Conifer Quarterly Vol. 20 No. 2 Spring 2003 Marjorie Lauer The brightly colored scales (above) of resinous Abies pinsapo cones (right) at the Graver Arboretum. (See article on page 21.) Marjorie Lauer Native Abies pinsapo in southern Spain are conical when young but begin to develop a broad crown with age. (See article on page 16.) Don Howse The Conifer Quarterly is the publication of the American Conifer Society Contents Featured conifer genus: Abies (Firs) 5 Fir Species for Temperate Gardens By Anthony S. Aiello 10 Dutch Abies Cultivars for Every Garden By Ronald Vermeulen 16 Lost and Found: Abies pinsapo in southern Spain By Don Howse 21 Abies pinsapo in Cultivation at the Graver Arboretum By Marjorie Lauer More features 24 A Survey of the Prostrate Pines By Dirk Wright 26 Durable Plant Labels for Your Conifer Garden By Orlan Gaeddert 31 Iseli Grant Funds at Work... and School By Susan Radke Conifer Society voices 2 President’s Message 4 Editor’s Memo 33 Plant Auctions: The Challenge and the Opportunity 35 News from the Regions Also with this issue... • Board Meeting minutes: February 1, 2003 • Annual financial report Cover photo: Abies koreana ‘Brevifolia’. Photo by Brita Johansson. Vol. 20 No. 2 AMERICAN CONIFER SOCIETY 1 Conifer PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE All of your national officers, regional presidents, contractors and the Board of Quarterly Directors were able to attend the Board Spring 2003 of Directors meeting in St. Louis on Volume 20, No. 2 February 1st. The Board Meeting agen- The Conifer Quarterly (ISSN 8755-0490) is da was ambitious and covered a wide published quarterly by the American Conifer range of topics. The dedicated attendees Society. The Society is a non-profit or- put in a very full day, as this business ganization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is tax ex- meeting lasted from 8am to 7pm. Kath- empt under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Rev- leen Pottratz rose to the challenge of enue Service Code. both the meeting’s pace and duration in You are invited to join our Society. Please address membership and other inquires to the her first experience as the Conifer Soci- ACS National Office, P.O. Box 3422, Crofton, ety’s secretary. Thanks Kathleen! I want MD 21114-0422. Membership: US$25 (indi- to personally thank all the attendees for vidual), $35 (joint), $30 (institutional), $50 (sustaining), $100 (patron and corporate/busi- the consideration they showed me as I ness). If you are moving, please notify the ACS chaired my first Board Meeting. Office 4 weeks in advance. A summary of the meeting minutes Editorial and advertising matters should be sent to the Conifer Quarterly Editor, 1820 is included as in insert with this issue. In Bridgetown Pike, Feasterville, PA 19053. addition to the regular items of business, I significant time was spent on legal, in- Editor surance and financial matters. Don Wild Anne Brennan may be learning more about insurance Technical Editors than he ever wanted to, but when the Ethan Johnson dust finally settles, I believe he will Susan Martin have helped us define the right coverage R. William Thomas to protect the society, directors, officers Advisory Committee Don Wild, Committee Chair and contractors. Jane Frampton The Board discussed the work prod- Charlene Harris ucts of the independent contractors, and Tom Schlereth ex officio: Marvin Snyder following this discussion, John Martin, ex officio: John Martin Anne Brennan and Charlene Harris I were all thanked and complimented. Let me personally thank these three for your Copyright © 2003, American Conifer Soci- assistance and patience as I continue to ety. All rights reserved. No material contained herein may be reproduced in any form with- learn the job. out prior written permission of the publisher. In a surprise presentation (at least to Opinions expressed by authors and advertis- her), Charlene Harris was given the ers are not necessarily those of the Society. Central Region’s 2002 President’s Award Note: Hardiness Zone references in the Conifer Quarterly are USDA classifications for Volunteerism. Congratulations! As unless otherwise specified. members, you can be proud of all the dedicated and talented individuals who 2AMERICAN CONIFER SOCIETY Vol. 20 No. 2 BY DENNIS GROH are working hard on your behalf. Remember, without your active This issue contains an article (page support and cooperation, these neces- 23) that discusses necessary changes to sary changes cannot be accomplished. our plant auctions. I sincerely hope once Since the auctions are such important you understand the challenge and the fundraisers, it is the job of every Conifer opportunity, you will enthusiastically Society member to support this effort to join in this fresh approach to plant auc- keep the Society financially healthy, and tions – an approach that your