If you are blessed with a spacious garden and are looking for a conifer to act a specimen, then this Asian pine would make a fine choice. It grows up to 120 feet with a 20 to 40 feet spread and is conical when young but broadens in maturity. The leaves are greyish green, the eight inch needles carried on arching stems giving the tree its characteristic elegant form. Its banana shaped female cones add greatly to its charm. They grow up to ten inches and change colour from green to brown as they mature, a process that takes up to three years. This lovely pine will grow in most well drained soils in full sun but will not thrive on shallow chalky soils.
Propagation: Sow seed in containers in a cold frame in spring. |
If you have space this decorative cedar cultivar is perfect to grow as a specimen, because its bright yellow foliage is such an asset to a garden in winter. The whole tree appears to be a shimmering, limy yellow. The leaves are carried in fan like, loose sprays and emit a sweet, fruity odour resembling pear drops if crushed. Thuja plicata 'Irish Cold' has a pleasing open habit and takes on a conical shape as it matures but, as it grows up to about 60 feet with a twelve foot spread, it is not suitable for small gardens. It will thrive in any well drained soil but, ideally, should be grown in deep, moist but well drained soil in full sun and sheltered from cold, drying winds.
Propagation: Take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer. |
Spruces have branches arranged in whorls and evergreen, needle like leaves. Picea breweriana, from north west California, is one of the loveliest with a columnar shape. The needle like leaves are a glossy, dark bluish green with whitish green under surfaces and they are arranged spirally around the shoots. The cones are green when young, turning purple as they mature. This is a slow growing conifer that seldom reaches more than 50 feet with a twelve foot spread and would be a good specimen for a medium or large garden. It likes a neutral or acid, deep, moist but well drained soil in full sun and will not do well in an alkaline soil.
Propagation: Sow seed in pots in a cold frame in spring. |
