Southeastern Conifer - American Conifer Society

Southeastern Conifer
American Conifer Society –Southeastern Region
Newsletter— August 2012
Inside This Issue
Presidents’ Letters:
By Tom Neff , GA,
By Sue Hamilton,TN
p. 1,2
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Vice President’s Letter:
I recently returned from the ACS
annual meeting in Ann Arbor,
Lewis Ginter Botanical
Michigan. It was a great time with
Garden, Richmond, VA
over 300 attendees, an all time
By Elizabeth Fogel and
By Seth Roadman,VA
p.4,5 society record. Of course it was
fun to see old friends and make
new ones. The keynote speaker
Conifer Contemplations
By Byron Richards, NC p. 3,6 was Adrian Bloom from Great
Britain who gave an enjoyable
presentation of many of his landPlatycladus orientalis ‘Morgan’
By Jared Barnes, NC
p. 6 scaping creations, often showing
the before and after pictures. Unfortunately, this year there was no
Garden Tour Photo Preview
Asheville NC
p. 7,8,9 escape from the heat. Michigan
was as hot as Atlanta and their
drought may even have been
Dwarfs After25 Years
By Maud Henne ,VA
p. 10 worse. That didn’t stop us from
visiting some great gardens.
Events:
SE Region Meeting
August 17–19, 2012
Asheville, NC
Arborfest Blandy Farm
October 13-14, 2012
Boyce, VA
The first day was spent at Hidden
Lake Gardens -, a 755 acre garden
owned by Michigan State University. In spite of being there all day,
I covered less than half of it. The
heat slowed me down. It harbors
the famous Harper Collection of
Rare and Dwarf Conifers. And
what a collection it is! It is named
after Chub Harper who donated
most of the plants and was a long
time ACS member. In fact, the
next day we toasted him on
what would have been his 85th
birthday. Sadly, he is no longer
with us. Also, hosta lovers
(over 800 varieties) and bonsai
enthusiasts would find much
to appreciate at Hidden Lake.
I have to confess that one of
the highlights for me was a
collection of 20+ black walnut, Juglans nigra, trees. A couple were over 3 feet in diameter.
On the 2nd day we visited three
gardens. The first was the 10
acre home of Michael and
Remedios Young. It had been
a sunny property of grass and
the owners were inspired by
Gary Gee to transform it.
They started less than 10 years
ago and have over 250 different conifers. It looks like they
have half their land left so this
garden will continue to evolve.
My personal favorite, on aesthetic grounds was the home
of Sandy and Jim Wilkins, the
second garden of the day. It
was predominantly a shade
garden with numerous mature
hardwoods limbed up to provide
high shade. I’m inspired to rent a
40 foot ladder to improve my
own wooded area although my
wife is not keen on my balancing
acts on tall ladders. It was wonderfully landscaped with a great
tranquil feel. Numerous sculptures and sitting areas completed
the scene. Jim is a past president
of the American Hosta Society
and thus many hostas were incorporated into their garden.
We finished the day at Gee
Farms, a huge nursery with an
adjacent arboretum. The property has been in the family for
over 150 years and consists of
several hundred acres.
Although the arboretum is only 12
years old it has excellent specimens of hundreds of trees. Gary
Gee is an ACS member and offered a discount to us at his
nursery which many took advantage of filling the tour buses to
capacity.
We had a Board meeting at
which Larry Nau (New York)
was named president and Brian
Jacob (Oregon) vice president.
P a gPea g2e 2
S ou t h ea s t ern C oni f er
A u gu s t 2 01 2
_ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _
John Martin, National Office Manager, talked about new software, which we are likely to get in 2013, that will streamline
some membership and accounting issues as well as allow
members to do more things online at our website. We talked
about other website enhancements making it more appealing
and useful for members and other visitors. We plan to put
links to conifer videos on the website within the next couple
of months with more to follow as an ongoing educational tool
and perhaps a little fun. There was considerable talk about the
need to make ACS more interesting, more useful to members
and more attractive to potential members. Larry will set some
things in motion to help that over next year or so. We need to
think about how to cast a wide net to attract a broad audience.
