Slow enough to win the race

Recently, I had a conversation with one of my old conifer-loving buddies from the Midwest. It didn’t take us very long, after solving most of the world’s problems, to begin discussing our favorite plants. Because he resides in a region known for its bitterly cold winters, our conversation naturally became focused on the garden conifers that are very hardy and reliable.

In my last post, I reintroduced the TRUdwarf® line of dwarf mugo pines, which are grown by my old pals at Iseli Nursery. During this conversation with my friend, we focused on ‘Slowmound’, the cultivar that introduced this collection.   

Pinus Mugo ‘Slowmound’ grows 4’H x 6’W at a rate of 3-6″/year, and is hardy to zone 2.

Pinus mugo ‘Slowmound’ has attributes that not only make it a winner in the frigid, arctic winters often experienced throughout the Midwest, but also in more temperate regions, like the Pacific Northwest, where I garden.

As I was talking with my friend, I thought it was very interesting that the first word he used to describe ‘Slowmound’ was “tough.” As we talked, he emphasized that it is “nearly indestructible,” and that it was almost a “plant it and forget it” kind of pine for the lazy or very busy gardener. ‘Slowmound’ has proven to be very drought resistant as well once established in the garden. All the TRUdwarf® mugo pines are drought resistant, and they may only need a deep soaking of water every two weeks during a summer hot spell or even if there is an occasional rain shower.

The deep green color of ‘Slowmound’ lasts throughout the year and persists despite heat, cold, and drought.

Another observation he has made over the past twenty years or so is that the TRUdwarf® pines are very deer resistant. He’s never experienced any deer damage with ‘Slowmound’. Of course, one must consider that during the harsh winter conditions in which deer may enter the garden to search for food, the low-growing forms are likely covered in snow, making them less of a food-source target.

Overall, the dwarf mugo pine cultivars within the TRUdwarf® collection by Iseli Nursery, have proven over time to be extremely reliable in their growth rate and habit, as well as being “tough as nails.”

Stay tuned. Next time I will take us on a journey to the valley….

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The Return of the Living Ed

It’s true, I am alive and well. Rumors of my absence have been highly exaggerated.

As we all know, the past couple of years have been decidedly irregular, and this irregularity has certainly played a role in my absence. But, for now, I am back and excited to begin sharing about my favorite plants again!

I had an opportunity to visit my friends at Iseli Nursery a few days ago. It was one of those rare January days when the sun was shining and the howling east wind was but a whisper. Strolling through the amazing Jean Iseli Memorial Garden, after such a long absence, was invigorating and inspirational. My old contact at Iseli has since retired and I made a connection with the talented young man who has jumped in to fill his shoes.

He has been with Iseli for a number of years now and is bringing his creativity and photographic skills into good use. We met at the front door as I arrived and greeted each other with a “Covid friendly” fist bump, for safety. Strolling through the garden, he was excited to show me several new plants that have been under evaluation for some years and are nearly ready to release into the retail market. I am excited to begin to share with you some of those new introductions.

Jean Iseli Memorial Garden – January 2022

In the meantime, there are a great many plants that will be reaching their destinations in retail garden centers across the USA and Canada this spring and summer. In the coming weeks and months, I will be sharing with you some of my favorites of these newer introductions as well as looking at some of the older selections that have been around for a number of years and are proving, through the test of time, to be truly exceptional plant selections.

With that out of the way, I will just say, “I’ll be back!”

Stay tuned!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Creeping Creepers

I love autumn. After the very long, dry and warm spring and summer of 2018, I am very thankful and encouraged by the recent transition to our cooler, misty, gray days and intermittent rain showers. We may only receive a week or two of relief from the dry weather. While the local weather soothsayer ensures that our autumn will return to dry and sunny conditions, this native born Oregonian is enjoying the cool, gray mist and the ground-soaking rain showers that we have received the past several days.

Pinus banksiana ‘Schoodic’

Certainly one of my favorite aspects of the autumn season is all the delightful colors that our gardens and native trees begin to exhibit. Not far from my home, the local community college planted a long row of deciduous trees that explode into a widely varying array of bright red, yellow, burgundy, purple and orange. I believe the trees must have been a horticultural school experiment and we are now enjoying this delightful array of color from a batch of American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) seedlings propagated 30 to 40 years ago. The resulting seedlings were planted along one of the main – once rural – hi-ways, moving traffic North and South through this, now, growing urban setting.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Albyn Prostrata’

Along with the inevitable change of season and its invigorating color-show, comes the season of spooks and creepy stories of ghosts and ghouls and the downright fun of Halloween with children dressed in their favorite spooky costumes. It won’t be long and we will see scores of creeping creepers in the neighborhood, laughing their way from door to door as participating folks greet the kids with handfuls of delectable Treats to ward off the chance of some unfortunate Trick being played on them.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Hillside Creeper’

Some of my favorite conifers just happen to be creeping creepers themselves.

A few very rugged and hardy creepers for the garden include the pines: Pinus banksiana ‘Schoodic’, Pinus sylvestris ‘Albyn Prostrata’ and Pinus sylvestris ‘Hillside Creeper’. These pines are hardy to Zones 2, 3 and 4 respectively and vary in color from rich green to shades of bluish-green. All three of these creeping selections are vigorous growers while being easy to maintain in a small garden space if needed. Growing low to the ground, they will each, very slowly, begin to mound in layers upon themselves, slowly gaining in height. Each will spread in the garden, flowing around rocks, garden ornaments or other plants with only the occasional pruning needed to help guide them on their way. If the gardener desires increased height, each of these selections respond well to being raised a foot or two (or three) upon a bamboo stake and then allowed to continue on their way. The creative gardener may choose to create waves with their creeping conifers for increased interest.

