There’s always something new

After working very hard in my garden during the brief but greatly appreciated sunny, warm, summer-like weather over the weekend, I decided that I deserved a relaxing stroll through the display gardens at Iseli Nursery. It seems that no matter how many times I visit their gardens, I always find something new and exciting that I had overlooked in previous visits. I do know that they enjoy adding new plants and they even swap in new plants when some of those that have been evaluated are thought not to be up to Iseli quality in performance, reliability or other factors they require to ensure only the best plants have an Iseli label in garden centers all over the country.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Little John'

One amazing new dwarf conifer that I have become quite enamored with is Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Little John’. I love its slightly twisted, coarsely textured, compact foliage. With a little pruning to guide its form when young, I believe ‘Little John’ will mature into a very handsome small tree. I also suspect that it may have some value in bonsai or other specialized artistic pruning and should perform very well in a container on the deck or patio for a number of years.

Thuja occidentalis 'Jantar' PP#22296

Another tremendous new conifer that caught my eye is Thuja occidentalis ‘Jantar’, which comes to the United States from Jakub Jablonski in Poland. This bright amber-yellow selection is a narrow column of soft, sweetly scented foliage that is typical of Arborvitae. Its form suggests that it will be well suited as a single specimen where a bright shaft of gold is desired, or planted in a hedge-row, it would become a stunning wall of intense color.

Abies pinsapo 'Horstmann'

Finally, Abies pinsapo ‘Horstmann’ has been on my want-list for some time now, but my last visit strengthened my desire and resolve to obtain one of these beautiful dwarf Spanish firs for my garden. This little bluish, globe-shaped, stiff needled conifer has foliage very typical of the species with its short, thick, sturdy blunt-tipped needles which completely surround the branch giving the appearance of a bottle-brush. Soft bluish-green new foliage will emerge in spring and grow for a few inches into early summer as the needles harden into their already mentioned sturdiness.

These conifers are so new, and in limited quantities, that I know you’ll want to make a special order with your favorite independent garden center!

No matter how many conifers I may collect, nor how many visits I may make to Iseli or other gardens, there is always something new to learn in the amazing world of conifers!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

It’s in the details

I was a young boy when my grandfather passed away. My grandfather was a simple man with few possessions. As my family went through the process of deciding what to keep and what to pass along, I ran across his magnifying glass. Nothing like the quality that I’m sure Sherlock Holmes would have used, but a smaller, more modest version of the instrument. My parents trusted me with that item and it remains useful to me today.

In my excitement for the arrival of spring, and the fact that we had an absolutely beautiful weekend, I decided it was time to grab my trusty old friend and see what developments I might find in my garden. As it turns out, Mr. Smith, my photographer friend at Iseli had the same inclination early this week, and I have decided to dedicate this blog post to some of his macro photography showing the amazing details that can be found in the conifer garden.

The fascinating foliage of Abies koreana ‘Ice Breaker’ is very striking, but the buds remain quite tight. We’ll check back in on this one later.

The soft-yellow foliage of Abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’ is becoming highlighted with the brightly colored pollen cones. The seed cones are currently much smaller, appearing as tiny slender buds at this time.

This Korean/Japanese maple hybrid, Acer x pseudosieboldianum ‘Arctic Jade’, is a hardy new introduction. Its fuzzy, delicate new foliage and tiny red flowers are just beginning to emerge.

Picea glauca ‘Pixie Dust’ is just beginning to break bud. Its first flush of tiny foliage will be bright green and harden to a darker color, followed in a few months by a second foliar push bringing the golden cream color we wait for each year.

Finally, we present Picea pungens ‘St. Mary’s Broom’. Its expanding buds take on the appearance of tiny rosebuds. Perhaps this is what the Gnomes wear on their lapels, since a real rose would be far too large.

Grab your favorite magnifying device and have a look around your garden. You might just be surprised at what you will discover.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Moving past my fear

Many years ago, when I was a very young man, I had the opportunity to work for two different landscape companies. Both were small companies where I was the only regular employee. One focused on maintaining the landscapes surrounding commercial properties while the other had its niche in the gardens of homeowners.

One of the very first jobs I had was to clean the trash that had collected in a very long row of Tam Juniper (Juniperus sabina var. tamariscifolia). This was also essentially my first formal introduction to working with conifers, and more specifically with Junipers.

The “Italian Cypress” for Zone 4 gardens, Juniperus communis ‘Compressa’ is perfect where a tall, narrow plant is desired.

Now, you may be familiar with this particular form of Juniper since it has been used in the landscape and listed in catalogs for a great number of years. In fact, I found that it had been introduced to Britain in 1562 and had specific uses in the medicine of the day. In more recent history, for a number of years, it was one of the most over-planted conifers in landscapes in the USA because it was easy to grow and inexpensive to purchase. It may also be the single most influential reason for folks to decide that they dislike conifers. It is very prickly, quickly outgrows its space, is very painful to prune and is very deep-rooted making its removal a tremendous undertaking.

My first experience certainly did not endear me to the plant and it definitely gave me a bias against the entire genera of Juniperus. I was working hard at the task described earlier, removing trash that had blown in and under the long row of plants that had, at this time, attained a height of four feet and a spread twice as wide. There must have been thirty of these in a long row separating two sections of a parking lot. I was carefully pulling out the trash, reaching deep as I could reach into the extremely sharp and prickly foliage that smelled as if every dog (and cat) in a square mile had marked the hedge with their scent. Half way through this very uncomfortable job, I was attacked by a Yellow Jacket wasp, which suddenly flew out of the foliage and stung me on my left cheek, just an inch away from the corner of my mouth. This was when I learned of my sensitivity to wasp venom.

