When things work out.

Nice combination of conifers and ground cover Junipers. I have a so called Rock Garden in my front yard which has been in for about12 years. Although it still looks pretty good in my estimation , it is rapidly getting too over crowded and tall. If I had it to do over I would make sure that I used only the dwarfest plants I could find and spend more time shearing and pruning them when they were still small. I decandle the dwarf Pines now and cut back the Chamaecyparis, Picea pugens, golden Thuga, until they either behave themselves and stay dwarf or have to be replaced.

Arfitz, I can relate.
Last weekend, I finally (after YEARS of procrastination) cut out several overgrown
(so-called) 'dwarf 'conifers. It nearly broke my heart.
When they're first being planted, they're so tiny and so cute.
I think it's almost inevitable to overcrowd them.
Then 10 years later, the hard decisions....
I've still got some pretty comical combinations that I just didn't have the heart to remove.
We live, we learn...

I've been dwarfing, or is bonsai the correct term, a Pinus sylvestris 'Albyn's Prostrate in the upper tier of a rock garden. I've only been at it for three years. Not long enough to determine if I'll be successful. But it's healthy and barely an inch larger then when it was planted. I've seen a fully mature 20 yr specimen. It was enormous. My plant of concern in the photo I posted is the Daub's Frosted. It's been pruned once already. It seems to take it well, if you're careful. The Juniper 'Skyrocket' is growing vertically and staying less than 2' wide, as it should so I'm fairly confidant that it will not be a problem. The ground hugging 'Mother Lode' has more room to ramble than the picture shows. These conifers have been in place 4 yrs. But eventually things will get crowded and choices will have to be made.

Snapple, nice combination!! Would you mind sharing the names, cultivars of your smaller conifers? I'm just starting to add some to the garden for winter interest. It seems the prostrate type confiers I select are usually yew or juniper. I just found a wonderful yew, taxus x media 'Sunburst'. I have bought a juniper for the blue tones. But I'm sure there's a lot out there that I'm missing.

Thank you! Here's my complete list, large intermediate and small. In conifers, as you most likely know, the "sizes" aren't sizes
but growth rates in inches per year. These are the categories according to the American Conifer Society:

Miniature........
less than 3"
Dwarf............
3-6"
Intermediate.....
6-12"
Large............
more than 12"

My list: It's Genus ,species, common name, cultivar, and date it went into the ground (if I remember to record it) and growth rate. I just love conifers. Unfortunately I'm terribly short on places to plant a really decent collection.

Abies fraseri Frasier Fir
Abies nordmanniana Golden Spreader 05/08 Dwarf
Cedrus atlantica glauca pendula twist 07/09
Cedrus deodara Eisregan 08/07 Large
Chamaecyparis obtusa Fernspray Gold Hinoki Cypress 06/07 Intermediate
Chamaecyparis obtusa Hinoki Cypress Large
Chamaecyparis obtusa Blue Feathers 09/06 Intermediate
Chamaecyparis obtusa Golden Sprite 04/07 Miniature
Chamaecyparis pisifera Cumulus 09/08 Miniature
Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera Sungold 09/07 Intermediate
Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera Gold Thread 08/07 Large
Chamaecyparis pisifera Golden Pin Cushion 07/07 Dwarf
Chamaecyparis pisifera Tsukumo 07/07 Dwarf
Cryptomeria japonica Birodo 07/07 Dwarf
Juniperus chinensis Daub's Frosted 07/07 Intermediate
Juniperus horizontalis Motherlode 07/07 Intermediate
Juniperus procumbens nana 08/08 Dwarf
Juniperus squamata Blue Star 04/07 Dwarf
Juniperus squamata Holger Juniper 04/07 Intermediate
Juniperus scopulorum Sparkling Skyrocket 09/08 Intermediate
Juniperus scopulorum Skyrocket 07/07 Large
Larix decidua pendula Weeping Larch
Picea abies pendula Weeping Norway Spruce Large
Picea glauca Echiniformis 07/07 Dwarf
Picea glauca Rainbow's End Dwarf
Picea abies Little Gem 06/07 Miniature
Picea orientalis Skylands Intermediate
Pinus mugo Slowmound 07/07 Dwarf
Pinus mugo White Bud 09/08 Dwarf
Pinus strubus pendula Weeping White Pine Large
Pinus sylvestris Albyn Prostrata 08/08 Large
Taxodium distichum Cascade Falls 07/07 Large
Thuja occidentalis Golden Tuffet 08/09 Dwarf
Thuja occidentalis Teddy 06/07 Miniature
Thuja plicata Whipcord 05/08 Intermediate
Tsuga canadensis Cole's Prostrate Hemlock Miniature
Tsuga canadensis Jervis 08/09 Miniature
Tsuga canadensis Jeddeloh 08/08 Dwarf
Tsuga canadensis Hemlock spring 1982 Large
Xanthocyparis nootkatensis pendula Weeping Alaska Cedar 04/07 Large

Have fun!

Snapple!! You have just become my 'go-to' person for info. Thank you! I have some Googling to do tonight. Do you get most orof your plants locally or do you have a good mail order source?

Oh katie59 - I am strictly an amature when it comes to conifers. There are numerous posters on DG that have much more knowledge and expertise. WHA is one. Another one is ic_conifers. A dynamite source is Resin. Keep reading the posts in this forum and when you see anyone of these DG'rs pay attention. You'll learn a lot. I know I've left out a few too. Keep digging into this forum.