Each of us should think about how to recruit new ACS members.
Sue Hamilton accepted this year’s Marvin & Emilie Synder
Service Award for Dedicated Support to the ACS on behalf of
Flo Chaffin. I’m sure Sue will present it to Flo at the upcoming SE meeting in Asheville. Also, our own Barbie Colvin
was named Chair of the National Reference Garden Committee. Her leadership in establishing 12 Reference Gardens in
the SE puts us way in the lead and hopefully will inspire the
other regions to grow their numbers. It was a good meeting
and tour.
I’m now looking forward to our SE Region meeting in Asheville, North Carolina this month.
From the SE President:
Asheville, here we come!! As I write this letter we
are just a few weeks away from our regional
meeting in beautiful Asheville, NC. I can’t encourage you enough to come to this meeting being held in one of the most beautiful areas of the
Southeast! The host hotel is right in the heart of
Biltmore Village with easy access to shopping
and eating. We’ve planned a slate of wonderful
gardens for your to visit where you’ll see beautiful conifer specimens and great examples of how
to mix them with companion plants and to use
them in the landscape. You won’t want to miss
our Friday evening speaker, Rita Randolph, who
is a famed gardening speaker and writer and also
a fantastic commercial grower. She will share
about the work she is doing with Biltmore House
& Gardens in regard to propagating conifers and
other plants from their historic landscape. And,
of course, you don’t want to miss our conifer
auction! Some of the newest, novel and unique
conifers will be up for bid. You never know what
gems you might find to add to your garden. So
come join us in Asheville. It will be beautiful and
a lot of fun. I hope to see you there.
Tom Neff
Sue
[email protected]
Sue Hamilton, Ed.D.
Director of the UT Gardens
Associate Professor of Plant Services at UT
Knoxville, TN
Phone: (865) 974-7972
E-mail: [email protected]
American Conifer Society
Southeastern Region
www.conifersociety.org
SE President: Sue Hamilton: [email protected]
SE Vice President: Tom Neff: [email protected]
SE Treasurer: John Quackenbush: quack [email protected]
Regional Director on ACS Board: Tom Neff:
[email protected]
Reference Gardens: Barbie Colvin: [email protected]
SE Webmaster:Flo Chaffin : [email protected]
SE Newsletter Editor: Maud Henne: [email protected]
Photo Credits:
All photos taken by resp. authors or as listed
Headline photos on page 1 by Maud Henne
In June Sue wrote about Wollemia nobilis in Amsterdam.
The US Botanical Garden in Washington D.C. has several
of them .
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S ou t h ea s t er n Co ni f e r
A u gu s t 2 0 1 2
Conifer Reflections
By Byron Richards, Hendersonville, NC
We often talk to people about their gardens.
Primarily we start by saying that you must have an
‘anchor plant’, a year round accent, something sensational, out of the ordinary. Flowering trees are
sensational for two or three weeks per year.
Rhodies and azaleas do not last much longer and
look like h--- the rest of the time. To me the answer is a conifer, or more precisely a gymnosperm.
The rewards are for a lifetime once you get the
hang of it. I did in the summer of 1983. We were
living in NY State at the time. I happened to see an
ad in a magazine that showed a Hinoki Cypress. I
could not believe the beauty of that plant, even
though at that time I was not a plant person. After
buying some and promptly causing them to die, I
became more interested in what it takes to grow the
plants. I discovered the American Conifer Society.
Hazel and I joined. It has been a love relation ever
since. ACS has so many people willing to share their
knowledge and experiences.
We moved to Hendersonville in North Carolina
in 1988, and after our house was built, started our 3
acre garden . Our property has many native plants
like mountain laurel, azaleas, rhododendron and
oaks. We added 23 cultivars of beech, Japanese maples and hostas. But conifers are our signature plant.
We have about 300 of them from Abies to Chamaecyparis, Cryptomerias, Pinus, Taxus and Tsuga. A
Taxodium ascendens (Pond Cypress) is submerged
in our koi pond.
