Your Garden: More dwarf conifers to check out

This is the second of two columns on dwarf conifers suitable for gardens in our region. Some are rare and hard to find. Keep your eyes open for them in area garden centers. Most of these can be found on the internet. Iseli Nursery in Oregon grows many of these and may be able to help you locate sources for others. Their phone number is 800-777-6202

False cypresses

• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold.' Bright yellow foliage with shape reminiscent of a fern frond. Similar to 'Tetragona Aurea,' but with broader and denser growth. Reaches 10 feet in 10 years. My specimen has reached 2 feet from a rooted cutting in six years.
• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana.' One of the most diminutive forms of Hinoki cypress. 'Nana' is the perfect miniature conifer. Its dark green foliage is tightly congested, forming a tiny mound of year around color. Grows less than 2 inches per year.
• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Aurea.' A good gold selection, with growth tighter than 'Aurea,' faster than 'Nana Lutea.' New growth a bright gold. Interior, shaded foliage is green. This grows well for me with half a day of sun. Grows as broad as tall. Reaches 4 feet in 10 years.
• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis.' The most popular dwarf Hinoki. Irregularly globose, developing an upright habit with age. Dark-green, compact foliage. Partial shade or full sun. Reaches 4 feet in 10 years. I brought this with me when I moved here from Virginia. It is less than 4 feet tall and exceptionally beautiful. It has been pruned only once, when a pine tree limb fell and damaged it.
• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Lutea.' A compact, slow-growing, golden yellow selection which is very popular. A yellow counterpart to 'Nana Gracilis.' Reaches 4 feet in 10 years.
• Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Snowkist.' A good rock garden accent with a habit lower than 'Nana Gracilis' and slower. Dark green with creamy-white variegated patches. Very neat and showy. Does not burn in full sun. Reaches 3 feet in 10 years.
• Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Mops.' A low, mounding form with brilliant gold, thread-like foliage. Grow in full sun for best color. Reaches 4 feet in 10 years.
• Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Sungold.' Has bright yellow new growth and strong lime-green mature foliage. Growth habit similar to 'Aurea Nana' but twice as tall. Reaches 5 feet in 10 years. I have had this about 17 years. It is about 7 feet tall now.
• Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Pin Cushion.' Golden dwarf moss cypress. Very slow-growing, spreading, velvety bun. Prized for rock gardens. Best color in full sun. Seldom exceeds 3 feet.
• Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera 'Aurea Nana.' A golden form of the thread branch cypress. Foliage is yellow on tips and green inside. Will grow into an irregular mound. Grow in full sun for best color. 3-6" per year. 3-5 ft. Yellow Globose Full sun. -30 to -20 F
• Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera 'Aureovariegata' A variegated form of the thread branch cypress with a mounding form and strong bicolor effect of green and creamy-golden yellow. Grows 3 feet in 10 years.

Cryptomeria

• Cryptomeria japonica 'Vilmoriniana.' A popular dwarf form of the Japanese cedar with a very dense, round shape. Needles are light-to-medium green, turning bronze-purple in winter. Grows to 3 feet in 10 years. I have grown this in eastern Virginia and in Fayetteville. It is lovely both places. Cryptomerias in any size are among the most beautiful conifers that can be grown here.
• Cryptomeria japonica 'Black Dragon.' Very dark needles and strongly upright growth make this very distinctive. The dark needles contrast with yellow growth buds. Mine has grown no more than 7 feet tall in 12 years. One of my favorites.
• Cryptomeria japonica 'Nana.' Very slow growing with foliage just like many of the larger forms, but in scale with the small plant. This soft, fluffy little 2-foot high ball is lost among a bunch a other larger plants. Give it some room to show off.

Junipers

• Juniperus chinensis 'Saybrook Gold.' The intense, brilliant yellow color is the reason to include this spreading juniper in the garden. Open-growing, exposing woody brown branches, making it an attractive juniper on rockery walls. Spreads about 12 feet wide in 10 years and reaches about 8 feet tall.
• Juniperus chinensis 'Shimpaku.' A popular cultivar for bonsai and a fine garden plant. Finely textured foliage, with a robust, green color, forms a sturdy vase shaped plant. Reaches 6 feet in 10 years.
• Juniperus procumbens 'Nana.' Tight growth with primarily juvenile foliage produces a dense, full carpet that is glaucous-green in color. Useful for cascading over rocks and walls. Exceptional for bonsai. Spreads about 6 feet in 10 years. Never much over 10 inches high.
• Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Blue Weeping.' This airy, open tree has unusual grey-green, mane-like foliage that hangs gracefully from arching, pendulous branches. It is grown staked upright and makes a choice specimen for hot, sunny areas. Easily exceeds 10 feet in 10 years when staked.
• Juniperus communis 'Compressa.' This is an extremely beautiful, compact, narrow, conical plant. Grows extremely slow in the rock garden, making it an unsurpassed miniature, spire-shaped conifer in perfect scale with other choice rockery plants.Reaches up to 5 feet in 10 years. Sometimes damaged by ice storms if not protected.
• Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet.' A mutation of 'Meyeri,' 'Blue Carpet' has its parent's same sharp, pointed blue needles, but differs in habit with a low and spreading form. This plant is a real 'knockout' for any landscape. Reaches 3 feet high and 10 feet wide in 10 years.
• Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star.' 'Blue Star' is immensely popular. As broad as high, the short branches form a star-like appearance. A witch's broom selection from 'Meyeri' found in Holland about 1950. Grows about 2 feet tall and wide in 15 years in my poor soil. I have seen it 4 feet tall in the Piedmont where the soil has been enriched.
• Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode.' A bright, golden yellow sport of 'Wiltoni,' 'Mother Lode' holds bright color all summer in full or partial sun. Fall brings a deep yellow-orange becoming tinged with plum by winter for all-season attraction. Use as a focal point, draping over stone, or mass planting as a golden carpet. This looks beautiful in rocky niches around my koi pond. Spreads about 7 feet in 10 years.
• Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltoni.' Widely considered to be the finest blue carpeting juniper. The scale-like foliage is very dense, making it an outstanding ground cover plant. Spreads up to 10 feet in 10 years.
• Juniperus x-media 'Old Gold.' A sport that is much more compact than its parent 'Pfitzeriana Aurea.' Soft, thin, scale-like foliage with a golden color throughout the plant, giving an overall lacy appearance. Grows 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide in 10 years.
• Juniperus x-media 'Sea Green.' 'Sea-Green' is a rich, mid-green with light green growing tips. A densely-foliaged conifer with both scale and needle foliage (scale predominating). Its arching growth forms a spreading, vase shape. Spreads to about 6 feet in 10 years, reaching 5 feet high

Arborvitaes

• Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget.' The soft green foliage of 'Hetz Midget' grows in layered sprays. Slow-growing and compact in form. Makes a globe about 4 feet tall and wide in 10 years.
• Thuja occidentalis 'Sunkist.' This bright yellow form is a real showstopper. 'Sunkist' grows naturally in a broad compact pyramid but yearly shearing in summer can enhance all characteristics. Reaches 8 feet in 10 years.
• Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost.' This slow growing, broad upright cultivar has foliage tips brushed a light creamy-white color. On a clear winter day the variegated foliage sparkles in the winter landscape. Best planted in full to partial sun. This hardy compact conifer is particularly useful as a color accent. It reaches 5 feet in 10 years

Send your comments and questions to roger@mercergarden.com or call 424-4756. You may send plant and pest samples to Roger Mercer, 6215 Maude St., Fayetteville NC 28306. Please include your telephone number.