State Arboretum of Virginia - Blandy Experimental Farm

I have been traveling to horticultural and botanical institutions for over 30 years. Somehow, this fine site had escaped my grasp until last week.

Given our recent investment in conifers in the Louisville parks, I had additional reason to want to peruse a collection of fine trees that are approximately 100 years old, and growing in a similar climate.

I was not disappointed. I'll begin by showing some overview images of this property, and then drop into species-specifc pictures.

Edited to add link to Go Gardening informational entry: http://davesgarden.com/products/go/view/125/





This message was edited May 24, 2014 11:43 PM

An impressive specimen of a relatively underused conifer greets one entering the main conifer planting collection.

This species is native to western North America, found in many locales in California and Oregon (and maybe Washington), but is well-suited to culture in the eastern United States but is not well known. Calocedrus decurrens (Incense-cedar) is a fabulous tree.

Ramping up into more underused but impressive plants...

How many Algerian Fir specimens have you run across today - much less in your life? Abies numidica appears to be reasonably happy here, lo these past 100+ years.

A brief break from the conifers...

This fine tree was a commemorative planting - quite elegantly placed and performing well.

I don't think you could squeeze any more flowers onto it.

Back to the green needled world...

This next species is one that I have enjoyed in my professional career in Kentucky, as well as in my landscape at the Valley. Most recently, the parks department where I work placed an order for this species, but the plants received were distinctly different from this species.

See commentary here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1359741/

Nordmann Fir (Abies nordmanniana) has long been an appreciated ornamental conifer for the Ohio River valley region. Large old specimens populate landscapes and institutions from Cincinnati to Lexington and Louisville. It is known for dark lustrous soft needles and a fairly narrow pyramidal to upright habit.

NOTE: bonus points to those who can discern what isn't quite right about the label in the first image below. See the label from Algerian Fir for clues.

N shouldn't be capitalized...
Edited to add:
enjoying the tour...

This message was edited May 25, 2014 9:09 AM

Caucasian Fir also isn't native to Greece ;-)

Resin

Bing, bing, bing - bonus to Wee this morning.

Moving right along - to yet another behemoth conifer that favors central KY and Ohio River valley conditions, and is strutting its mature stuff here at the Blandy Farm.

Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis) is another tree that I've had a long term love affair with - which has been extremely easy since she is quite the soft touch. This plant became the signature conifer for the first thoroughbred horse farm I worked for in the 1980s. Those plants now tower gracefully over this central KY landscape, and continue to get better with age.

Again, dark green lustrous shiny needles and a modest spread on a tall tree - this plant deserves a home anywhere someone wants a large needled evergreen but doesn't want to give up a lot of floor space. It will remind many of a more refined version of Norway Spruce, with which one might casually confuse it. Images below show some adjacency of old Oriental Spruce and Norway Spruce.

Sorry, Resin - didn't see your post while I was typing out the Picea orientalis epistle. Extra credit for spotting distribution inaccuracies as well as reconciliation of common names. I'm going to have a hard time picking up Caucasian Fir to replace Nordmann Fir.

Next in line! This species is entirely new to me, but it is now ensconced in a park conifer collection in Louisville. I am glad to have found a large specimen here at the Blandy Farm that I will be able to observe in future years. It apparently exists - but relatively rarely - around the midwest and Ohio River valley, so I will endeavor to document more of these closer by.

Koyama's Spruce (Picea koyamae, incorrectly Picea koyamai) is growing quite well here in northern Virginia, albeit with a much less dense character than many of the other conifers in this collection.

Following closely is the inimitable and unforgettable Needle Fir (Abies holophylla) which is so aptly named. While most firs are quite user-friendly with soft-to-the-touch and pleasantly aromatic foliage, the needles on the Needle Fir are relatively sharp and not so kind for handling. Consider that when you are composing a barrier planting to deter inappropriate access.

I know that I have seen this plant over the years at various arboreta and plant collections, but it obviously did not impress me enough to capture its image in my records (at least since the digital age). Above and on another thread on this forum, I discussed the mistaken identity of some recently acquired conifers which were supposed to be Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana). When first handling the plants upon delivery, I immediately noticed the sharpness of the needles and knew that something was wrong. Subsequent investigation led to the determination that those plants were actually Abies holophylla.

Fortunately, Needle Fir is an equally excellent example of this genus and the planting will be no less for its addition. If this specimen is any kind of representation of the species' potential, then I am going to enjoy watching them grow up.

Here we go again - another unknown, and even never heard of before.

The Szechwan Fir (Abies sutchuenensis) was not the most vigorously growing conifer in the Blandy Farm collection, but in its defense it was planted within the canopy of a pretty large old Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) - likely to provide some shading to get it established back in the day.

This particular individual has some very Taxus-like qualities in the color and character of the needles, but probably only due to siting and cultural conditions here. Krüssmann describes this species as "...one of the world's most beautiful fir species..."

This next plant was not one that I did a spectacular job of documenting - in fact, I walked past it to photograph more impressive specimens of other species. It was only after finding the big Needle Fir that I backtracked to get comparison images of this plant. I still managed to not get a picture of the whole plant. Oh well...

It has cool needles that are sharper than most, - especially on young plants - and these closeups show just why. Abies firma - the Japanese or Momi Fir - is "...the highest and most stately fir in Japan..." according to Krüssmann.

After a brief hiatus away from this thread, I'm back in the saddle - for a little while at least.

Let's bust on the Min Fir (Abies recurvata)! Again - new to me, but probably commonplace to more worldly participants here. You obviously easily recognized the very reflexed (recurved) needles...

OK - that wasn't that common.

Here's one that I'm sure you all have in your backyard. What a beautifully textured plant, though this old specimen isn't displaying all the anthropomorphic characteristics that would make it a mass-market favorite.

Manchurian Fir (Abies nephrolepis) is a candidate for inclusion in Ohio River valley landscapes.