Cool Conifers Continued

Posted in Gardening Tips on January 4 2011, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

Last week we took a look at some of the more unusual conifers that grace the entrance of the Benenson Ornamental Conifer Collection at The New York Botanical Garden. This week, I am going to go for some homeowner appeal and discuss miniature and dwarf conifers.

The American Conifer Society classifies conifers by growth rate: miniature conifers grow less than one inch per year, dwarf conifers grow 1-6 inches per year, intermediate conifers grow 6-12 inches per year and large conifers grow more than a foot per year.

Miniature and dwarf conifers are basically trees disguised as shrubs – they can snuggle up to your perennials in an unobtrusive way and are wonderful additions to your container gardens. You often see the botanical epithet ‘nana’ attached to cultivar names – it means dwarf.

In the perennial garden, dwarf conifers provide winter interest. They give a nice permanent structure to the plantings. Many of the conifers have a graceful, architectural structure that flows effortlessly and mingles gregariously in amongst the drifts of perennials.

Green conifers provide a soothing backdrop for many of the fiery colors in the perennial garden. Glaucus or silvery-blue conifers add cool contrast while golden-tipped conifers contribute to the heat and exuberance of the colorful displays.

One of the stars of the perennial garden is a Montgomery blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Montgomery’). It has stiff glaucus foliage and a nice round to pyramidal shape. It contrasts beautifully with the green foliage of its neighbors adding sparkle to the garden and looks luxurious when paired with orange or red flowers.

In the hot room of our perennial garden we have a wonderful specimen Sawara cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) and Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). The semi-dwarf golden threadleaf Sawara cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’) grows slowly in a mounding form and has bright golden pendulous branches that look like golden threads. It will eventually grow to a larger size but is easy to prune.

A conifer that requires no pruning in your garden is the dwarf Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica ‘Mushroom’). This is another wispy little fellow with delicate needles. It has soft green foliage in spring and summer that colors into autumnal russet tones in the fall and winter. This conifer anchors one of the corners in a bed in the perennial garden’s hot room.

Next week we will look at ornamental conifers and their use as container plants.