A fluffy puff for your fairies

A while back I mentioned a little boy that behaved as if he was playing with fairies in my garden. Now, I’m not one to judge one way or the other on this kind of topic – just because I have not personally seen or experienced something, does not mean that it doesn’t exist. After all, there are quite a few people making miniature gardens these days, specifically for the fairies in their gardens. If one were to search the WEB, one would discover a surprising number of sites devoted to the existence of the whimsical little creatures. So, I suppose I should not have been surprised when I dropped in on my friends at Iseli Nursery earlier this week, and discovered that they had just decided on an interesting name for a delightful new little conifer with fluffy white foliage and a puffy growing habit.

Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Fairy Puff’ looks like it would be perfectly suited to entice the fairies into any small garden. This new cultivar was discovered growing as a sport on Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘White Pygmy’ (which is a wonderful miniature conifer itself). ‘White Pygmy’ grows very slowly in a mounding shape with tiny, adult, scale-like foliage, of light green that is tipped with buttery yellow-white. When grown in shade, the light colored variegation is almost pure white, but in more sun, it tends to move toward a yellowish color.

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'White Pygmy' has tiny, tight, scale-like foliage which is typically called, "adult foliage."

‘Fairy Puff’ is a fluffy puff of white tipped, very light green juvenile foliage giving the plant a very soft texture, both visually and to the touch. This tiny plant is reported to prefer a light shearing to promote a tighter form as it does seem to grow a little more open than ‘White Pygmy’. The light shearing will also encourage lots of new juvenile foliage since, as ‘Fairy Puff’ matures, it will begin to make a transition into adult foliage, yet it will retain its near pure white variegation.

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Fairy Puff' has soft, fluffy, juvenile foliage. Notice how its tiny scales are turning outward and resemble miniature blades.

I’m fairly confident that this cute little puff of fluffy foliage will draw the fairies in your garden to visit and take a rest on its inviting, clean, soft foliage. Watch for this new temptation to begin to make its presence known at your favorite miniature garden supplier and premium independently owned garden centers.

Ed
Conifer Lover

What did you plant in 1999?

The year was 1999. Some happy new homeowners had just moved onto their brand-new property with a blank slate ready for a landscape. One of their number one priorities was to install a fish pond, followed by a nice patio and then landscape plants. Spending most of their budget on the new pond, a collection of colorful Koi, and a very nice covered patio, there was little left for the landscape plants, so they did what many new homeowners do – they spent as little as possible to purchase the largest plants they could afford at the local big-box discount store.

Now, twelve years later, I receive a call from a young friend.

“Hey Ed. I wonder if you’d like to come over and check out our new house. It’s got a cool pond and a whole bunch of big trees – I think some of them are conifers!” He said as if trying to bait this old man’s interest. “I think we’re going to need to get rid of a bunch of these trees and I’m hoping you’ll give me some advice on what to keep.”

Sure enough, my young friends had purchased a nice home, built in 1999, with a fish pond, a nice covered patio – and a collection of species forest trees that were planted to screen the neighbor’s homes which had, in just twelve years, consumed a great portion of the backyard.

Dwarf and miniature conifers, with their managable size, great color and texture and low-maintenance nature make them perfect companions to the natural setting of the backyard pond.

“We’d like to put a veggie garden in over here” my friend said pointing to an area that, because of the number of large trees planted, would receive less than two hours of direct sun per day in the summer. I doubt that much of the backyard will see any direct sun before May, and it will be back to mostly shade by mid September.

“You did say that you wanted to remove some of these large trees, correct?”

Thankfully, my friend is ready to remove most of these trees, opening up his property for a grand vegetable garden and a wonderful collection of dwarf and miniature conifers to complement the pond and make that space a delight. Since the neighbor’s trees have grown over the years as well, the selection of conifers I will recommend will make a much more tidy looking (and easy to maintain) living fence that will not out-grow its space while they regain a great portion of useable real estate and allow much more sunlight into their garden.

I drew up a quick design for my friends, showing them how to implement the plan in stages so that they can plan and budget for each phase of the project. They are excited to fire up the chainsaw and open up their space, and I’m excited that I’ve found a future source of firewood perfect for the fire pit in my own backyard.

