Tag: dwarf conifers

And it begins…

Published on by edremsrola4 Comments

The new year has always given me a fresh new outlook. I suspect that it is not so much the turning of a page on the calendar, or remembering to change the last two digits of the year when writing checks, but more the simple biological fact that the hours of daylight are increasing and a sense that new life is just around the corner.

December was a very dark and rain-filled month where I live. Even though clear skies bring much colder temperatures this time of year, I am energized by the sunshine we have experienced the past few days. Sunny days encourage me to open the curtains, and open curtains mean a great view of my garden.

Tsuga canadensis 'Kelsey's Weeping'
'Kelsey's Weeping' is a premium conifer any time of year.

Brisk, cold mornings often bring frost, and frost gives the winter garden a special charm. The conifers all take on a new look with sparkling new colors when they are covered with frost early on a sunny morning. Even the last crumbling brown remnants of my wife’s perennials look good when covered in the multi-faceted crystals of a good, hard frost. Fortunately though, most of my garden is filled with the vast assortment of shapes, sizes, colors and textures of my conifer collection.

From the tall dark green of my Picea orientalis ‘Aureospicata’ and bright blue of my Picea pungens ‘Hoopsii’ to the weeping forms of Sequoiadendron giganteum ‘Pendulum’, Tsuga canadensis ‘Kelsey’s Weeping’, and Picea omorika ‘Pendula Bruns’ and all of my various and assorted dwarf and miniature conifers, they all have an exciting new look in the bright early morning sun.

As I take a brisk walk through the garden, the ground makes that familiar crunch as my footsteps break through the frozen heaves of gravel in my path. I see birds busily searching for seeds and even the squirrels are out to harvest some of the goodies they had hidden away earlier in the year. The sun, very low in the sky, in an unsuccessful attempt to warm the morning air, creates a wonderful golden hue to the garden while the shadow patterns move silently across the landscape.

I think about the smell of the soil and realize that it won’t be long before I am able to bury my hands in its goodness as I begin a new year of gardening. But for today, I think I’ll just enjoy the garden, in all its winter-time beauty, from the comfort of my favorite chair near the woodstove with a fresh cup of tea.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Dear Santa…

Published on by edremsrola8 Comments

It’s been a very long time since I have written a letter to Santa Claus. I remember one of the first times I wrote to Santa – it was a cold and rainy day, I was probably being fussy (as small children can get when the big holiday gets closer and the days are shorter, colder and wetter). I suppose I was five or six years old. I remember trying to write the letter, getting frustrated with my ability and going to Mom for help. She ended up doing most of the writing while I dictated my Christmas wishes to her, trusting that Santa would approve.

Picea omorika 'Kamenz'
Picea omorika 'Kamenz' is an excellent spreading specimen.

This year there are three conifers on my Christmas list that I am hoping Santa will find a way to deliver on that special morning. I’ve been admiring these three for a number of years during my visits to the display garden at Iseli Nursery. I love a good conifer hunt, and these three may still be rare out in the independent garden centers, I know I could make a special order through my favorite retailer, but I just haven’t done it yet. So, Santa, it’s up to you.

These are a few of my favorite things – all three are forms of Picea omorika, the Serbian spruce:

First on my list is a low, spreading, dwarf form named Picea omorika ‘Kamenz’. The one I’ve been admiring at Iseli is four or five feet across and about 10 inches tall. It has the typical two-toned needles of Picea omorika, with its green top and silver-coated underside. The needles radiate out from the branches in a way that they catch the light very well and seem to almost shimmer as the sun moves across the sky. This one looks to be a great choice for where a sturdy ground cover is desired as well as being a distinctive specimen in its own right.

Picea omorika 'Minima'
Picea omorika 'Minima' captivates my attention.

Number two is Picea omorika ‘Minima’. This enchanting little globe is covered with tiny, thin, two-toned needles giving ‘Minima’ a soft or delicate looking texture. Being the Serbian spruces are hardy to Zone 4, they are anything but delicate. Growth rate is still within the Dwarf range according to the chart published by The American Conifer Society, but it is on the slower growing end of the scale, creating a captivating, small globe-shaped plant that I have a difficult time taking my eyes off of when I am near.

Picea omorika 'Silberblue'
Picea omorika 'Silberblue' is a stunning beauty with silvery-blue needles and a perfectly symmetrical form.

Picea omorika ‘Silberblue’ is the third item on my wish list. This is a large growing tree with a perfectly symmetrical Christmas tree shape. It’s two-toned needles give the tree a silvery blue color that shines in the sun capturing the attention of anyone in its vicinity. Should Santa come through with this one, I’ll place it in a prominent place with room to grow and plan on it becoming a featured tree for future holiday decorations.

That’s it – my entire wish list for 2010. I’m hoping Santa reads my blog.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The colors of cold

Published on by edremsrola10 Comments

Last week we experienced a few days of sub-freezing temperatures. Around here, that is a little unusual, though I do know that a great many of my readers would love to have their days warm up to near freezing conditions this time of year.

So, I’m sitting near the wood stove, sipping a delicious cup of tea, gazing out at my garden, and I begin to take notice of all the color in the conifer garden. The deciduous trees and shrubs have all lost their leaves, any remaining perennials have browned and dropped into piles on the ground, but the conifers are full of deep greens, various shades of grays and blues, rich golden tones and bright yellow – and this is just the first cold-spell of the season. I know that as the temperatures continue to stay colder, I will begin to see plums and purples and pinks and orange tones begin to develop in many of my conifers.

