Why conifers? Beyond blue spruce: Uncommon conifers for Michigan landscapes • Year-round interest – Evergreen –Bark –Cones • Botanically interesting Bert Cregg, Ph.D. • Often low maintenance Michigan State University Department of Horticulture • Add unique form, texture, color to landscape Department of Forestry Why conifers? • Variety of design functions – Specimens – Contrast elements – Borders – Mass as background • Increased interest in dwarf and unusual forms • Specialty plantings – Rock gardens – Containers –RR Gardens 1 2 Size classes recognized by the American Conifer Society Growth per Approx. size Category year at 10 years Miniature < 1” < 1’ Dwarf 1” to 6” 1’ to 6’ Intermediate 6” to 12” 6’ to 15’ Large >12” >15’ www.conifersociety.org Miniature conifers Picea glauca ‘Pixie dust’ 3 Picea abies ‘Bant’ Picea abies ‘Little Gem’ Picea abies ‘St. James’ Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ Pinus strobus ‘Minuta’ 4 Pinus parvifolia ‘Hagoromo’ Pinus aristata Dwarf ‘Sherwood compact’ conifers 5 Pinus omorika ‘Nana’ Pinus glauca ‘Sander’s blue’ Chamaecyparis obtusa Pinus strobus ‘Nana lutea’ ‘Compacta’ 6 Tsuga canadensis ‘Guldemond’s Dwarf’ Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera aurea’ Intermediate conifers 7 Pinus cembra ‘Compacta’ Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera aurea’ Pinus cembra ‘Silver sheen’ Abies concolor ‘Conica’ 8 Picea abies Pinus koraiensis ‘Aurea magnifica’ Large conifers Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 9 Abies concolor Taxodium distichum Picea omorika 10 Pinus strobus Conifer Form Classes Globose: globe-like or rounded in general outline. Pinus mugo ‘Mops’ 11 Pinus mugo ‘Aurea’ Picea glauca ‘Blue planet’ Pendulous: upright or mounding with varying degrees of weeping branches. Picea abies ‘Virgata’ 12 Larix decidua ‘Julian’s weeper’ Picea glauca ‘Pendula’ Narrow upright: much taller than broad; •Fastigiate •Columnar Chamaecyparis •Narrowly pyramidal nootkatensis ‘Green arrow’ •Narrowly conical 13 Thuja occidentalis ‘Degroot’s spire’ Picea glauca ‘Pendula’ Broad upright: includes all other upright plants Picea orientalis which do not fit into categories 1-3. ‘Skylands’ 14 Picea pungens 'Montgomery' Picea pungens ‘Lutea’ Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica Abies lasiocarpa ‘compacta’’ var. arizonica ‘compacta’ 15 Prostrate: ground-hugging, carpeting plants without an inclination to grow upward Juniperus horizontalis ‘Motherlode’ Picea abies ‘Procumbens’ 16 Picea pungens ‘Glauca procumbens’ Spreading: wider than tall. Picea abies ‘Pumila’ Abies normanniana ‘Golden spreader’ 17 Tsuga canadensis Irregular: erratic growth pattern. ‘Brookline’ Picea glauca ‘Fort Ann’ 18 Larix decidua ‘Varied directions’ Pinus banksiana ‘Uncle Fogy’ Picea abies ‘Inversa’ 19 Culturally altered: pruned or trained into Grafting high on standard formal or imaginative shapes, such as high grafts or standards. 20 Double graft Hedging Microbiota decussata & Chamaecyparis obtusa 21 Topiary 22 Espalier 23 Photo: Aaron Warsaw Thank you! 24.