The moral to my story is that bigger and cheaper is not always better when it comes to purchasing your landscape plants. It’s always a good idea to have a landscape plan and some understanding of the plants that you are purchasing. My friends are off to a good start and will have a premium garden to pass on to future homeowners, should they decide to sell and move, in another twelve years or so.

Next time I’ll talk about the pond design and my recommendations of dwarf and miniature conifers to complement that space.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The cute little sister

One advantage to enduring the months of cloudy skies and rain in the Pacific Northwest is the ability to grow a vast assortment of plants, including many conifers that simply will not survive the harsher winter cold and blistering summer heat found elsewhere around the country. For example, many of my friends cannot even consider growing Cryptomeria japonica or any of its amazing cultivars.

The first cultivar of Cryptomeria that I was introduced to, way-back-when, was ‘Elegans’. This intermediate growing tree was quite a beautiful sight to behold – long, soft billowy foliage that softly swayed in the breeze like layers of feathers. When I met this tree while working for a landscaper, it was early spring and it still retained some of its winter copper/plum color. Within weeks it would return to the bronze-green of its warmer season color, lasting until the cold winter temperatures would return.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans Nana' is a delightful dwarf sculpture for any of today's gardens.

Although ‘Elegans’ truly is an elegant specimen, it may get too big for today’s smaller gardens. Fortunately, she has a little sister that is quite a beauty herself. Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Nana’ is a wonderful dwarf form of the Plume Japanese Cedar. Growing 2-4 inches per year in my garden, she definitely won’t overgrow even the smallest garden anytime soon. I love her irregular, almost sculpted looking, mounding form. With foliage that is typical of Cryptomeria with succulent, awl-like needles, growing in dense clumps, mounding and layering upon itself, every plant is its own unique creation. Like its big sister, ‘Elegans Nana’ will provide an interesting purplish/reddish/orange color through the cold winter months. In my garden this year, that winter color lingered well into the later months of spring.

A close-up view of Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans Nana'

Purchased as a young plant, ‘Elegans Nana’ is a great candidate for the container garden on the patio or urban balcony. My friends in those colder winter climates might even consider growing many of the dwarf and miniature Cryptomeria in containers if they are able to move them into a protected garage or other structure, remembering that they are rated at Zone 6.

Unique, compact sculptural form, tantalizing soft foliage, color that changes with the seasons, and just being plain cute, I can’t imagine why everyone wouldn’t love to have an ‘Elegans Nana’ in their conifer collection.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Dwarf conifers to the rescue!

One of my favorite independent garden centers had a big one-day sale last week. I had been looking for an excuse to give them a visit to see what exciting new plants they might have in stock, so I thought it would be fun to arrive just about the time they opened. What I found was a great number of people had the same idea, except they must have camped out because the parking lot was full and I had to park along the side of the rural road.

I made my way inside where I found a very long line leading from the cash register and along the north walkway, past the empty table that had been the display of the sale plants. The line continued along the east end of the building and progressed all along the south walkway.

I thought to myself that it really is still consistently too cold and wet for tomato plants to get a good start anyway, so I made my way to the new display of conifers. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that I would not be able to bring a prize home to my wife from my Big Sale hunting trip, but I thought I might at least find something new and exciting in the conifer section.

Fantastic year-round color, Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Golden Fern' is a great dwarf conifer for most any garden.

Of course I was tempted by the Siren songs of all the new little conifers available in the four-inch pots, but I was being strong and found that I was able to resist those little cuties (this time). As I made my way toward a nice display of dwarf conifers, I struck up a conversation with a couple of ladies that seemed quite discontent about the lack of sale items available at the store. After all, the place had only officially opened twenty minutes ago. They seemed determined on being upset, so I mentioned that it was just nice to be out on such a lovely morning.

“Finding a great bargain is all fine and dandy” I explained, “but frankly, I’m happy that this sale motivated me to come to the garden center this morning. Don’t you just love all the pretty flowers in bloom – and look at these fantastic conifers!”

I really don’t know how to describe the look that these two ladies gave me at that point. It was almost like, “How dare you interrupt our displeasure with a positive outlook.”

Finally one of the ladies, not putting too much effort in hiding her being annoyed by me said, “Well, I do like the bright yellow color of that one over there.”

