Oregonian - TSUGA CANADENSIS-COLES PROSTRATE.jpg
Tsuga canadensis cole's prostrate
(Rick Wetherbee)
Abies koreana 'Starker's Dwarf'
Evergreen attractions are the bones that can make any garden a wonderful four-season refuge for birds and gardeners alike. Conifers not only provide that tempting trio of food, shelter and nesting sites for our backyard feathered friends, but these evergreen attractions also persevere with distinctive beauty and textural charm despite the elements.
Conifers certainly are a standout performer when it comes to good looks, versatility, and wildlife appeal. But what if you do not have the space to grow a stately spruce or full-sized fir?
That is where dwarf conifers come in. These attractive compact versions can easily fit into any size space and meet the challenge for a broad range of landscape needs. And they offer a wide range of shapes and textures along with color options that go beyond your typical shades of green to include yellows and oranges, soothing tones of blue, or variegated needles or scales. Even more important is that they also offer the qualities that birds love.
Bird appeal
Bushy dwarfs as well as pendulous shapes and horizontal spreaders make inviting shelter and feeding sites for many species of wrens, towhees, juncos and other ground-scratching birds. Dwarf trees, shrubs and columnar species also serve as nesting sites for a variety of birds.
As living feeders, the seed-filled cones on spruce, fir, pine and other conifers are especially appealing as food sources for nuthatches, finches, grosbeaks, chickadees and other seed-eating birds. And the berrylike fruits of juniper and yew provide an appealing fruit feast for birds such as waxwings, robins, bluebirds and sparrows.
Naturally the more diminutive of the dwarfs won't provide much benefit to birds as shelter. In fact some grow at an incredibly slow rate of only 1 inch a year, making them better suited to containers, rock gardens or miniature gardens. The key is to select ones that are serviceable to birds yet fit well within the size and style of your landscape. For shelter and nesting purposes, look for species and varieties with upright or drooping growth habits
Setting a scene
Dwarf conifers are a great way to cultivate your creativity. For example, varieties with interesting shapes or forms can be used in place of garden statues. Use columnar types as evergreen Âpillars or columns in a courtyard garden. Or create carpets of color on a slope by combining low-growing or mounding varieties in various colors of gold, orange, blue and green.
Conifers that grow in attractive mounds or are shaped like pyramids are great as structural accents. Two examples are dwarf Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla 'Thorsen's Weeping') and Sawara false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Curly Tops'). Dwarf columnar species, such as Juniperus communis 'Compressa' or Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire', provide intriguing exclamation points of interest in perennial beds or borders.
When setting your own scene, think of conifers as companion plants and accent pieces rather than using them as monocultures of green carpets or an endless row of tight and tedious green pyramids.
Remember that smaller species of dwarf conifers show their best when planted in groups or clumps, and combinations of different textured conifers with existing shrubs and perennials create interesting landscapes. Case in point: wispy ornamental grasses or shrubby perennials with ethereal qualities -- such as artemisia, lavender or Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) -- bring beautiful contrast to a hillside of low-growing conifers.
Getting started
Now is a great time to get your conifers in the ground. Conifers are best planted in fall or winter as long as the air temperature is between 30 and 65 degrees and the ground is not frozen more than a half-inch deep.
Most conifers perform best in a sunny location and slightly acidic soil with good drainage. However yews (Taxus), hemlocks (Tsuga), and some species of false cypress (Chamaecyparis) also perform well in part shade. Foliage color is generally best in full sun for yellow or golden selections. Silver, blue and variegated types usually maintain their best color in partial shade.
As a general rule, keep the soil moderately moist, though junipers (Juniperus), pines (Pinus), and true cedars (Cedrus) easily adapt to dry conditions once they are established. Soils with average to somewhat poor fertility will help encourage dwarf characteristics. I haÂÂÂve found that an application of organic mulch--such as compost, pine needles, shredded bark or leaves -- keeps our conifers well nourished and protected.
Dwarf conifers may be small in size, but they can play a dominate role in your landscape as valuable and versatile resources that supply backyard birds with the wildlife essentials they seek. With a little planning and patience, dwarf conifers will bring more interest and appeal to your landscape with the beauty and function that we all seek.
--Kris Wetherbee
SEVEN DWARF CONIFERS FOR BIRDS
These conifers may be dwarf in size, but they all provide big benefits to birds in the way of seeded cones, berrylike fruit or insects along with year-round shelter and potential nesting sites.
Golden Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold'): Globular shape, with bright golden foliage that turns coppery gold in winter. Grows 3 to 5 feet tall and wide in 10 years.
Starker's Dwarf Korean Fir (Abies koreana 'Starker's Dwarf'): Dense, multi-stemmed mounding form grows 3 to 4 feet tall. Blue-green needles on tiered, horizontal branches.
'Cole's Prostrate Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis 'Cole's Prostrate'); Low spreading habit with cascading branches grows 12 to 15 inches tall and 2 to 4 feet wide.
Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode'): Attractive creeping ground cover with berrylike fruit; Soft, feathery, scale-like foliage is brilliant golden-yellow, turning a golden bronze-plum in winter.
Sawara False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Curly Tops'): Silvery blue foliage with distinctive curled needles; dense and compact globose semi-dwarf cultivar eventually reaches height of 5 feet tall.
Dwarf Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens 'Montgomery'): Intensely blue to silvery blue, dense mound becoming pyramidal to 6 feet tall when mature.
Dwarf Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo 'Slowmound'): Dense, emerald to dark green foliage growing 3 to 4 feet tall and wide in 10 years.