Yes, I know all the authors you've mentioned and I will keep reading their posts. But it's nice to get some starting information so that I can find what I like. That's what was so helpful about your post.

I want to use conifers to anchor an interesting garden and to complement the Japanese Maples I have. My place is situated in the woods in the midst of some very huge conifers, so I want to focus on the smaller versions for now. I am so grateful to have them, though, when winter has stripped the leaves from the trees.

katie that's beautiful!

Thank you. I do love it here. Last year was unusual for us: 2 feet of snow for two weeks. But I was stuck, so I got to do lots of wandering around through the snow and picture-taking. Really took me back to my youth in Fairbanks.

http://picasaweb.google.com/katiegirl2u/Snow2008DEEPFREEZE?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/katiegirl2u/Snow2008DEEPFREEZEDay6?feat=directlink

That's just magical. What a setting. Look for some of the "blues" that really can set off a JM. I get a lot of mine from Forest Farm and RareFind Nursery. Both rate highly in the Garden Watchdog. Given your location, there must be some pretty good local sources near you. Around here, not so much. Take a look also at the American Conifer Society's web site. That's also an excellent place to research a conifer. Lots of photos and accurate descriptions.

It's pretty rainforesty today. Everything is wet, wet, wet. That's all good; I like it green and the ground needs soakin'. But there's not much you can do on a day like today without slipping and sliding.

I do get Forest Farm's newsletter, just haven't checked out the conifers, so I'll do that. And I'l check out the other site. Thank you!

Katie, check out Coenosium Gardens nursery. They have a wonderful conifer selection and are wonderful to work with. Their computer expertise isn't the greatest, so their website is pretty clunky (to say the least). But they've been a wonderful dwarf conifer resource for me.

Unfortunately a lot of my favorite dwarf conifer nurseries are out of business (Porterhowse, Collector's Nursery, Kasch's come to mind). Rich's Foxwillow Pines is another nursery w/ extensive conifer selection - they send nice stock, but I've found their prices to be pretty high.

I finally found the photos I wanted to share of part of our landscaping. I really enjoyed this arbor entrance to our home. Here's a photo of it in the fall a few years ago.

Here's the same view in the winter.

Finally, the arbor in the spring. I really like this photo, especially now that we're heading into winter! The only sad note is that the arbor is gone. We added a bump-out extension to the garage and a new sunroom which radically changed the layout of the landscaping. It was worth it though, especially the sunroom, and I got to start from scratch with a large part of the landscaping (I did get to relocate some good plants, like the weeping hemlock). Photos allow for such great memories!

This message was edited Nov 1, 2009 7:50 PM

Hoosier that's SO nice!

Thanks, Weerobin and welcome home!

Hoosier, your "arrangements" are very put-together looking.

Oh Oh Oh. So well done HoosierGreen.

lol I'm already thinking, I could out on of those on this corner....


yikes...must have been tired when I wrote that! I meant, I could put one on the corner of my house....

This message was edited Nov 2, 2009 7:35 PM

Great pics, HG! Sorry you lost your arbor but enjoy the new additions. Have fun with the re-landscaping.

~Sharon

Hello,

Being new to trees, shrubs, landscaping through a horticulture program I just entered this past August, I am so impressed with all your pohotos. Just beautiful scenes and landscaping. I am loving this forum. Thank you for sharing all your talent and pricesless knowledge.

Hoosier Green, you should have put that photo into the photo contest, I would have made it first choice, no problem!

yeah, me too, I still want one of those!

Gee, thanks! You know, it never even crossed my mind to enter the contest. Maybe next year. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

We're having Indian Summer this week. Just beautiful weather and good days to clean up the landscaping, plant a few shrubs and bulbs, and get all those leaves shredded for the garden.

Yes, that's a good idea.

I have TONS of leaves that are only partially raked. But we've had torrential rains for a week and I've been out of town for the last two weekends out of three. I think I'm going to end up raking in the dark after I get home . . .

I have a leaf pile waist high and 50' long. It's the second one and we're still raking. You gotta love big old oak trees. I do shred some for mulch but the vast majority are picked up by the Village. I add some to the compost pile ( where it's a little like trying to compost shoe soles). It's impossible to shred and use them all. You all are welcome to come and get 'em! Bring your rakes.

I wish I could. I've been out of town and we've had torrential rain for days with storms and funnel clouds. The leaves are all matted and wet and strewn across the yard. I think I may find myself finishing up with the raking in the dark . . .

boy I could use some leaves...I have no leaves.

No leaves? Does that mean no trees? Or are they all conifers? Or do they all blow in another direction?

And as many leaves as I have, as they start to break down, I'll want some more . . .

Yes, Lynnie - why no leaves?

no trees! my yard & a couple of the neighbor's yards were tobacco fields...I planted a LOT of trees (maybe 30?), but they're still small. I'm trying to do a mix of evergreens and deciduous trees.

Good for you for reforesting!! But I can see how you'd be wanting leaves . . .

I'm up to my ears in leaves. It's approaching a ridiculous level. The oaks which usually retain their leaves late into winter have for some reason decided to dump them early this year. I bought myself a fancy leaf shredder so I could convert all those luscious leaves into nutritious compost for my yard. It may be a great shredder, but so far, it has mainly blown about every fuse in the house so far. Arrggh! I'll get it figured out at some point. Then I'll have the makings for the best compost in town!!!

Ooooh, jealous. Our leaves turn into soaked wads and no leaf shredder can really handle them well. I have visions of nice chopped up leaf mulch . . .

I keep coming back to this thread just to look, all the pictures are breath taking!!


Annie