“Ahhhh, yes, the Golden Fern Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Golden Fern’) – that’s really a fantastic dwarf conifer! I love how the foliage really does look a little like a forest fern – and the bright yellow color of this one just can’t be beat. Don’t you love how dwarf conifers fit so well in the garden with other flowering plants, and yet in the winter when everything else is bare or gone, the conifers provide wonderful color and structure to the garden?”

'Golden Fern' foliage has a striking texture as well as brilliant color.

I seemed to have captured their attention.

“Oh, I’ve heard about these dwarf conifers” One of my new friends said.

“You know, I have a dwarf blue spruce in my garden” the other reminded her companion.

“There’s just nothing better than dwarf conifers – and there are so many different ones to choose from. Some grow in full sun, others prefer shade; some grow tall and narrow, others are short and round or weeping or even hug the ground. Not to mention the vast color selection.”

The ladies asked if I was an employee and would I receive a commission if I was able to sell them a plant. I explained that I just loved gardening and growing conifers in particular. We chatted for several minutes, and by the time we were finished, they had both picked out a couple of the small conifers to plant in containers on their patio and seemed to have forgotten all about the bad mood they almost insisted upon  harboring when we met.

May your garden shopping be filled with successes this spring.

Ed-
Conifer lover

Gnomes and fairies: clap your hands if you believe

I believe that there is a very fine line between a vivid imagination and reality. As we get older, that fine line broadens until we get to a certain stage in life when it seems to dissolve away completely.

For example, the conifer kids came by for a visit the other day. They are a very nice young couple with a six-year-old son. You may remember that I mentioned this little fella in a post a while back – he wondered where the gnomes lived in my garden. They have visited a few times since that initial visit and every time they are here, their little boy wanders off on his own in the garden. One time we found him laying down on his stomach, knees bent and feet bobbing about in the air, talking with my miniature Picea glauca ‘Elf’. When I asked if he was talking to my plants he laughed, called me silly, and said that plants don’t talk. Then he jumped up and ran off as if he were chasing a butterfly. His parents and I exchanged glances and continued our conversation. Kids have vivid imaginations, right?

With a name like, Picea glauca 'Elf', it's no wonder some folks have vivid imaginations while visiting the conifer garden.

Several years ago my wife and I traveled 45 miles south to where my grandmother had lived most of her life – well, most of mine anyway. She was nearly 100 years old at the time and we had almost convinced her that it was time to sell her home and move into a very nice place that could provide her the additional care she needed. We were sitting out on her back patio, in the shade of her giant oak tree one summer’s afternoon. I knew that convincing her that moving away from her home and garden would be very difficult. We had been gently hinting at this for several years and she was a very strong-willed and independent woman. After listening to some of the wonderful stories of her past, we were sitting quietly and her attention seemed to be focused on something in the direction of the old Tsuga canadensis ‘Jervis’I had planted as a birthday gift for her many years ago.

She nodded her head and then turned to me and said, “I’ll go anywhere you think is best so long as my friends can come too.”

Thinking that she was referring to some of her favorite plants, I told her that they were too large to dig but we could plant some new containers for her to keep on the small deck of her new place.

She looked at me as if I was crazy and said, “Not the plants, silly, the fairies.”

My wife and I looked at each other, smiled and told her that of course they would be welcome to go with her.

My conifer garden has always seemed to attract all kinds of small critters. We share this home with quite an assortment of  birds, squirrels, assorted insects, the neighbor’s cat and… well… I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Super Dwarfs part two

Last time I promised a list of what I consider to be “Super Dwarfs” (dwarf and miniature conifers with premium characteristics of habit, rate of growth and color) that both the novice and experienced conifer gardener will enjoy. In the mean-time, my wife and I had a wonderfully relaxing vacation camping with a large group of friends. I was able to spend time at our picnic table, with tablet and catalogs in hand, creating the promised list. Friends would drop by to visit so I had plenty of opportunities to promote my favorite conifers while camping.