Other choice selections for adding hardy and colorful, ground-covering waves of creeping fun in the garden are:

• Picea pungens ‘Procumbens’ – for a very hardy, bright bluish creeper.
• Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ or
• T. c. ‘Cole’s Prostrate’ – both offer delightful, soft-textured, rich green foliage and wonderful creeping habits that are easily manipulated with creative staking.

Of course, I could add a bounty of creeping Junipers to this list, but I think those might be best reserved to a future post. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the creepy creepers creeping their way through your neighborhood in the near future and for those special colorful creepers at your local independent garden centers!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Some things are worth waiting for

First off, my apologies for my long absence. After a number of life-changing events,  I believe I have returned to the place where I may resume my humble addition to the gardening world.

In my absense, I find the world of gardening has not slowed down at all and there are a great number of exciting new plants that I will want to share with you here in my blog. Of course, there are new conifers to admire and covet, as well as further additions to the hardy Jack Frost^® and Pacific Rim^® maples to share.

This post, I find that I am driven to present a new dwarf Hinoki Cypress that was first introduced by my friends at Iseli Nursery a few years ago. I call it “new” since it is still relatively unknown and is certainly worthy of greater attention.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Thoweil’

Many gardeners are familiar with the standard Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) for its rich green color and somewhat feathery or lacy foliage. It can be grown as a stately single specimen or utilized in pairs or groups for a formal garden appeal. This Japanese forest tree became popular in western gardens well over one hundred years ago and has been the parent to thousands of dwarf, colorful and very unique new cultivars. Some of my very favorite dwarf conifers have their parentage in Chamaecyparis obtusa and were selected as unusual seedling offspring or witch’s broom mutations and then propagated, creating generations of identical clones with the special characteristics of their unique parents.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Thoweil’ was named by the late Ed Rezek, an east coast conifer aficionado, in honor of two Dutch plants-men, Thom Delange and Weil Linnsen, hence, “ThoWeil.”

With so many dwarf and unusual cultivars of Hinoki Cypress already in cultivation and in the trade, one may wonder why we would need another variation. This, of course, is a very valid point and something the creative minds at Iseli are always considering when they choose to produce a new plant. “What makes this one different or better than the many other selections already on the market?”

In the case of ‘Thoweil’, it fulfills a need in today’s gardens where other conifers simply do not. Many people love the look—the stately upright habit—of the standard Hinoki Cypress. It is a beautiful tree. These days, most of us simply do not have the room in our gardens to enjoy it in its peak of beauty, nor do we tend to have ancestors living in our same estate for generations to enjoy the trees that we plant (and certainly few have any idea what trees their great-grand parents may have planted – or even where they may have lived).

With ‘Thoweil’ and its slow, yet vigorous growth rate, not only may we enjoy a beautiful garden tree in our own lifetime, but we may enjoy the fact that it is scaled perfectly in our smaller, 21st century gardens. But that’s not all! ‘Thoweil’ has a growth habit that can be encouraged to grow as either a unique sculptural form, or as a formal form, with just a little directional pruning of branches when the tree is young.

Its rich, dark green, small, densely formed foliage fills out its branches covering the plant and filling in its space. Some branches may be allowed to grow outward in naturally erratic directions to bring the overall tree into a natural sculptural form. If desired, the erratic branches may be trimmed to encourage the tree into a narrow form. Either way, the tree is also a slow enough grower, that it could even be enjoyed on the deck or patio for many years in a decorative container.

At first look, the prospective gardener may think this is just another Hinoki, but when one looks beyond a first glance, one may see the beauty and real treasure that ‘Thoweil’ could be in today’s gardens.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Looking for something Primo!

There is something very exciting about this spring. I’m looking forward to seeing my favorite garden centers fill up with all kinds of fresh new plants. From colorful annuals for some of the patio pots to colorful conifers for around the overall landscape and for use in patio containers.

Primo™ Arborvitae is an exciting new dwarf conifer.

You know I love the miniature and dwarf conifers and it’s always a thrill to discover what new items are arriving at the local garden center. One plant on my list is a very new introduction to the nursery trade. Some lucky folks were able to pre-order early release plants through membership in the American Conifer Society.

A small amount of pruning can encourage Primo™ to grow into a very slender form.

The society annually selects a couple of conifers as their Collector’s Conifers of the Year and Thuja occidentalis Primo™ (‘IslPrim’) was one selected for 2017. I don’t expect to find this “primo” little plant yet, but I am certainly going to keep my eyes open at every garden center I visit!

Primo™ originated out of a batch of Thuja occidentalis ‘Zmatlik’ seedlings. ‘Zmatlik’ has dense, unusually coarse textured foliage on a narrow, medium-fast growing tree. It is very useful as a garden screen and is hardy into Zone 3! Primo™ was selected out of thousands of seedlings due to its very coarse and curious foliage. Over the years of pre-release observation, it was noted that with a small amount of pruning, Primo™ could be very easily maintained as a narrow, small spire. When left to grow naturally, each individual plant will grow very slowly into its own sculptural form.

I am so excited about this new introduction—even if I need to wait another year, this cool little conifer will be worth the wait, and I will very likely have just the right place prepared for it to be planted.

Good hunting (conifers)!

Ed-
Conifer Lover