Conifers to love

I finally made a decision and decided to purchase a Chamaecyparis obtusa Fernspray, not the Gold variety though. Don't think it will get massively huge like alot of other Cypresses, etc. Wish I could get the Gold variety because they are beautiful, but the sun here is hot and often. I have an Arizona Blue Ice in a pot and will try to keep that one very short and trimmed growing in the pot. That one loves it here in this area and the evening hot sun does'nt bother it at all. I purchased both of them from 'New Life Nursery' located in North Carolina or maybe it's in South Carolina, I forgot already.

granite,
That plant doesn't look like T. o. 'Danica' to me. I would say it's T. o. 'Bobozam' (Mr. Bowling Ball™) or T. o. 'Rheingold', since it has somewhat golden juvenile foliage. I have a T. o. 'Danica' and it has always had completely green adult foliage.

T. o. 'Rheingold' will change from juvenile foliage to adult foliage after being in the ground for a few years. When 'Rheingold' is sold, it always has juvenile foliage.

If you use Google images, you can search for photos of any of the above names and then compare the photos to your plant. You should be able to get close to the identity of your plant.
Good luck

(corrected spelling error)


This message was edited Jul 6, 2010 4:06 PM

I've been reading and buying seeds and learning.
Right now I have to find out how to plant the pines in the ground but keep the roots from growing deep. 2 to 3 years in the ground will get them nice and fat but to dig them up without disturbing the root system which ( I ) will kill them. Imagine nurturing a baby from seed for 3 years and then killing it.
I'm thinking in a nice big pot, planting that in the ground and when I dig it up, the essential root system close to the trunk will be intact. I can even leave the pot out to let the cut roots heal, so as not to rot.
And hello fellow floridian, Love Forests, I didn't realize there was another southerner on this thread, and a bonsai enthusiast to boot.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55415/

Yes 'Wormfood' I love Bonsai and Pine trees. I just don't know how to grow a Pine tree from a seed. I can care for them well, but do not have knowledge on how to get the seed to sprout.
I have enjoyed reading this thread about Pine trees and seeing photos about them.

--Christina.

Heres my Dwarf Eastern White Pine 'Nana'! Before and after, I paid $35 for it over 6 years ago, now I wouldn't take $200 for it! Now, if I just had a place to plant it! lol
Will

Beautiful tree, Will, excellent tender, loving, care has made all the difference.

Thanks granite. That tree was on its side when I bot it. I think they do that on purpose!
I hate to see trees and plants on their sides at a nursery or where-ever!
I remember when I bot that thing, I was on the verge of destitution, but it was calling to me or something! It was priced $70, I offered them half and they took it! I'm glad they did!
I've had several comments on how nice it is now. Some not-so-nice family members and friends have even tried to commandeer it for free! I was like "wait a minute, you can't have my plant"!
I'll tie the son-of-a-gun around my waist and go live under a bridge before I part with it!
I'll just drag it behind me for pete's sake, it isn't that heavy, it's growing in Pine Bark, there isn't any soil in that planter. Besides my truck, it prolly comes in second in value of my possessions! lol
Will

Here's one that nearly died last year but has come back strong. pinus strobus 'gold painted'

My poor Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' is really struggling with all the wet weather - June was the wettest on record and I'm pretty sure July will be close to the record. Some of the new growth went limp and is dying, I took in a piece Saturday to the nursery where I bought it last fall - they said "definitely fungus" and sent me home with a system fungicide. They also instructed me to poke holes in the soil around the tree and pull away any mulch near the tree. I followed the instructions and hope it will be okay, but boy what a bummer. I guess I'll see what it does next year.

I'm so sorry 'bout that tree. Can you send a photo of the affected part? Is it the whole tree? It's the roots that get the fungus right? and then it affects the tree?

Can you put plants around it to suck up the moisture? Thirsty plants. You just planted it so it might not take another transplant, plus it looks too big to put it in a pot. When we do the bonsai on pines (some pines) we chop the roots around this time as it goes into rest before it's second growth as the summer cools off. But I'm zone 9. I was thinking at least you can take some ground so as to have the water run off, away from the tree.

It is already on a raised bed that SHOULD be well draining, with hostas at the bottom and maples planted nearby so those should consume a lot of the water. The soil is not soggy, there has just been too much rain. We literally had two weeks in June when it rained almost every day. I'm honestly not sure where the fungus started, I will take pictures and post as soon as possible, though that might be a few days.

I asked the garden center folks if I should dig it up - it was previously in a large pot when I bought it. They said "no" and that it would be too much stress.

Here are a few shots of some of my dwarf conifers from this past week.
First is a japanese black pine (p. thunbergii).

Edited to say it's wedged between a thuja and a cedrus deodara Shalimar.

This message was edited Jul 31, 2010 9:11 AM

Next up is a dwarf fir, called Piccolo.
I've seen it listed both as abies koreana and abies balsamea - I'm not sure which is right.
It's cute in any case.

I think this is pinus mugho Sherwood Compact, but tag is missing, so can't be sure.

Pinus koreana Silver Ray

These are the peculiar cones on cryptomeria japonica Sekkan Sugi.