‘Corielagen’ is an ideal groundcover with extreme hardiness into Zone 3.

Fortunately I was not allergic – as in go into anaphylactic shock – though the left side of my face swelled up, hurt like heck, and itched for days afterward. Yes, that was the day which began my strong dislike of Junipers in general, and the Tam Juniper specifically.

As they say, time heals all wounds, and as I mentioned earlier, I am beginning open up to the fact that there really are some great garden junipers! There is one species in particular that I am finding I am quite fond of. This species of Juniper includes dwarf plants in a number of shapes and forms and colors – some even changing colors through the seasons.

Juniperus communis ‘Oblonga Pendula’ is a stately specimen with wispy weeping branches.

In the past, I have mentioned Juniperus communis ‘Kalebab’ for its striking, wispy form and dramatic color show, check out that post here. I also want to mention a great ground covering form called ‘Corielagen’ with its deep, rich green foliage and wide-spreading, ground-hugging form. ‘Gold Cone’ is a beautifully dramatic pillar of gold. In my area, I find that a light shearing once a year helps keep this one in top form. One of the best spire shaped conifers that you can find is ‘Compressa’, whose narrow, upright form is clothed in bluish-gray-green foliage, depending on the time of year. It is one of the most narrow conifers, and it may be considered the “Italian Cypress” for Zone 4 gardens. Finally, ‘Oblonga Pendula’ is a magnificent specimen with grass-green, weeping foliage, which takes on plumb tones during the cold winter months. It may be a bit of a character when young, with fringed arms splaying this way and that, but as it begins to mature it becomes a stately specimen that may be planted as a focal point, or in a group or row to make a very pleasant background for other smaller conifers and specialty plants.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

What could be more beautiful?

What could be more beautiful than to wake up on the first full day of spring, hear the birds singing their springtime songs, and find a few inches of snow on the ground? From what I understand, some of my friends around the country are not only enjoying an early spring, but this week, in many parts of the country, the temperatures will be summer-like! Since their weather could return to freezing temperatures and snowfall rather quickly, I hope they are enjoying their sneak peek at summer as much as I am enjoying our little taste of winter.

Around here, the month of March has been one of the snowiest ever. We have had three days with at least a couple of inches of snow on the ground and a two or three days that were filled with snow showers (and other forms of freezing precipitation). We haven’t had this many days with snowfall, in a three-week period, for as long as I can remember.

I love the snow. I loved it as a kid on those very rare occasions that we received it, and I have loved it every time it manages to fall in our temperate Pacific Northwest climate. Waking up to a garden full of great plants all topped with a generous helping of snow is a real joy. The snow seems to accentuate the shapes and textures of my conifers, and the way it clings to the branches of my Japanese maples and other deciduous plants is really quite stunning. I feel sad for my friends with large flat lawns and their narrow borders of spent flowers. The sight out their windows must be so… boring.

Seeing a hillside of large conifers, highlighted with snow, is truly a sight to behold. Smaller dwarf and miniature conifers also look great in the snowy garden, though heavier snowfall than we tend to receive will totally cover many of the smaller plants. As the dwarf plants mature with some size, they can add so much to the snowy landscape.

As much as I would love to feel the warming effects of the springtime sunshine, I am loving the bright white highlights of snow. I hope that you are enjoying your gardens this spring as much as I am.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Lace and the bright light

I suggest that you find your sunglasses before you continue reading this post.

Ready?

I have a conifer on my wish list that is very possibly the brightest, the most intense yellow I have ever seen in a plant. So far, I have only seen small specimens – the largest is close to three feet tall – but I can imagine how this might look as a large tree. I have a feeling, when I do find one of these beauties, and it has grown in my garden for five to ten years, it may very well become my only outdoor light source – I really think it must generate its own light!

This new conifer was discovered in 1987 as a yellow sport growing on one of the Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Graciosa’ in the production fields at Iseli Nursery and has been given the name, ‘Sunlight Lace’. If you are familiar with the cultivar, ‘Graciosa’ and its characteristically lacy foliage, then you should be able to imagine the foliage of ‘Sunlight Lace’ with its wide, flat sprays of foliage that may remind you of intricate lace work found on a fine gown that your great-grandmother may have worn many years ago.

‘Sunlight Lace’ is a newcomer with great potential to be one of the finest yellow conifers in your garden. This specimen shows a hint of winter bronzing in the foliage. As temperatures warm, the bronze tint will disappear, leaving only the brightest yellow foliage you may have ever seen.

This small tree appears to grow at a rate of six to eight inches per year with an open, airy habit. It should grow into a medium-sized tree with a broadly pyramidal form, but with some annual pruning, it could be shaped and encouraged to grow with a more compact form for many years in the smaller garden. If acquired as a small plant, it would very likely be ideal for growing in a nice container on the deck or patio for many years before it would need to be transplanted into the garden.

The brightest, most intense color will be produced when grown in full sun, but the bright yellow and white foliage can be susceptible to sunburn, so growing where it will receive some afternoon shade would be a good idea. The specimen pictured here receives some direct sun, off and on throughout the day during the growing season, which seems to be growing in an ideal mix of sun and shade because it is a beautiful color with little to no sunburn whatsoever.

I can imagine this bright light glowing in my garden with a groundcover of the bright blue Picea pungens ‘Procumbens’ and other blue and green conifers planted nearby creating a garden space filled with dazzling year-round color. Plant this beauty near the deck or patio and I imagine that with just a little moonlight, it will be bright enough to read a book by at midnight.

Ed-
Conifer Lover