Continued on page 6
Many people think of conifers as simply ‘pine
trees’. What a narrow thought! The exciting feature about conifers is their tremendous diversity.
An enormous variety of colors, textures, scents,
structures, sizes and fruiting bodies is special to
conifers. One needs to look only briefly at any
conifer collection to realize the many variations.
Growth rates from ¼ inch to 4 feet per year are
typical possibilities. Textures vary from soft and
lacy like Bald Cypress to stiff and prickly as in
Picea pungens, and everything in between. Colors
are an artist’s palette with many shades of green,
yellow, blue for the foliage, pink, red and brown
for the cones. I could never grow tired of looking
at the fantastic diversity of conifers and encourage
any plant person to do the same.
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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The Margaret Johanna Streb Conifer Garden at
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA.
Text By Elizabeth Fogel and Seth Roadman
Photos By Grace Chapman
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia has something for everyone. The garden first
opened to the public in 1987, fulfilling the will of Grace
E. Arents to establish a botanical garden named after her
uncle, Lewis Ginter. At this time, little of the garden’s
81 acres were under cultivation, but it has changed and
grown rapidly ever since. There are now over 35 acres
under intense cultivation with more than a dozen
themed gardens. The property includes a visitor’s center, two restaurants, and a classical domed Conservatory
featuring changing displays and orchids. The education
building houses a large library and several classrooms for
the wide array of classes, workshops, and symposia offered. A 2 acre children’s garden offers endless handson activities for children and families. Whether you
have 30 minutes or all day to explore there are many
treasures, including countless beautiful conifers, to be
found.
The Margaret Johanna Streb Conifer Garden is a
hidden gem off of the beaten path. Hugging the far end
of our lake, it offers beautiful views of much of the garden. Built in 1995-96, this garden serves as our official
conifer collection. A wide array of dwarf and slow
growing conifers are inter-planted with perennials, minor
spring bulbs and flowering shrubs. There are over 14
genera, 38 species and countless cultivars represented in
this corner of the garden alone. But if you are coming to
see conifers, you’ll want to explore the entire property.
Beautiful conifer specimens from more than 27 genera
can be found throughout the garden. The conifer collection throughout presents guests of the garden with a
broad array of specimens that exhibit outstanding attributes including attractive foliage, bark, interesting bud
formation and unusual form and structure.
Foliage in our collection consists of many and varying
shades of blue, green and yellow/golden varieties. Some
of the conifers change hue in winter months. Other types
display variegated leaf tips combining to make a wonderful range of color and interest such as Juniperus rigida
‘Hikari’. Both Thujopsis dolobrata and Fokienia hodginsii show
glossy green foliage while the underside displays a silvery
white color that is very attractive. Popular shades of blue
in the garden include Cedrus deodara ‘Feelin’ Blue’, Pinus
parviflora ‘Glauca’, Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’, Picea pungens ‘Royal Knight’, Pinus sylvestris ‘Beuvronensis’ and Pinus
flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’. Other conifers provide
striking golden yellow color especially in the winter. Pinus
strobus ‘Hillside Winter Gold’, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Lemon
Twist’, Cryptomeria japonica ‘Sekkan-Sugi’, Thuja occidentalis
‘Pumila Sudworth’ are fine examples intermingled between other evergreen and deciduous trees in the garden.
Brilliant yellow coloration of Ginkgo biloba in the Grace
Arents garden provides spectacular autumn interest. Thuja
occidentalis ‘Rheingold’ develops a copper bronze color in
winter and Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Nana’ a deep purple hue that begins when the days become shorter and
nights cooler.
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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A transformation of conifers in our collection begins
when new growth emerges in spring and is most noticeable on Pinus and Picea species. New shoot growth,
often referred to as “candles”, emerge covered in white
colored hairs frequently of a different color from the
leaves of the prior season. Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’
renders a white against green contrast when the growth
begins. Other specimens in the collection that provide
these attractive candles are Pinus densiflora ‘Oculusdraconis’ and Picea orientalis ‘Compacta’.