A young pinus parviflora Tani mano uki
Beautiful white variegation

Finally, taxodium distichum Secrest - another dwarf bald cypress. Very different from t. d. Peve minaret.
Not a great picture, but you can see the flat horizontal growth pattern. Very dwarf.

BEAUTIFUL!

Oops, I left two out!
This is cedrus atlantica aurea.

Finally, larix kaempferi Diana


Edited to say: As you can see, Diana has contorted stems on a smaller-statured tree.
Very cute.

This message was edited Jul 31, 2010 10:21 AM

Gorgeous! What is the annual growth rate of 'Diana'? I have that on my wish list but thought it grew something like a foot a year. Yours appears to be much slower growing and if that is the case I will have to find one soon.

I have lost a couple prior Diana larches, so I don't claim to be any specialist.
As you may be able to see if the pix, this one looks like it's putting on 2" per year or so.
But it's still so little, I have no idea if this is typical or not.
I think I read they ultimately can grow 20+ ft tall.

i have one and it's pretty vigorous. i got over a foot of growth this year....

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/82739/

the dwarf bald cypress needs photos
I'm in shock, do they graft a tree to make it a dwarf?

Dybbuk, my Diana is still a babe. I'm a little alarmed at that growth rate.
I have this terrible habit of planting things too close when they're young and cute.
It seems so preposterous to think they would actually grow.
Check out this planting disaster with a taxodium Peve Minaret positively swallowing a Gold Cone juniper.
We live, we learn...
I haven't had the heart to cut down the juniper, but now that it has some signs of decline, I realize it's got to go.


This message was edited Jul 31, 2010 4:46 PM

Wormfood, my Secrest is grafted, as you suspected. I have to be vigilant for suckers from below the graft.
If I could get a decent photo, I'd upload to Plant Files, but alas, I can't seem to get a decent photo.
It is a little surprising there aren't any pix on PlantFiles for Secrest yet...

that's a great pic right there, better than I see on the internet

Weerobin, I am certainly guilty of the same. The cute little specimens soon turn into warriors fighting for space. Is it too much to want a forest? See below....

This message was edited Jul 31, 2010 8:47 PM

i c , how's the weather? Will your Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' make it? Did the systemic fungicide work?

Don't remember this one's name is but it's lighting up the landscape.....

Dybbuk, it certainly is not too much to ask for a forest of one's own!! I've been trying to create one is Des Plaines for a couple of years now. LOVE that pretty light up the landscape one you've got, too!

Really dumb question for conifer people: which evergreens are and are not conifers? I know conifers make cones, but I'm only dipping my feet into the evergreen world this year, so I don't know which ones make the cones. And - why don't the others make cones? What DO they make?

I have two skyrocket junipers, two crawling sort of junipers, a Pinus Mugo dwarf, and a golden dwarf false cypress that I started this year, PLUS . . . (my pride and joy and what got me interested in these evergreens) . . . a tiny little 1/2 inch plant that I discovered last year in a nook of my silver maple that I thought might be moss and planted and is NOW A WHOPPING 9" PERFECT BLUE SPRUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of this guy!

Anyway - are any of these guys conifers?

http://davesgarden.com/guides/terms/go/199.html

They're all conifers.
There are lots of weird exceptions to what we typically think of as a conifer.
Not all are evergreen (bald cypress, dawn redwood, gingko, to name a few).
And not all have needles or scaly foliage (e.g., gingko's).
And they're certainly not all green (as your blue spruce illustrates well).
And they come in all shapes and sizes.
I think you'll enjoy exploring them and trying them out.

I'm having fun. My first year I killed them with too much water, not enought sun, and junipers are loved by spider mites. If you can skip all that you'll be on your way.

Thanks, Weerobin and Wormfood! I've killed my share of plants, so, although I hope I don't kill the conifers, it may happen . . .

Wormwood, weather is terrible. We still are having thunderstorms bringing several inches of rain every few days. I reapplied the systemic last Wednesday (second application), then we had dry weather until Saturday. Then BANG, thunderstorms with heavy rain were back. Last night we had over an inch of rain. Everything is soggy and unhappy, even some of the hostas.

My Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' is a very unhappy camper. It has more dieback, though that could just be stuff that was already on its way. The continued rain just stinks.

I did pick up a gorgeous Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' last week at a hardware store (of all places) for a steal. It had one broken branch and I asked if they would discount it, they knocked off 40% of the price. I really hope TS makes it, those two in spring about 30 feet apart would really stop traffic.

Oh, and I'm going to Gee Farms a week from Saturday, so I should be able to find "something" to ease my pain! >; )

oh oh, you'll have to change DG's plant files, they are sayin' conifers in the Ginko catagory lists.

ic, I'm ripping my cactus out of the ground this week. Rain after rain and now a tropical system . It cools off the earth so expect more and more. Each year a couple more cactus get their own fancy planter and they end up on the enclosed porch during rain and winter. The only downside, I'm getting older and the pots are getting heavier.
And the conifers, which I've called evergreens all my life, are in pots too. Only their pots get smaller, being that they are slated for bonsai.