Can anyone name this tree?

I saw this tree in front of a business in town and fell in love with it, but can't identify it.
Can anyone here help me?

Any shots with better detail?
Could it be one of those 'whipcord' thujas?

Certainly some sort of cypress relative - Thuja, Chamaecyparis, or Platycladus. A close-up of the cones (those small brown objects) would help a lot.

Resin

It looks like the Thuja Occidentalis 'Filiformis' I have seen.

Could be Platycladus Filiformis 'Erecta' which I believe, is not as cold hardy as the thread leaf Thuja.

Thanks for the help. I will try to get back by and get a picture of the cones. I'll also check out the trees that you guys have mentioned.
Karen

Platycladus (formerly, Thuja) plicata 'Whipcord' (or 'Filiformis) is grafted on a standard by Monrovia, in California. The plant sold by Monrovia is labeled as Thuja occidentalis 'Filiformis', but the cones clearly show the plant is mislabeled and is really Platycladus plicata. This plant is sold a lot around here (Twin Cities, MN, area) and for being not as hardy as Thuja occidentalis, it seems to do OK here. I would think if there were a lot of losses due to winter kill, the nurseries would stop carrying this plant.
tl³

Hi Resin,
Oops...yes, thank you, I meant Platycladus orientalis. (:o)


This message was edited Apr 14, 2009 2:30 PM

Thanks Tree Lover, I have looked up pictures of Platycladus (formerly, Thuja) plicata 'Whipcord' (or 'Filiformis) and it is the tree that I have been looking for. Now all I have to do is find a place that sells it.
I really appreciate the information you supplied. : )

Rainbow,
Try to find Platycladus orientalis 'Whipcord' or 'Filiformis'. If you can find a nursery that carries Monrovia stock, they may have the plant or could order it for you. This plant is not cheap. Last year the standards were going for $129.00 or thereabouts. The local nursery that carries this plant has many discount days where all nursery stock is discounted by a certain percentage. I need to hit one of the 33% or 50% discount days. (:o)

I believe that there is also a Thuja plicata 'Whipcord' out there, but it won't be easy to find and will probably not be grafted on a standard. The only source for the grafted standards is Monrovia, as far as I know.
Good luck!

I have a Thuja plicata 'Whipcord'. That was the name on the plant tag as of last August ('08) The ones available here are not grafted on a standard. They are a bit pricey, but not difficult to find. This is the first winter for it in my garden and it looks good although the tag said hardy to -10° and we had lows of -17° I have it planted next to a Abies normandia 'Golden Spreader". That was a very pricey addition. About three times the price of 'Whipcord'. At least 'Golden Spreader is said to be hardy to -30°.

Snapple,
I wouldn't count on A. n. 'Golden Spreader' being hardy to -30°F. That's zone 4a and I've killed a few of them (I love to push the zone limits). I've seen GS listed from zone 4 to zone 6 and I would tend to go with the zone 6 hardiness based on what I've read from other folks that have tried to grow this plant. Good luck, though! I hope it does well for you!

treelover3 - We had a -17° winter with several lows close to that on successive nights. The GS looks to be in excellent condition. It is fully exposed to the elements. While we're talking about unexpected hardiness I also have a 15' Cedrus deodara 'Eisregen' that is also doing just fine. No sign of needle burn or drop. Cold stress on the C. deodara's usually shows up as top die back so It could happen yet. But right now it looks great. This conifer is in full sun but is protected somewhat from sweeping winds. The only obvious sign of conifer winter burn is to a Tsuga canadensis 'Cole's prostrate' hardy to -40°!! This was in a protected spot and snow covered through the worst of the cold. Go figure!

Snapple45, Wow, that's great news. Isn't that the way it always is? The plant that should be rock-hardy shows stress and the plant that should be toast is just fine. You're right - go figure! I guess it just proves that nothing is definite when it comes to gardening and what works for me may or may not work for you and vise versa. I guess that's what makes gardening fun!

Please let me/us know how the GS and the 'Eisregen' are later this spring. Hopefully the plants will still be pristine. (:o)
edited to correct spelling/words that didn't make sense. (:o)


This message was edited Mar 2, 2009 7:58 PM

I'll definitely post the outcome. I'm as curious as any one could be.

Snapple, do you give your abies some afternoon shade?
I failed w/ a variety of abies species (incl golden spreader) until trying partially shaded locations.
So far, they've done better. I only have a few surviving (abies balsamea nana and a. n. golden spreader are the only two).
Is there any other tricks for successful abies culture in midwest conditions?

P.S., my c deodora cultivars seem perfectly hardy here.
Also, my whipcord thuja isn't grafted to a standard. And it wasn't expensive at all.
I find it makes an interesting shrub and is an easy, good grower.

The Golden Spreader gets full sun. I dont have anything special that I do for conifers except what we all do - good soil preparation prior to planting and watering when necessary. I work in some composted pine bark, but not a lot.

Which C. deodaras do you have?

Off the top of my head, I have Devinely blue, Gold Cone, Kashmir and Shalimar.
Pygmaea was a casualty.

I've also had good luck w/ c. libani sargentii.
C libani Green Knight is alive but doesn't look great.

I have two nice dwarf c atlantica cultivars, Uwe (blue) and a german green dwarf cultivar, whose name escapes me at present.
Anyway, they both do really well here.

Wow, That's a very, very impressive collection. It took me some time to look them all up! What was your coldest winter temp this year?

We haven't been very cold this year - the lowest I recall is -1.
But I didn't research it.
I don't think winter cold is as much a problem for my conifers
as the summer heat and humidity.
I have a dismal record for keeping firs alive.
Hence my theory about a little afternoon shade.
My best fir is an abies koreana silberlocke in a container.
Unfortunately, it's getting too big.
Sooner or later, it's going to have to go into the landscape.
Almost certainly a death sentence, based on my prior experience.
Alas.

I dont have a 'Silberlocke' but they are just gorgeous. They are really a focal point tree. -1° would be a big improvement over -17° We had several days/nights of -15°. I would be reluctant to try any other C. deodaras. Some light shade probably would be appreciated in high heat and humidity.

The Cedrus deodara 'Eisregen' survived -17° with no winter burn at all. It is somewhat sheltered from sweeping winds by a pair of mature hemlocks on it's north side and small storage buildings on it's east (neighbors shed) and west side ( my shed.) It's about 15' tall. I really did expect it to have some needle burn, at the least, but there is none.