Hobbiton plants of the month, October, 2013

10 years ago

Just back from a great nursery trip through Oregon(where the conifer pulse of America is strong), I picked up some great new conifers. Most tiny babies but in 3-4 years I should have some great photos of some new plants. I'll share a few next month, right now they're still in pots.

Here are some other photos of cultivars I took in October. Enjoy.

Pinus ponderosa 'Margaret' - Discovered by Jerry Morris, named after Rich Eyre's mother(?). This specimen is about six years old, always love the slow growing pines with huge needles.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Knaptonensis' - One of the oldest conifers in my garden, at least by planting age, it's about ten years old. Six years in the ground and stays white all year in 3/4's shade.

Cupressus nootkatensis 'Boyko's Sundown' - Not variegated as many sources list it as, it's a nice bright gold with no burn in a mostly sunny spot in my garden. Often labeled Chamaecyprus nootkatensis, this is one of the most overly confused name in the industry.

Abies forrestii var georgei, with some weeping tendencies.

Juniperus communis 'Horstmann' - A weeping, irregular juniper with plenty of character. About six years old.

Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead' - Ten years old, six feet high.

Picea rubens 'HB' - Really nice, deep green, somewhat upbranching broom. Really underused, rivals most nice Picea abies cultivars. Roughly 15 years old.

Cedrus deodara 'Gold Cascade' - One of the best, slower, golden cedrus cultivars.

Cupressus nootkatensis 'Moonshot'. For me, so far, more narrow than any others including 'Green Arrow' and 'Van Den Akker'. About seven years old, nine feet high.

Cedrus deodara 'Blue Ball' - Grows a little over an inch a year.

Abies delavayi(donation to neighbor)

-Will ...

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Comments (13)

zephyrgal
10 years ago
Nice plants. Which nurseries did you visit? I'm heading to the Oregon Gardens and resort tomorrow and intend to visit nurseries whilst in the valley. Unfortunately, pickings are slim on the north coast.
firefightergardener
Original Author
10 years ago
If you can, for sure drop by both Western Evergreen Nursery(Jason Hupp) and call ahead to see if Conifer Kingdom takes visits. I know both nursery owners and are quickly becoming two of the better options for conifer collectors on either coasts. Both are near Silverton and the Oregon gardens, so it's worth looking into.

-Will
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Hi John, in an effort to keep it friendly, I'm not going to refute your assertion. I've been a member of ACS for 13 years now. I joined in the very first year that I thought conifers were cool. Sara's just gotten going; I believe she's on year 3 and Will's only been going a couple of years beyond that. I guess what I'm getting at is that our organization is a great place to gain experience and education and I believe that quality has a value. Quality is why I buy my plants from specialty growers instead of box stores. I would never speak badly about GW. I've met a lot of friends here and have gotten a lot of information (mostly good, but some bad as well. It's the internet after all). However, I am over-the-moon gaga about the ACS site. It's pretty, the only ads are from conifer growers and there's a certain comradery knowing that everybody on the site is either a professional grower, a scholar in the field of conifers, or a really serious amateur. I hope over time we get scores of "newbies" who join our association for the same reason that they'd pay tuition to attend a fine college. $38 a year. That gets me: o full access to the website o the privilege to attend awesome conferences and meetings. o the Conifer Quarterly - a really cool publication o the seed program and Conifer of the Year Program o and probably a few other things that I've forgotten To me, all that is worth way more than $38. BTW, lifetime membership is only $1000. If I was a bit younger, that's the way I'd go, but I did the math. Well, you know. . . . I hope we're all good here. I'm not going anywhere. I just know where I need to focus my energy. Peace. ~Dave
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dansgrdn
10 years ago
I really enjoy your conifers of the month Will! That bed of fallen maple leaves really gives an artistic backdrop to the Cryptomeria and I'm always envious of, and enjoy seeing Cedrus deodara cultivars.

Dan

This post was edited by dansgrdn on Tue, Oct 29, 13 at 18:54
zephyrgal
10 years ago
Thanks for tip Will. Conifer Kingdom was a for sure and good to know about Western Evergreen. I hope to get some treats for my new garden.
whaas_5a
10 years ago
Nice pics, thanks for sharing!

Its actually confusing because Pinus ponderosa 'Margaret' is named after his mother but then he named another selection Picea pungens 'Margarita'. Margarita being her legal name and then I assume she went by Margaret.
miclino
10 years ago
Nice! Great to see as always. That pic with the cryptomeria is fantastic
miclino
10 years ago
Are you pruning the thunderhead to keep it from getting wide?
eneref
10 years ago
Love the shots. With the maple above it obviously shedding its leaves for the winter, does the Knaptonensis get more sun in winter? How does it fare?

I have one in 'high shade' from an oak most of the year, but in winter, the angle of the sun gives it shade from the house more of the time. It never gets that white, alas. But it still looks lovely.
123cococo
10 years ago
Simply beautiful. Have always been a fan of your pictures.
alley_cat_gw_7b
10 years ago
Always a treat ! Thanks Will !

Al
alley_cat_gw_7b
10 years ago
Always a treat ! Not just your photos, but the descriptions as well.
Thanks Will

Al
outback63 Dennison
10 years ago
What a great selection of cultivars. Killer stuff.

"Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead' - Ten years old, six feet high".

There must be a great variance in growth and color in this cultivar. Maybe dependent on where you live and the micro-climate. Does yours get a full 8 hours of sun? I am thinking yours does not. Mine new candle growth extension of 12-14 inches this year.

Mine is 10-12 years old. 8' tall x 7' wide and dark green in color. Yes it does drop a tremendous amount of needles every fall and I wait for a hard freeze, which has not occurred, to take on this unwanted clean out job.

Thanks for posting.

Dave
firefightergardener
Original Author
10 years ago
Dave, made out a photo time-lapse for you. My specimen gets about 10 hours of direct sun in Summer. Not quite 100%, but a LOT of sun, 3/4's for sure.

Perhaps there are subtle differences in growth rates per area but everything I've heard is that most pines grow faster here not slower.

Miclino, I haven't done a thing to my 'Thunderhead' except an occasional needle shake out.

Eneref, my 'Knaptonensis' doesn't seem to burn to much ever but this specimen is somewhat protected even in Winter by two large evergreens. That said, we just don't see much sun in Winter. Those unfamiliar with it would be shocked but the true rains of the Pacific Northwest come in late Autumn/Winter. We MIGHT have 2-3 days where it's mostly sunny in the entire 4-5 month span. It's ugly.

Thanks for the comments folks, I'll keep sharing these photos over the years, even if my displeasure with the advertisement on GW has hit it's peak.

-Will

Hobbiton plants of the month, October, 2013

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Hobbiton plants of the month, October, 2013

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