First conifer in your garden?

16 years ago

Have you ever been asked, "What first got you interested in collecting conifers?". People have asked me this on more than one occasion. I remember first being attracted to a picture of Picea abies 'Acrocona' and was thrilled to find one at a local nursery for a reasonable price. I think this was probably the first conifer in my "collection". It wasn't until I constructed my original waterfall and wanted to landscape around it that I got really addicted. I spent a year collecting conifers for the project and when the project was done I couldn't shake the "bug" and 10 eventually became 200. It's probably a good thing that I don't have more space. I'm curious what got everyone else started or what was the first conifer in your garden?

Here's mine,I guess you'd call it a sentimental favorite.Dan

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Comments (33)

conifers
16 years ago
Moving to Portland, OR. Working at a nursery... carrying around my 'Sunset Western Garden Book' day and night and just being in awe of the local landscaping along with the massive or impressive conifers, in the Pacific Northwest...

I remember my first purchase from Stanley and Sons when I was at the nursery and I ordered 8 or 9 Juniperus pfitzeria 'Daub's Frosted' & a Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Juniperoides Aurea' but that's about the extent of what I can remember. My first order was more than one box.

A girl I worked with in Portland asked me (at a garden center)... so what do you like when you walk around the nursery? The Trees I said. And then she handed me a Rhus with fire engine red fall foliage and she said to me, 'this is a good one for bonsai.'

I've never stopped since then. That was 1998. They/these conifers are still on my mind each and every day. Some people just live and breathe this stuff and I am one of these people.

Dax
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greenlarry
16 years ago
Well I suppose my first one was actually 3 Leylandii that I had as payment for a job but I hated them cos they were a pain to cut back every year. Later when they got too big I chopped em down. Zoom forward many years and I got too job as a gardener all round my town and part of it was in a large victorian park full of big trees. 2 of them were ancient Wellingtonias planted in 18 something. They impressed me and I began reading up about the big red woods etc(one day I'd like to come to the US to see them in their native home). Those are the conifers I really like,big magnificent beasties. I don't really get steamed up about the tiny garden conifers but I find the way conifers have adapted fascinating. They are primitive,primeval,and I like such things,its why I prefer ferns to flowers. Even horsetails fascinate me. I love the things that have survived against the odds and are still here,still inspiring us,and the big conifers do that big style. Now I have one conifer in my garden,a Goldcrest ,all alone but with room to reach for the sky.
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dcsteg
16 years ago
Beautiful Dan. I can see why it's your sentimental favorite. It would be mine too.

My first conifer that got me started was Picea alcoquiani 'Bicolor'. Formally called Picea bicolor 'Howells Dwarf'. While this is not my favorite it certainly is at the top of my list in sentimental value.

I won't go into my story as most of you know it's in the last issue of the ACS Conifer Quarterly.

Dave

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
picea pungens 'glauca pendula' and larix kaempferi 'diana' .... LARGE PLANTS ... 20 gal pots ... nursery going out of business so a yuppie fruit market could be installed ...

both lived in the large pots for 2 years... sunk into the ground.. because i knew i would be moving .... they did just peachy ....

here they are today .... ken

the pungens.. seems to have some plan on the left side ... we will wait a few years to see if it is reverting back to an upright .... or just meandering uphill .... either way .. i don't need another regular, upright p.pungens .... so it will be encouraged to pendulize??? ... lol ... and all the twiglets behind .. real knack for making up words today .. are volunteer wild cherries .... they are to be thinned.. or transplanted soon ....

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below .... being one of my oldest.. and frankly a fave ... i planted it too close to the patio.. blocking out bunches of things behind it.. so this summer.. i took out the leader in the middle .... so i could get the looking glass effect.. as you well know.. the weirder the better... lol ... suffered miserably this summer with 6 weeks of near 100 degrees .. REAL STINKIN HOT in metric.. lol .. and drought for the entire time .... as did most of the larches in the yard ...

and that koraiensis OD ... in the middle of the looking glass, way back ... which is a carp OD .. might have to go also ... blocking a view of another 30 plants .... man i really learned the hard way .. that dwarf doesn't mean small .... or that an OD is necessarily smaller ... i do have another p. k. OD ... as i have know for a while that this ones days are numbered ... anyone need a 12 foot koraiensis xmas tree ...

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Luv My Conifers
16 years ago
Ok, that does it. I am going out right now to dig a big conifer bed in the middle of our backyard (to hide all our septic tank covers, etc.)!! Seriously, I am thinking of doing that next spring... just haven't come up with a "plan" yet.

