Beyond blue spruce - Department of Horticulture

Why conifers?
Beyond blue spruce:
Uncommon conifers for Michigan landscapes
• Year-round interest
– Evergreen
– Bark
– Cones
Bert Cregg, Ph.D.
Michigan State University
Department of Horticulture
Department of Forestry
• Botanically interesting
• Often low maintenance
• Add unique form, texture, color to landscape
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
Category
Miniature
Dwarf
Intermediate
Large
Growth per
year
< 1”
1” to 6”
6” to 12”
>12”
Approx. size
at 10 years
< 1’
1’ to 6’
6’ to 15’
>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’
Dwarf
conifers
Pinus aristata
‘Sherwood compact’
5
Pinus omorika
‘Nana’
Pinus glauca
‘Sander’s blue’
Chamaecyparis
obtusa
‘Nana lutea’
Pinus strobus
‘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
‘Aurea magnifica’
Pinus koraiensis
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
•Narrowly pyramidal
•Narrowly conical
Chamaecyparis
nootkatensis ‘Green
arrow’
13
Thuja occidentalis
‘Degroot’s spire’
Picea glauca
‘Pendula’
Picea orientalis
‘Skylands’
Broad upright: includes all other upright plants
which do not fit into categories 1-3.
14
Picea pungens 'Montgomery'
Picea pungens ‘Lutea’
Abies lasiocarpa
var. arizonica
‘compacta’
Abies lasiocarpa 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
‘Brookline’
Irregular: erratic growth pattern.
Picea glauca
‘Fort Ann’
18
Larix decidua ‘Varied directions’
Pinus banksiana ‘Uncle Fogy’
Picea abies
‘Inversa’
19
Culturally altered:
pruned or trained into
formal or imaginative
shapes, such as high
grafts or standards.
Grafting high on standard
20
Double graft
Hedging
Microbiota decussata &
Chamaecyparis obtusa
21
Topiary
22
Espalier
23
Photo: Aaron Warsaw
Thank you!
24