love the fine textured, variegated foliage and the tidy habit of this dwarf conifer. I’ve seen a specimen of close to 30 years old that has reached a height of 9 or 10 feet and a breadth of about the same. From a distance, ‘Mariesii’ looks like a nice, finely textured, light green mound, but upon closer inspection the wonderful white variegation really stands out. I’ve been enjoying mine in my rock garden for many years, but it’s getting to the size that I may need to either move it to a more spacious location or begin a pruning routine to allow me to keep it in its current place for a few more years.

Whatever I decide to do with my specimen, I’m afraid that every time I visit a garden center, I will hear the song of a new, younger plant tempting me to purchase a second one. And hey, what would be wrong with that?

Ed-
Conifer Lover

 Thanks to my friends at Iseli for the photo link!

Keep an eye out for witches’ brooms

Many of my favorite dwarf conifers were first discovered as witches’ brooms growing high in the branches of their parent trees.

“Witches’ brooms? What are you talking about, Ed?” You may ask.

I’m glad you asked! Horticulturally speaking, witches’ brooms are tightly congested formations of twigs and foliage that are often, but certainly not always, caused by pathogens – insects or other biological pests. Sometimes though, a witches’ broom develops because of a genetic mutation. When cuttings are taken from these genetic abnormalities, new plants can be propagated with the characteristics of the mutated original.

“Yes, Ed, that’s all well and good, but why use the term witches’ brooms? Where did that originate?”

Great question. According to an article I found in volume 27 numbers 4-5 of Arnoldia, a bulletin of the Arnold Arboretum, the term originated back in medieval Europe. The genetic or pathogen influenced growth looked a lot like the rustic brooms that were in common use. And hey, if they couldn’t explain it, there must have been a witch involved! Not only that, but apparently, these congested foliage areas were the Motel 6 of medieval witches because they were thought to be the resting places of witches when traveling!

These days, dedicated conifer collectors are always keeping an eye out for witches’ brooms in the trees overhead for the potential of discovering what may be a really great new dwarf conifer for the garden!

One such conifer was discovered by Don Shadow. In 1984, he gave Jean Iseli some cuttings of his new discovery and these cuttings were grafted and evaluated for several years. Picea orientalis ‘Shadow’s Broom’ is a great plant with its bright spring-green new growth that quickly matures to one of the darkest and richest greens in the garden. It has short, glossy needles and slowly forms a broad mounding specimen. I’ve been growing mine in full sun where I needed a good dark foundation to my garden. It really stands out nicely surrounded by other more brightly colored dwarf conifers and other exciting garden plants.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

 Thanks to my friends at Iseli Nursery for the photo link