Officers to make fun-filled plant auctions possi- and Board believe is timely, necessary ble for years to come. Thanks in ad- and prudent. I hope that, by publicizing vance for your understanding and these changes and raising awareness, we support. will begin to embrace the new changes as soon as is reasonable. What will YOU do in the next 90 days to Knowledgeable and responsible peo- make the Conifer Society better? ple have tried to develop processes and procedures to protect the very plants we all love. It is in our own individual best interests as well as that of the Conifer Society to understand and be supportive of their efforts. In fact, as a plant society we should be an exemplary role model of plant stewardship responsibility. Publication Dates Deadline to Publication Date Issue Calendar Quarter submit articles (approx. mailing) Winter Jan/Feb/Mar Oct 31 Jan 15 Spring Apr/May/Jun Jan 31 Apr 15 Summer Jul/Aug/Sept Apr 30 July 15 Fall Oct/Nov/Dec 31 July 31 Oct 15 Submit articles/photos to: Anne Brennan, Conifer Quarterly Editor 1820 Bridgetown Pike, Feasterville, PA 19053 • PH (215) 364-0566 FAX (215) 827-5926 • E-mail: [email protected] Vol. 20 No. 2 AMERICAN CONIFER SOCIETY 3 EDITOR’S MEMO BY ANNE BRENNAN Welcome, Spring! pinsapo (Spanish fir) both in its native After near-record snowfall and ab- setting and in cultivation. Check the normally chilly temperatures here in back covers for additional Abies photos the Northeast, some of us were a little submitted by readers. disoriented when the grass finally reap- Further, Orlan Gaeddert answers in peared (not to mention the driveway). print the many requests for details about Now I remember why our USDA Har- his plant labeling system. Next, we check diness zone 6b is said to have an average in with the 2002 Iseli Grant recipient to annual minimum temperature of 0° to learn how the funds were used to create a -5°F; this is something we haven’t seen conifer garden for the campus and sur- for several years. rounding community. Another article ex- However, my three Cedrus deodara amines nine prostrate pine cultivars, and and small Cathaya argyrophylla look national president Dennis Groh explains great without any significant needle important changes regarding Conifer drop. All of these belong in zone 7, but Society plant auctions. they were too adorable to pass up at the Finally, this issue spotlights events Conifer Society’s plant auctions! Since organized by our four Regions. I’ve learned that winter damage may not The Summer issue will focus on the appear until active Spring growth begins, genus Tsuga, the hemlocks. We will as- I’ll keep my fingers crossed until June. sess the continuing threat from hemlock This issue of the Conifer Quarterly wooly adelgid while also celebrating the brings you a group of articles about firs, beauty and grace of this plant group. I the featured plant group. We learn about look forward to including your hemlock desirable cultivars from Holland, recom- photos and other submissions. mended species based on observations See you in Denver! from the Morris Arboretum, and Abies 4AMERICAN CONIFER SOCIETY Vol. 20 No. 2 Fir Species for Temperate Gardens by Anthony S. Aiello Many firs can adapt to warm summers When visitors come to the Morris Ar- wild-collected plants have been added boretum they are impressed by the di- over the past 20 years through Arbore- versity of our collections, including the tum staff participation in plant collecting young and vigorous plants growing expeditions to Korea and China. These among our statuesque mature speci- expeditions, along with seed and plant mens, all set within a historic landscape. exchanges, have resulted in 23 wild-col- One of our largest and most beautiful lected taxa of Abies in our collection, collections is the wide array of conifers and we anticipate continued participa- growing throughout our garden, includ- tion in these trips and exchanges. Many ing over 70 taxa of Pinus, 50 taxa of Picea, 40 taxa of Chamaecyparis, 29 taxa of Abies (see Table 1 on page 9) and Our collection represents numerous others. the breadth of distribution of Last year the American Association firs, with plants from North of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA) recognized the Morris Ar- America, Europe, Asia Minor, boretum as holding a national collection and Asia. of Abies, as part of their North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPPC) of the trees are planted in the Arboretum, program. Begun in the late 1980’s, the but many are still too small to be planted NAPCC is a growing network of botan- out and remain in our greenhouses. Our ical gardens and arboreta dedicated to collection represents the breadth of dis- increasing the awareness of the value of tribution of firs, with plants from North plant collections for germplasm preser- America, Europe, Asia Minor, and Asia.