What is a Good Container Dwarf Conifer?
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5Related Discussions
Conifers in containers - contains photos
Comments (2)Thanks for the reply. Yes the color of new growth is a beautiful bright green. They sure seem to enjoy the gritty mix! Thanks Al and everyone on the forum for all of your advice and support. Eventually I'd like to plant these trees on our property, but that may take a while, at least another couple of years. Until then, they'll stay in containers with the gritty mix. I'll have to pot them up next spring and do some root pruning for sure. Thanks for your interest. Dave...See MoreDwarf conifers for Colorado - Denver Metro area
Comments (48)Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive. Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring: Abies balsamea 'Nana' Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Picea abies 'Tompa' Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice) Picea pungens 'The Blues' Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis' Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb) Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well: Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant... The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year. I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine. So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.') Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D Holly...See MoreWhere can I buy some good dwarf conifers?
Comments (20)Now, after doing some thinking I am going to not be using a Horsfords dwarf. I need a little different needle structure as I was looking at its placement. It will be beside a pinus parviflora (not even sure of the name as I lost it) but I think it is Miyajima (10 or more years in only 2' by 1' with blue green needles. Anyway I want something different in needle structure beside it. I am needing something small again as I only have around 40" to work with in depth. I was thinking the picea orientalis Barnes. I have one and it has really done well here. I live in western Kansas which is a semi desert with heat and cold. Avg rain is under 20". I have created a different microclimate and have an irrigation system also, so most plants can survive for me. This area won't get more than 4-5 hours of direct sun but very bright light most of the time. Any ideas from all you experts would really be appreciated. Also, now that I am getting springs cleaning work done I tore out an old conifer that was getting a little scraggly. I am wanting something that is very low growing and will be placed in between two pines, Riverside gem and Jane Kluis. Again would anyone have any of your wonderful suggestions from the wealth of knowledge of seeing these things for all the years you have been growing them. I am the only person in my town of 5000 that grows dwarf conifers. In fact I bet you could find a handul of people in the whole half of western Kansas that even tries. I have a vast collection of them but am always wanting something new. I have had to tear out some in the last few years that have overgrown their area and I am going to fill that area in also. I am going to focus on the two areas in my back yard first though. I hope I have explained well enough and not confuse anyone so I can tap into that wealth of knowledge you all have. Thanks....See MoreRe-Bitten by the Dwarf Conifer Bug
Comments (17)Before the Great Recession of 2008 hit, Regan Nursery carried a very good collection of mature maples. They even had some good (and very pricey) specimens of conifers, but their collection of high value plants shrank noticeably when the recession hit hard and their collection still has not recovered to pre-recession levels. All this is also true of Berkeley Horticultural. Alden Lane in Livermore also had some nice conifers before the recession and again Alden Lane's conifers stock dropped like a rock since the recession. There are a few still decent places in the Bay Area to shop for dwarf conifers. One is East Bay Nursery in Berkeley and the other is Armstrong Garden Centers in Dublin. What I particularly like about East Bay Nursery is they will special order plants for you, but you will have to prepay the order. Most other nurseries don't even bother with taking special orders. If you are willing to expand your definition of the greater Bay Area, then Pond and Garden located in Cotati (which is located midway between Petaluma and Santa Rosa) is THE preeminent nursery to visit to shop for high quality dwarf conifers. Their selection of dwarf conifers is simply unmatched. Pond and Garden easily has four to five times the varieties of high quality conifers carried by East Bay nursery. Most of Pond and Garden's conifers come from Iseli. It's really worth the drive up to Cotati if you are as nuts about dwarf conifers as I am. As is true of all nurseries carrying conifers, they receive deliveries from the Oregon growers around October, so their selection would be best starting in late fall and lasting to about mid spring. For the rest of the year, their stock is consisting of mostly leftovers. The cycle starts again in October or so....See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agoplantkiller_il_5
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked plantkiller_il_5westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
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