Some of the Colors of Cold
Brrrr.... Some of the Colors of Cold in the Pacific Northwest.

All this color, in addition to the texture of the conifers, create quite a lot of interest in the winter garden. On the rare sunny day this time of year, when the sun is very low in the sky, the colors seem to become intensified by the bright sunlight and the dark shadows that frame plant after plant as the sun moves across the sky. Frosty mornings also add a crisp nuance to the garden, then as the sun begins to warm the plants and the frost melts, wisps of steam may begin to rise adding to the mystery of the winter landscape.

Winter is a wonderful time of year for the conifer garden.

Now I want to ask you, what is the color of cold in your garden?

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Waves of joy

Published on by edremsrola2 Comments

This current surge of cold weather, and its resulting effect on my aching joints, has reminded me how important thick, dense groundcovers are in the garden. I’m aching just thinking about what a huge chore I would have to face every spring and summer if I didn’t utilize some of the all-natural, year-round, hardy and beautiful ground covering qualities of many exciting conifers. I have enough bare space in my garden that weeds still do manage to pose a challenge to me – but there is less of it every year, due in some part to my groundcovers.

When some folks think, coniferous groundcovers, they may envision low growing carpets of Juniper or Taxus – which are fine examples and can be very effective. Other great plants to cover your ground and ornament your space may include any of a great number of weeping conifers from, Pine and Spruce to Hemlocks and firs.

Pinus densiflora 'Pendula'
Like a waterfall, the foliage of Pinus densiflora ‘Pendula’ spills and flows over the ground creating a dense covering to help the fight against weeds.

Some great spreading and ground-covering conifers will, in and of themselves, make fantastic individual specimens, while happily covering bare ground and making less space available for weed seeds to germinate. Others may be much more subtle as they nonchalantly creep and crawl, filling in empty spaces, drape themselves over walls or around rocks, and generally provide a nice low addition of color and texture to the year-round interest of the conifer garden, all while reducing the gardener’s workload.

For example, one great choice is Pinus densiflora ‘Pendula’(Weeping Japanese Red Pine). This delicious bright green pine has long thin needles adorning reddish brown twigs and deeply textured mature bark. If allowed to simply grow naturally, it would build wave upon wave of undulating foliage that mounds and spreads covering as much space as the garden will allow. Most likely found in the independent garden center grafted at a couple feet off the ground or trained on a stake to three or more feet tall, ‘Pendula’ will quickly turn and begin it’s waterfall-like decent to the ground where it will spill and splash and fill in empty space with its lush foliar display. Staked to six or eight feet (or taller) the effect can be absolutely stunning. Keep in mind that the taller the plant is staked, the longer it will take many of the branches to reach the ground and begin to do their job.

Other great choices of ground covering conifers include:
Cedrus deodara ‘Prostrate Beauty’
Cepahalotaxus harringtonia ‘Prostrata’
Juniperus communis ‘Corielagan’
Juniperus conferta ‘Silver Mist’
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Golden Carpet’
Picea abies ‘Pendula’
Picea pungens ‘Procumbens’
Pinus strobus ‘Stony Brook’
Pinus sylvestris ‘Albyn Prostrata’
Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Decorate your Hillside

Published on by edremsrola4 Comments

As far as I am concerned, it is now officially, winter. I know, winter does not officially begin until December 21st, but as soon as we set our clocks back to Pacific Standard Time, the temperature dropped 20 degrees and it seems like it’s dark two hours earlier. Whoever invented the tradition of decorating our homes with thousands of colorful lights for the holidays deserves high honors.

As the cold and darkness of winter engulfs our lives, it is very helpful to see neighborhoods all aglow in festivity. I used to think that people putting their lights up on Thanksgiving weekend were out of their mind. I have to admit though; I sure would like to see some festive lighting now! Of course if my wife finds out about my desire to see the lights go up early this year, I have a feeling the next morning I’ll get up and find a BIG pile of all our lights between me and my morning tea.

I took a quick stroll around my garden this morning between downpours. In the back of my mind I was thinking about which trees my wife might like to see all lit up with her favorite lights. One she always loves me to decorate is our large Picea pungens ‘Montgomery.’ No wonder, he’s a very big boy now and has that fantastic traditional Christmas tree shape. Not far from my ‘Montgomery’ I see another compact conifer that is getting to the size and shape that should please my wife when she sees him full of tiny white lights. 

Picea pungens 'Hillside'
Picea pungens 'Hillside' has a greener tone and is a little more compact that his cousin 'Montgomery' behind and to the right.

Picea pungens ‘Hillside’ is one of my favorite compact Colorado spruce trees. With a growth rate at ½ to ¾ that of ‘Montgomery,’ this dwarf conifer will spend his first 10 or 15 years looking a little more like a roundish mound than a cone-shaped tree, but as he matures, he’ll take on a nice compact pyramidal form. At 30 to 40 years old, the old specimen at Iseli’s display garden is just nine or ten feet tall. Mine is considerably younger but has a good start on its Christmas tree shape, so he’ll look great cloaked in lights. 

‘Hillside’ has more of a greenish tone than some of the other popular dwarf Colorado spruce, many of which sport bright shades of blue. But, who wants all their conifers to be the same color anyway? Not me. I love to see all the varying shades of green and blue (and even yellow) that the Colorado spruce contribute to my garden. 

Yes, I think with the new, low energy-consuming LED Christmas lights available these days, I just may be lighting up my corner of the neighborhood early this year. Maybe I’ll combat winter depression by starting a new tradition with four months of festive holiday lighting from Halloween to Valentine’s Day! 

Ed-
Conifer Lover