Feature Article for Winter Color in the Landscape by Mark Priebe

inter’s long nights and cold Gold- or yellow-foliaged conifers, Learn the color of winter. It’s a Wshort days bring magic to the such as the Gold Thread Cypress, great time to see life, almost in still life, world. Some turn a dark green. When pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’, even when frozen. Up close there’s a covered in snow the contrast is striking. can highlight dark green conifers. lot going on. Insects are active on good Others play a more colorful tune like this thread-like foliaged conifer in front days. Be observant and adjust to the bronzing. Some play the blues. Yellows of Picea orientalis to make this light. Stand close and look into the plant brighten the day, but purple may be the stand out. foliage. Now slowly back up until the call of the day. Conifers with dark green or blue landscape is in its familiar view. Notice Conifers have been a favorite foliage can be used as backdrops for how the colors work in complementary of mine forever, they have an artful winter-berried shrubs, evergreen or tones. Enjoy! architecture, strong and powerful, deciduous, also and vines. Ilex standing up to the sky, or weeping verticillata, the winterberry holly, is gracefully over boulders, ponds, and striking planted in front of Mark Priebe is president of Wolf Run Nurs- walls. When the have fallen, it arizonica var. glabra ‘Blue Ice’, with its ery/Landscapes, [email protected], 610-914- is time for the conifers to become the 8658. He is a long-time member of HPS/ icy blue twigs of foliage. MAG, a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist, dominant feature in the landscape, with Master Landscaper, and holds a Sustain- all of its different textures and forms. able Landscape Certification. Mark has Conifers are useful as the main owned Wolf Run for twenty years. He installs attraction in the landscape bed. In sustainable and naturalized landscapes. Hardscaping is done using only natural winter, the color of conifers can be used stone, which sets the tone for the garden. to make a striking show in the grassy He volunteers as a Master Gardener and at meadow or the perennial bed. Standing Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Mark is in training tall, weeping, or spreading, conifers add to become a Master Naturalist. color and strength to the beautiful winter Ed Note: All photos ©Mark Priebe. For a full- landscape. color version of this article, go to the HPS/MAG Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Ice' website, www.hardyplant.org. List of Conifers for Winter Landscape Color

Cedrus atlantica (Glauca Group) large and can be trained into whimsical in the soil. Also C. j. ‘Elegans Nana’— ‘Glauca Pendula’—Weeping Atlas shapes! Of course, do not forget C. a. Dwarf Japanese Cedar. To about 4'. Cedar. 15–20' tall and wide. An old (Glauca Group) ‘Glauca’. Another old Bronze-purple in winter. Grow both in favorite. This weeping tree is so cool favorite. 60–100×40'. full sun. that it’s an art form at Grounds for Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Top Point’— Cupressus arizonica var. glabra ‘Blue Sculpture. Bright blue-needled foliage; Dwarf Atlantic White Cedar. Foliage Ice’— Cypress. Powdery blue is starry shaped. This narrow upright foliage. The scaled foliage is small and conifer has purple-blue color for the the bark is cool, too! This handsome winter. Grows 3–5" a year to 6'. Great tree is really good looking all year long. for the rock garden and railroad garden. Ranges from 15–40×12–20'. japonica ‘Elegans’— Juniperus horizontails ‘Mother Japanese Plume Cedar. Deep purple Lode’—Creeping . This yellow winter color. This soft cryptomeria juniper hugs the ground and can be used will thrill all with its display. Spread under darker colored conifers to show the foliage to see the green inner color. them off. The yellow turns to a pinky Cedrus atlantica (Glauca Group) 'Glauca' Grows to about 20' with lots of organics bronze on the tips. About ½' in height.

Vol. 29, No. 6 Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group 3 Juniperus virginiana—Eastern Red to about 30'. P. w. ‘Frosty’ has almost Cedar. This East Coast native bronzes white needles. Both are outstanding for in our winter landscape. Easy to grow; winter interest. to 20'. orientalis ‘Morgan’ (syn. –Russian Cypress. orientalis ‘Morgan’)—Oriental Great ground cover. The foliage changes Arborvitae. The foliage is held in from medium green to a bronzy purple vertical sprays. Morgan grows to about in full sun, however this conifer can 6'. The lime-yellow foliage turns orange grow in shade. Watch out for blight. To Pinus wallichiana 'Zebrina' for the winter. 1½×3–12'. For most conifers, good drainage is conifers for contrast. Contrasts well with required. blue-foliaged conifers. Grows about 8" a year to 30–40×15–30'. Planting Conifers Pinus strobus ‘Louie’—A of the Eastern White Pine with bright In the Mid-Atlantic area, autumn is a good time to plant most trees, golden yellow needles year-round. including conifers. Do not dig the This symmetrical, broad pyramidal hole any deeper than the root ball. tree provides a hot spot averaging Dig a hole twice as wide as the root 8–20×10–15'—a true gold nugget in ball. Plant the root ball no deeper— your landscape. or slightly higher—than the existing ground level. Back-fill with the Picea pungens & Cephalotaxus harringtonii Pinus wallichiana ‘Zebrina’— same soil. Soak by watering deep Himalayan Pine. Creamy white and long. Prevent the root ball from drying out, but do not keep it too Picea pungens ‘The Blues’–Weeping variegation comes on strong after the Colorado Blue Spruce. A great dwarf, wet. first frost. Long needles make this —Iseli Nursery weeping form from Larry Stanley that larger pine even more majestic. Grows www.iselinursery.com he found growing on a prostrate form of the . Good powder blue winter color with strongly weeping branches. Contrasts well with yellows and dark- colored conifers. Full sun for best color. To 6'. Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’—Dark green in summer, as days shorten and temperatures drop, this broad, upright, dwarf Lodgepole Pine changes dramatically to gold and holds the color from October to late Winter. The Chief is outstanding. Slow growing (3–6"/yr) to about 6×4'. Pinus strobus ‘Hillside Winter Gold’—Turns deep golden color in winter. Plant this narrow, upright White Pine selection in front of dark-colored

Conifer Sources Wholesale Stanley and Sons Nursery Iseli Nursery Local Rare Find Nursery Wolf Run Nursery/Landscapes Mail Order Broken Arrow Nursery Conifer Kingdom (specializes in dwarf conifers) Arrowhead Alpines (specializes in small conifers)

4 Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group November 2015