Our conifers are pretty much disbursed amongst our more formal professional landscaping (which we had to give up our first-born to pay for... just kidding! lol). But I would say it was the Weeping Alaskan Cedar that really did it for me! (sorry my brain is just not thinking in Latin today!) ;)
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
who needs grass .... buy generic round up ... spray the grass ..... week later.. spray it again .. week later ... 30 yards of cedar wood chips .... and you are all set ... lol

ken
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redwingconifer
16 years ago
Hi Dan-

Nice topic! My first conifer was a Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Leprechaun'. It was purchased as a 1 gallon plant about 5 years ago. I remember finding out about a nursery called Arrowhead Alpines and decided to go visit them. It was while I was strolling along looking at their non-conifer stuff that I happened to catch sight of some strange little trees. The thing that attracted me to them was the huge variety and different gardening possibilities that was possible with them for my zone.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Leprechaun'
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shannon
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conifers
16 years ago
Anyone have any ideas? Or I should say, plants! 6 acres of joy...

Check out my new "space."

Dax

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dcsteg
16 years ago
Dax, believe it or not the fun is just beginning to happen. Whatever was in the past is gone. A fresh start with everything new except the LAB.

Dave
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ospreynn
16 years ago
Funny, all of you need more room.. I have more than 10 acres, but no possible candidates... very difficult to find conifers that will like it in here, so sad....

osprey
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kim_dirtdigger
16 years ago
My initial "Awakening" occurred 2 summers ago when on a garden walk I was literally stopped in my tracks when I came around a corner and saw a 20' Metasequoia glyp. 'Ogon' ('Gold Rush'), perfectly placed in front of a grouping of green conifers. What was that tree? I HAD to have one, and it was not available locally. Began searching the internet, found one at a retail nursery 3 hours away, drove up to get it (at which point my husband really thought I'd lost it), that nursery carried all kinds of really cool and different "evergreens" which I previously had no clue existed, came home with a truckload, and the 'Addicted Conifer Syndrome' thus began!! Before then, all "evergreens" pretty much looked the same to me.

I now categorize the part of my life before that time as "B.C." (before Conifers), a word I had probably not even used before then. And "ACS" is apparently contageous, because my husband has now caught it too.

So, my first was the 'Ogon', and still a favorite, but a whole new world has opened up since then. I'm still amazed at how this conifer thing does grab you heart and soul.
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Luv My Conifers
16 years ago
LOL! I like that acronym Kim! B.C. WOW, you mean it CAN be contagious?!?!?!? Please tell how! My hubby still doesn't see the difference between a Dawn Redwood and an Elm tree! lol
Laura
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conifers
16 years ago
I had a dream last night that my black lab got burs stuck in him. Now I realize that's not possible. I always realized it actually. I'm ready to get this whatever I'm doing, happening.

Dax
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dansgrdn
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks everybody for sharing your intro to conifer gardening. Ken, I love that P.p. 'Glauca Pendula', very impressive looking. Shannon I'm really impressed how good your C.o.'Leprechaun' looks, I haven't had much luck with the obtusas, thanks for sharing the pic. Dave your article in the Conifer Quarterly was great!
At he risk of getting some major abuse for how close my stuff is planted to my house, here's another picture of a "sentimental" favorite. Picea glauca 'Pendula'.Dan
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
for the newbie.. they should always be told that foundation plantings should NOT be planted at the foundation .. but away from such to hide the foundation .. because most of them.. will never go back and move them.. when they are growing in the gutters..

on the other hand.. we are sure.. you will have no qualms of moving out a plant that just got too big for its space ... or... just re digging the fountain on your day off.. lol

it didnt even cross my mind to say you jammed too much stuff in there.. but now that you mention it.. rotf ....

have a great day

ken
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Luv My Conifers
16 years ago
Looks awesome, Dan! Is that a Weeping Alaskan Cedar lurking back there, trying to sneak into your house? ;) Very nice! I like the one in the front right also.... looks like a Japanese white pine?
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kvolk
16 years ago
Dan,
I love the color combinations on the view of the house. It reminds me of some of the pictures from "Gardening With Conifers" by Bloom
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bluespruce53
16 years ago
dan, dave, ken, and Shannon - Keep'em comming,
Picea glauca Pendula, I can't believe it's practically unknown in the UK.
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kadasuki
16 years ago
Here is my 3 year old Carolina Cypress with my 6'2" husband. It's grown from a 3' 1 gal plant to probably 20' in 3 years. It is fabulous and I love the sage green color when everything behind it is bare and brown in the winter.
Kat
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pineresin
16 years ago
"Picea glauca Pendula, I can't believe it's practically unknown in the UK"

Probably because the species is poorly adapted to the UK climate; I've rarely seen any decent specimens of Picea glauca at all here. They get to look very ratty after a few mild winters with heavy infestation by Elatobium aphids. Much better where winters regularly get below -8Â°C and kill off the aphids.

Resin
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greenlarry
16 years ago
Does the type do better,or does P.glauca in general need a cold winter to do well. Must admit I'm not keen on the thin weeping types like this one,I think they look wrong,weak.
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pineresin
16 years ago
"Does the type do better,or does P.glauca in general need a cold winter to do well"

The species in general does badly here.