Super minature conifers in the rock garden

The list I’ve created include fairly common dwarf and miniature conifers that should be relatively easy to find at your local independent garden centers. These winners have proven themselves in the garden for their reliability and ease of growth. Some other conifers can be finicky about the soil condition or other regional climatic influence, but these Super Dwarfs will be great for the beginning gardener or long-time enthusiast. I’ve included the USDA Zone rating to help you make choices appropriate for your local area.

Here is my list of twenty conifer Super Dwarfs – believe me it was no easy task keeping my list to just twenty! Some of these are still rare in the trade, but will be worth the hunt if you find them.

Growth rate	Plant name	USDA hardiness Zone
Dwarf	Abies koreana ‘Cis’	4
Miniature	Abies koreana ‘Silberperle’	4
Dwarf	Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Mariesii’	5
Dwarf	Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis	5
Dwarf	Cryptomeria japonica ‘Tansu’	6
Dwarf	Juniperus horizontalis ‘Limeglow’	3
Dwarf	Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’	4
Dwarf	Picea abies ‘Fat Cat’	3
Dwarf	Picea abies ‘Pumila’	3
Dwarf	Picea glauca ‘Jean’s Dilly’	4
Miniature	Picea glauca ‘Pixie Dust’	4
Dwarf	Picea glauca ‘Rainbow’s End’	4
Miniature	Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb’	4
Dwarf	Picea pungens ‘Montgomery’	2
Miniature	Pinus mugo ‘Donna’s Mini’	2
Dwarf	Pinus mugo ‘Slowmound’	2
Dwarf	Pinus mugo ‘Teeny’	2
Dwarf	Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’	5
Dwarf	Tsuga canadensis ‘Cole’s Prostrate’	4
Dwarf	Tsuga canadensis ‘Moon Frost’	4

Happy hunting!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Of mutants and pixies

A family of pixies has moved into my garden. It’s true, but perhaps not quite what you might be thinking.

Last time I talked about two miniature forms of the Dwarf Alberta Spruce. I gave a brief explanation of the horticultural terms, Sport, Reversion and Witches’ Broom, all referring to mutations – new or different growth forms –  emerging from their respective parent plants. This time I’ll present for you the family tree of an exciting group of dwarf and miniature conifers originating from the White Spruce (Picea glauca).

We learned last time that Picea glauca ‘Conica’ was discovered near the beginning of the 20th century in Alberta, Canada. This new form of Picea glauca is a dwarf version of the White Spruce with a greatly reduced growth rate and nice conical shape. Many new cultivars have been discovered as mutated growth emanating from a small percentage of the millions and millions of Dwarf Alberta Spruce clones growing around the world.

Picea glauca 'Pixie'

One of those mutations was propagated and named ‘Pixie’ for its miniature growth rate and tiny conical habit. One day at Iseli Nursery, an employee discovered that one, in a crop of ‘Pixie,’ had a variegated sport. In fact, by the time the employee made this discovery, the sport had become virtually the entire small plant. This mutation was evaluated for a number of years, found to hold true to its distinctive characteristic and became the “mother” plant for a new cultivar which became known as, ‘Pixie Dust.’

Picea glauca 'Pixie Dust'

‘Pixie Dust’ is even a little slower growing than ‘Pixie’ with the same nice miniature conical habit. What makes it particularly exciting is that mid-way through the growing season, it appears to be sprinkled with golden pixie dust with its golden colored second push of new foliage. Since not all the buds push at the same time, and since the golden color fades to rich green, ‘Pixie Dust’ makes me think of gold dust shimmering in the sunlight (in very slow motion).

Picea glauca 'Pixie Dust' Sport #1

But the story doesn’t end there. A sport was discovered growing on a ‘Pixie Dust’ with faster growth but still within the dwarf growth range. This new sport has been propagated and is being evaluated at Iseli Nursery today. So far it is growing into a larger conically shaped plant with annual growth of 3 to 4 inches. Currently it is pushing its second flush and shows the same golden color as its parent.

So, we begin with a large forest tree that produces a dwarf cone shaped, highly popular cultivar, which itself produces a great many new cultivars through the magic of mutation. One of those mutations produces its own new cultivar, which at this time has also produced an exciting new form worthy of further evaluation.

Did you follow all that? Don’t worry, just enjoy the fantastic new conifers being introduced at your local fine garden centers and leave all the complicated science to the experts!

Ed-
Conifer Lover