Windswept without a breeze

I am always drawn to conifers that display some kind of character. True, most of the tiny dwarf conifers that I love so much are very uniformly shaped little mounds, globes or pyramids, but trees with an unusual shape will capture my attention and inspire my imagination in a way the garden gems cannot. The art of bonsai involves many years of meticulous training and care to reproduce, in miniature, forms of trees found in nature; trees that have been struggling to survive on a cliff side, branches bent in a constant coastal wind or by year after year of snow load.

I love when I am introduced to a conifer cultivar that grows naturally in a contorted or windswept form even without the slightest breeze or snowfall. One such tree is Pinus parviflora ‘Fukuzumi.’ This form of the Japanese White Pine grows from a young age with the characteristic look of a pine beat down over millennia to grow at extreme angles giving the trunk nice movement and a welcome aesthetic appeal. The fine textured blue-green needles and prolific cone bearing habit add to the pleasure this tree gives in my garden. In fact, it is quite common to find three years of cones remaining on a tree for cone-heads like me to enjoy.

I can see this tree becoming very popular as more and more people discover its unique beauty. Hopefully, landscape designers begin to realize its usefulness as a low maintenance, rugged looking windswept tree for those special places in the garden.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Silver in the garden

One of the reasons I love conifers so much is the grand assortment of cones that are borne on their branches. Springtime is great because all the plants in my garden begin to wake up after their winter’s nap and show new life. The beauty of fresh new conifer foliage is a wonderful highlight to the garden in spring. Most of my attention is drawn by the new foliage on my conifers and Japanese maples, as well as the various flowering bulbs and perennials that begin their show in spring. With all that going on, it can be easy to miss the early cone development stages of some of my conifers. With young cones ranging in colors from scarlet red, to dark blue and purple, to yellowish green, and with their assortment of sizes and shapes, I want to be sure to discover every one in my garden.

 

Abies koreana ‘Silberlocke’ is one conifer that sets its cones prolifically in the spring. The young, light yellowish green cones might be missed with casual observation, but by looking closely, one may find a treasure of small, highly detailed cones among the upper branches of even young trees. Later in the season, as the cones mature, they become a darker brownish purple color and are often found to be oozing a significant amount of resin. The cones are a real bonus since ‘Silberlocke’ is already a great conifer even if you don’t have a particular interest in cones. The name translates to “silver lock” because the  green needles curve upward around each branch exposing their bright white undersides. The overall effect looks like silvery locks of hair.

The tree grows into a formal upright conical shape that can look great as a lone specimen commanding all attention, or placed in a large border with other colorful conifers and flowering plants. I purchased my ‘Silberlocke’ about 18 years ago through a special package deal that the American Conifer Society was promoting. My tree is now close to 15 feet tall and a specimen that always draws “oooos” and “ahhhs” from my guests.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Fanciful garden gems

I’ve just been digging through some catalogs both online and in print, and I am getting pumped up and ready to plant some new dwarf and miniature conifers in my garden. There is no doubt that I love the large and stately trees that fill our forests and parks, but my special love is for the dwarfs and miniatures. Honestly, what’s not to love about these delightfully small, low maintenance, colorful and hardy conifers?

My rock garden area is getting full, and the tiny plants that I intend to acquire will be too small for other open areas in my garden, so I am going to focus on containers for these fanciful little garden gems. Miniature conifers are perfect with the current trend in container and patio gardens. Once I decide whether I’d like a more formal looking patio garden using manufactured ceramic or terracotta pots, or a rustic look created with handmade hypertufa troughs, my next task will be deciding on which of the wonderful miniature conifers to include in the design.

I’ve compiled a list of miniature or dwarf forms for my new containers. In a few years when some of the faster growing cultivars are getting too large, I’ll find a place for them in my garden. In the mean time, these little beauties will add a lot to my patio space.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Butter Ball’
Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Juniperoides’
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Cumulus’
Picea abies ‘Tompa’
Picea glauca ‘Pixie Dust’
Pinus leucodermis ‘Smidtii’
Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’
Thuja occidentalis ‘Golden Tuffet’
Tsuga canadensis ‘Betty Rose’

Come on SPRING!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Thanks to Iseli Nursery for the photo links!

A giant gnome’s hat

There is just something about gardening that inspires in me visions of whimsical creatures like fairies, gnomes and the like. Perhaps it’s my love for the dwarf and miniature conifers. As I work with delightfully small versions of our giant forest trees, I am often reminded of the stories from my youth about the magical and often mischievous sprites of ancient folklore.

Last week I was introducing a new friend to my conifer garden and his young son asked me where the gnomes live. My friend and I laughed a little about this inquiry, and then I asked the young lad why he thought gnomes were living in my garden. Pointing down the path about 60 feet or so toward my Picea omorika ‘Nana’, he said, “Cuz one of ‘em left his hat over there.” Sure enough, my specimen of about 18 years looks very much like a gnome’s hat – a really big gnome that is.

The Dwarf Serbian spruce makes a great garden tree with its classic conical shape, blue-green foliage and low maintenance tidy habit. ‘Nana’ is also hardy to Zone 4, so I know it would be popular with the folks in those very cold winter regions around the USA and other parts of the world. Growing at a rate of three or four inches per year in my climate, it is definitely a dwarf compared to its parent tree. But if it survives for 300 years, it could potentially be quite a giant itself.

Ed-
Conifer lover

Thanks again to the good folks at Iseli for the photo links.

Living tree house

Once upon a time, a few years before I was born, a seedling of Douglas Fir emerged from the ground several feet away from the garden shed of my boyhood home. By the time I was seven or eight years old, I discovered it had grown tall and broad and dense enough that I could manuever myself between it, the garden shed, and the fence to find a pretty nice little “house.” I can remember taking an old blanket there to sit on and some books to read. It also became a prime hiding spot for a good game of Hide and Seek.

These days, as my interest in conifers has matured into more cultured forms, I’ve found another great “tree house.” Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ can become a fantastic private retreat or whimsical garden playhouse for the kids or grandkids. Its dark green, flat needles cover layer after layer of flexible weeping branches which work together to shed water quite well. The branches can be trained up and out to create a broad roof and then allowed to droop naturally filling in the walls. Doors and even windows may then be sculpted using simple pruning shears and some garden tie tape or string. Not a fast grower like the Douglas fir of my youth, but with some patience and a little creative cultural care, the Weeping Canadian Hemlock can make a great living treehouse.

Hardy into Zone 4, rich dark green needles, soft to the touch, and flexible enough to train into almost any shape (and great fun for the kids), I definately place Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ near the top of my list of favorite conifers.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Thanks to my friends at Iseli for the photo links!