Another problem with it is that our mild winters tempt it into spring growth too early (March-early April), and the tender new shoots then get hit by a late frost.

I've seen one or two good specimens (e.g. in an upland shelterbelt in the Cheviots, where the longer, colder winters help), but they're very much the exception that proves the rule.

Resin
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Luv My Conifers
16 years ago
Kat, OMG! I would love to see that pic. It did not show up, so could you please post it here? I have three 3-footers recently planted and would love to see how mine might possibly look in 3 years! I am looking forward to watching mine grow, as they are really gorgeous!
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dansgrdn
Original Author
16 years ago
Greenlarry,you may not annoy Ken, but you're starting to annoy me. You seem to have a comment about just about everything.I'm all for a newbie trying to aquire knowledge, but I've never seen someone offer so many posts and opinions on this forum with so little knowledge about conifers. I'm still trying to catch up with the experts on this forum 4 yrs and 200+ conifers later. As for my "wrong and week" Picea glauca 'Pendula', here's a picture of it in the Spring. (to the right, in case you can't tell) Looks pretty healthy to me.

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Now if you'd said the Pinus thunbergii 'Beni kujaka',in the center looked week, I'd have to agree with you. Dan
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bluespruce53
16 years ago
Greenlarry, is resin working you from the back ?
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redwingconifer
16 years ago
Dan-

I would agree that your P.g. 'Pendula' looks great. Is the small, dark green conifer to the left and rear of the P.t. 'Beni Kujaka' a Pinus leucodermis 'Mint Truffle' or 'Irish Bell'?

On another subject- although the minor bickering over species conifers vs "garden/landscape" conifers can be amusing at times, it has started getting old. The insults on this and other threads lately make me wonder if it is time for GW to split the Conifers forum. One dedicated to straight species/forestry and the other could be cultivars for gardening/landscaping. Any thoughts?

shannon
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greenlarry
16 years ago
Sorry for being enquiring,I'll find somewhere else. Oh i forgot,there are no other conifer forums. See you guys
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dansgrdn
Original Author
16 years ago
Shannon, the conifer you asked about is 'Irish Bell'. I like its foliage better than 'Mint Truffle' because it is darker green, denser and grows slower. Although you gotta love the name. As for the subject of splitting the forum, I would have no problem with that. Don't get me wrong, I love trees. If I had more space I'd plant a bunch more, coniferous and deciduous. I love the photos of big majestic conifers and if I had the space I'd plant them. But alas I don't. Sometimes you can't win on this forum. If you plant a conifer that gets big you get the comment "Looks good now, but it will outgrow its space in twenty years" comment and if you plant a dwarf you get criticized for planting a "mutant" plant. Bottom line is I love gardening and conifers and I try to share photos of my passion with other people that are passionate about it. I think the controversy comes from the fact that the "species" people sometimes feel like they have to interject into every thread. I get it, they like big trees, I like big trees too but don't have the space. As passionate as they are about species conifers so are we about our cultivars. We're just tired of taking crap every time we post a photo of something we like and want to share it with someone else who might like it too. Well, those are my "thoughts", you're probably sorry you asked now huh?:) At least its my thread, so I'm not hijacking it, this honesty stuff is very liberating:) Have a good weekend, Dan
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greenlarry
16 years ago
Oh which one would it be Dan.........oh it must be the green thing on the right,the one that looks wrong! Oh come on guys,get a life,or get laid one or the other! Christ just because I think it looks wrong doesn't mean it is,its called an op in ion. BTW you spelled weak wrong
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bluespruce53
16 years ago
Larry, Get a grip! constructive criticism is fine by me, its all those stupid inane remarks about dwarf conifers that some of you make that bugs me.
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dansgrdn
Original Author
16 years ago
Greenlarry, I also spelled acquire wrong, thanks for the spellcheck:). Guess your departure from the forum was shortlived LOL, a whole hour and twenty minutes. I wrote my original response to your post after the Cubs were swept in the playoffs and I had one too many Guinnesses in me. Guess I took it personally. You're right you are entitled to your opinion. For some reason your last post cracked me up instead of offending me. Go figure.
Rather than let this go down a unproductive road, I'd like to extend an olive branch and call a truce. Dan
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greenlarry
16 years ago
No problem Dan,I didn't realise so many of you enjoyed Guinness! Do you get it on tap over there?(its not the same in a can) As for the olive branch I'll take it and strike it as a cutting to replace the one that died on me ;)
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Luv My Conifers
16 years ago
Well good! I'm glad that's over with now. As far as splitting into 2 different forums... that probably wouldn't work anyway... The same people would probably be on both! LOL! So.... "to each his own", right?

Now, let's see some more gorgeous pics here! :)

BTW, Dan, I guess I will just have to admire that Pinus radiata Aurea from afar....
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