Another important attribute of the conifers in our
collection include their shape or form. Several Cedrus
atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ are trained prostrate in the
garden. Globose or ball shaped is most recognized and
popular amongst dwarf conifers. Cryptomeria japonica
‘Globosa Nana’and Pinus mugo are excellent examples of
this form. Fastigiate or columnar forms add to vertical
interest and Juniperis scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’ found at the
entrance of the Streb garden is an example of an upright
form with erect branches. Pendulous forms such as
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Green Arrow’ in the Streb
garden and Picea abies ‘Pendula’ in the Flagler perennial
garden present an eye catching focal point.
Certain conifers in the garden have unusual forms
which may best be described as intriguing. ‘Cristata’, a
cultivar of Cryptomeria japonica, has congested foliage
resembling that of coral reef while Cryptomeria japonica
‘Araucarioides’ found at the entrance of the Streb garden has twisted stems and leaves adding to its uniqueness. Picea abies ‘Ziegler’s Weeping’ is an interesting
weeper in which branches literally lay across the ground.
Pinus contorta ‘Spaan’s Dwarf’ and Pinus parviflora
‘Adcock’s Dwarf’ are unequaled dwarf varieties and
have a place in rock gardens or small spaces. Taxodium
distichum around Sydnor lake produce buttressed trunks
and interesting knee-like formations that provide these
trees with anchor support in wet conditions.
Silvery undersides of Pinus flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’
The natural globose form of Cryptomeria japonica ‘ Globosa Nana’
The more mature conifers often develop impressive
and attractive bark. Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’ in the
Asian garden exhibits exfoliating bark that is reddish
brown in color. This tree is grown as a standard to reveal the handsome bark. Pinus bungeana behind the Flagler pavilion exhibits bark that exfoliates in patches of
green, grey, white and brown. In the conservatory, Araucaria bidwillii has sharply pointed leaves on the trunk that
adds an element of appeal.
This is just a small sample of the treasures to be
found at Lewis Ginter, and whatever your preference,
you are sure to find something to delight. You must
visit in every season to fully appreciate all that the garden has to offer conifer lovers. Proud to be an ACS
member garden, we continue to add to our collection as
we can.
Picea abies ‘Ziegler’s Weeping’ climbs over a small boulder.
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is located on
1800 Lakeside Ave, Richmond, VA 23228
Phone: 804-262-9887; website: www.lewisginter.org
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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Conifer Reflections—continued from page 3
Platycladus orientalis
(Thuja orientalis) ‘Morgan’
By Jared Barnes, North Carolina
A bad penny is not the only thing that keeps turning up; it seems that several of the gardens that
I’ve visited over the past year have included Platycladus orientalis ‘Morgan’ in their collection of conifers. And, it’s no surprise for those of us who
appreciate the characteristics of this smallstatured conifer. It exhibits different colors based
on which season it is. The way the color changes
on ‘Morgan’ sort of reminds me of the metal copper. It's almost as if the colder weather removes
the green tarnish to reveal copper colors on the
exterior of the plant; then, with the arrival of
spring we see the emerald green patina return.
We can grow many plants We have a very plant
compatible climate. Within 50 miles we have more
genera than all of Europe. There is one exception:
Firs do not do well here, it is at times too warm.
They prefer the colder climate zone.
Hazel and I spend almost every day in the garden.
We can honestly say that we prune every tree and
bush somewhat every year, some severely, some
slightly. Otherwise you get too much of a jungle.
We are looking forward to have our ACS
friends visit us during the 2012 SE Region Meeting in Asheville.
It is a fairly slow-growing cultivar, usually
growing less than 4 inches in a year, and it is
hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. The small
size warrants its use in containers. As with all
conifers ensure that it has good drainage. The
foliage sprays on this cultivar remind me of rigid
cardboard cutouts that have been glued together;
overall, the planar look is an interesting textural
addition to the garden. While ‘Morgan’ is a great
conifer to choose for year-round interest, you
could add even more to the effect by pairing a
grouping of them with the airy foliage of Mexican
feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) or the more
stolid, variegated blades of ‘Color Guard’ yucca
(Yucca filamentosa).
