Hobbiton conifers of the week, May 21st

11 years ago

Another week, some great sunshine and now thankful for some rain. Creates bright photography too so here's another batch of plants as Spring surges into Summer.

Pinus mugo 'Rodda' - Very compact small dwarf(about 3 centimeters a year), and has a distinct look to it.

Picea orientalis 'Ferny Creek Prostrate' - Almost a groundcover though it grows very slowly too. Maybe 3-5 inches a year peak in all directions but up.

Pinus uncinata 'Kovarska' - Very compact, less then an inch a year, this perfect ball is about eight years old.

Picea abies 'Dandylion' - A Bob Fincham cross of Picea abies 'Pusch' and 'Gold Drift'. Some great bright gold growth, and a few signs that cones are coming already. Wild form.

Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Fretsii' VERY distinct foliage, grows between four and eight inches a year. A nice dark green color.

Closeup.

Thuja occidentalis 'Teddy' - Not quite the amazing mound of 'moss' like Stephen's plant at Foxhollow, yet still neat, this ball of fuzz has been unbroken by snow/rain because of the protection from above by a larger doug fir.

Sciadopitys verticillata 'Ossorio's Gold' - Really bright and graceful and one of my most cherished conifers.

One big ass hosta(Sum and Substance), because it was amongst the photos.

Picea abies 'Argenteaspica' - One of the best contrasting Spring plants I have, the color holds here in the Pacific Northwest for 8-10 weeks before mellowing out in late Summer to a beige-green. This is a good example of a plant I will keep at almost any cost - I'll simply prune or remove those around it. The great ones will stay, the lesser ones will be moved to the botanical garden or the compost pile.

Abies koreana 'Gait' - Doing it's thing(coning at an early age, conical, narrow growth). Chase one down...

Closeup.

Abies procera [Hupp's Seedling #4] - More observations of these four dwarf/miniature seedlings from Drake's Crossing nursery, discovered by Jason Hupp. If they turn out nice(and consistent), expect to see them introduced and offered at some point down the road.

Acer palmatum 'Sharp's Pygmy'. A great little dwarf, about ten years old(5 in the ground), less then a meter wide and tall and NO pruning. A nice burgundy red in Autumn.

The view from my upstairs study. Life is good(and colorful!)

-Will

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Comments (15)

ghgwv
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Great pictures. Just had to google Picea abies 'Argenteaspica'. No one seems to have it.
Gary
firefightergardener
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hmm, well it might help if I spell it right. I have both 'Argenteaspica' and 'Argenteospica'. Google shows 'Argenteospica' so unless Edwin corrects me, I'll go with that spelling 'ArgenteOspica'. Sorry. :)

-Will
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Wow, thank you for the flattering comments. My gardens are chaos and overwhelming to most gardeners, but I am glad some of my conehead forum buddies enjoy them. Ritmass, I'm in Washington state, near Seattle. TJ, that's a GREAT looking specimen and still wonderfully dwarf to my eyes. Looks to be 15-20 years old as well. I can only hope mine looks that nice down the road. Edwin, you're correct, it's the neighbors, who stubbornly insists on an acre of turf. Moles, watering, brown messy turf in late Summer. Fertilizer, mowing, I just don't get it but to each their own. I DO love the 'Elegantissima' as well and it will remain in my lower gardens and I'll move others out of it's way(or prune it up ever so slightly). Dave, I don't actually get popups but as Alex alluded to, it's the shrinkening of the photo space that annoys me, and most of it, once the adds at the upper portion of the screen are gone, is 40% blank! I don't use a 'smartphone', and find them still pretty dumb but I do understand their cattering to the masses. It just makes me a little less eager to post photos and visit their site. I'm not going anywhere though. Fine people like you guys and gals keep me here. -Will
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Heya Matt. Many of the conifer in pots have been in there five years now. I am planning on leaving many of them in pots until their tops don't allow it. I figure the largest pots can probably contain them for a decade, even if it's not a perfect soil/root setting. They don't need water too often. I don't prune the roots at ALL. The potting mix has been simply a combination of some bark fines, sand and top soil/other soils. Nothing overly special and it seems to drain OK. We regularly get 30 inches of rain in the wet months and they seem to be just fine. -Will
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severnside
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very nice plants again.

Your 'Gait' is looking fine, it's leader really is trunklike now. I'd say at the end of this season it'll look like a minature version of the complete form.
coniferjoy
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Will, it's Picea abies 'Argenteospica' which is now one of the high lights in my Pinetum.
It shows it's white new growth for about 3 weeks!

"Picea abies 'Dandylion' - A Bob Fincham cross of Picea abies 'Pusch' and 'Gold Drift'."
Not completely true, it's a cross between Picea abies 'Acrocona' and Picea abies 'Gold Drift'...

Please rename Pinus parviflora 'Kim-po' into 'Kin-po'.
Thanks!
Cher
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Fantastic Will. What stunning color. The Sciadopitys verticillata 'Ossorio's Gold' is superb. That Dandylion is superb also, color is gorgeous. Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Fretsii' you list as dark green, but I can see some gold mixed in there - very nice.

Overall a really beautiful setting and your Japanese Maples are just as gorgeous also.
Cher
botann
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It looks like you're getting a lot of new growth this season....and it's just starting!
The rain we are having now is really appreciated after that two week dry spell we just had.
I like that Sciadopitys v. 'Ossorios Gold'. Sure looks nice. My species Japanese Umbrella Pine was 12 ft. (4 meters) tall. Now it's 6 ft. (2 meters) tall due to the ice storm I had last winter up here in the hills. :-(
Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Fretsii' doesn't even look like a Pseudotsuga. Had me fooled, although that's not hard to do.
Mike
severnside
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It does look more like an Abies...
coniferjoy
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The 'Fretsii' is a true cultivar of Pseudotsuga menziesii.
It's a Dutch seedling selection found in 1905 by Mr. Frets from Boskoop.
gary77788
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow! you have an icredibly beautiful garden.Picea abies 'Argenteaspica' is my fav.Am jealous :)
dietzjm
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
They are all awesome, Will. Thanks for doing this!
dcsteg
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Will...the man with many cultivars

If I want to see what's new in the world of conifer cultivars I know who to visit.

Thanks for posting your collection.

Dave
whaas_5a
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Will, very nice. Have you been doing alot of transplanting? Looks like things are starting to look more refined!

I have a feeling there is going to be a run on that Picea abies plant!
tunilla
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Great show! Thanks T.
coniferjoy
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gary, didn't you red my post?
It's Picea abies 'Argenteospica' instead of 'Argenteaspica'...
Just another example how wrong spelled conifer names could be spread very quickly!
harv2016
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Some outstanding plants,really like the first mugo

Hobbiton conifers of the week, May 21st

Comments (15)

ghgwv

firefightergardener
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Hobbiton conifers of the week, May 21st

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