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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The Garden Tour in Asheville, NC on August 18, 2012
White Gate Inn and Cottage
This award-winning garden owned and created by Frank
Silvo and Ralph Coffey has an intensive collection of unusual plants: 40 plus conifers, 18 varieties of Japanese maples, and over 300 varieties of hostas, herbs, roses and
other perenniels.
Page 8
Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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The Garden Tour in Asheville, NC on August 18, 2012
North Carolina Arboretum
Blue Atlas Cedar
Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca
Pitch Pine
Pinus rigida
Hinoki False Cypress
Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’
Photos by Arthur Joura
Established in 1985, the 434 acre arboretum property encompasses 65 acres of cultivated gardens and 10 miles
of forested biking/hiking trails. Emphasis is on plants native to the Southern Appalachian region. The Arboretum features among others the Quilt Garden with colorful raised beds designed after traditional quilt patterns,
and the Heritage Garden featuring plants used in traditional folk medicine and crafts of the Appalachians. The
Arboretum is also home to a Bonsai Exhibition Garden showcasing one of the best collections of bonsai in the
Southeastern United States, with special emphasis on native plants.
The Elmore Garden
The garden of Dr. Miles and Millie Elmore
Asheville, NC is a Smithsonian Garden ( part of
the Smithsonian Institute). It features everything that a gardener enjoys: a mixture of a wide
range of plant material, a greenhouse, an herb
and a vegetable garden, a pond and a new
woodland garden.
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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The Garden Tour in Asheville, NC on August 18, 2012
The Grist Garden
(all 3 photos)
Dr. Marilyn Grist, a longtime ACS member, started her 9 acre garden in 1979. It
is her refuge and pet project. It features a
Japanese Garden with conifers, waterfalls
and a pagoda, the Charleston Garden with
hollies and roses, a formal orchard and a
Victorian Rose Garden.
The Grist Garden is located between
Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC in the
sleepy little town of Travelers Rest, SC.
For the Garden of Byron and Hazel
Richards in Hendersonville, NC see ‘Conifer Reflections’
on pages 3 and 6.
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Southeastern Conifer
August 2012
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Dwarfs After 25 Years: From My Garden in Virginia:
By Maud Henne
When looking at plants in nurseries or at ACS
plant auctions, we get intrigued by shape, foliage,
and coloring. Who would not want a pine with
long needles in blue and cream -Pinus wallichiana ‘Zebrina’ -, or a hemlock with white needles
at the tip of branches -Tsuga canadensis ‘Snow’-,
or the yearlong golden/yellow needles of Picea
abies ’Skyland’? Who does not like the soft blue
foliage of the Chamaecyparis pisifera
‘Boulevard’’ or the interesting texture of Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star ’ ? Maybe we want a
nice bright green ground hugging plant like Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’. Or we fall in love with
the threadleaf branches of Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Gold Mop’. Oh, they are so cute in their 1
gallon pot at the nursery or at the auction. We are
dealing with dwarf conifers, right? If we are
lucky, there will be labels giving us some information about the growth habit of the plants. From
what I know these data are meant for the next 10
years. But be aware that after that they keep
growing.
Reinhard Henne, my late husband, started our
conifer collection in 1987/1988, meaning some of
my plants have been in the ground for 25 years.
They did not stop growing after 10 years. And
that is what this and later articles are about: I
want to show how plants that we perceive as being dwarf will do in 25 years if not pruned. Compared with the giant redwoods in California, they
are still dwarf, but they might outgrow the space
we allocated in our garden. On purpose, I did not
prune the plants shown here. I wanted to see what
these plants will do. But this year I started to cut
back some branches of Juniperus ’procumbens’
which were growing into my pathways. The sizes
given are for one plant.
Photo on right: Cryptomeria japonica ’Elegans Nana’:
12 ft in diameter, up to 4f t high
Juniperus procumbens
22 ft long, 20 ft wide, 2 ft high
Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’
8 ft in diameter, up to 2 ft high