| A Forest of Conifers in Containers on My Deck . . .
(page created April 2003, last updated January 2010)
|
||||
|
My life-long but usually dormant interest in coniferous trees was suddenly rekindled by a chance
visit to Sequoia National Park in early 2002, where
I was again awed by the giant
sequoias which I had last seen as a child over two decades earlier. Within weeks of this trip, I was
reading every book I could find about conifers, both the spectacular forest giants themselves and their
numerous unusual dwarf cultivars which have been developed by horticulturists over the past few centuries.
Soon I had acquired a veritable forest of container-grown dwarf conifers, seen here on my deck above Lake
Union in Seattle. Most conifer species form large trees in the wild, but these dwarf cultivars and
slow-growing species can easily be grown in pots. They require almost no maintenance compared with typical
finicky deciduous trees and plants. No hard pruning is required to maintain their compact size, since
typical growth rates for these trees are only a few inches per year (and even less than an inch per year
for some of them). Most of these trees are quite drought-tolerant, and in Seattle's moist maritime climate
they easily survive much of the year with no supplemental water, although regular watering is still needed
during the hot and dry summer weeks. To avoid this chore, I have installed a cheap and simple automatic
drip-irrigation system going to each pot (the tubing and heads for this system are visible in the photos).
As you can see from the photos below, cultivated conifers are available in a wide variety of foliage
colors, including blue, golden, silver, and even reddish-purple in addition to numerous shades of the
more-typical green. See my page about Conifers of the Cascade
Range for more about conifers in their native environment. A spectacular double rainbow rises above Lake Union beyond my deck (all photos from 2003). See the table below for the names of the trees shown here: (left to right) alc, ssa, ssn, ppb, pal, pcn |
||||
 |
||||
View of trees to right of frame in the previous photo: (left to right) ppb, pal, pcn, pmn, par, jsb, aks, pae, tpc, clb, cls, pgc |
||||
 |
||||
Closer view of trees in the back of the previous photo: (left to right) par, jsb, aks (with cones), pae, tpc, clb, cls |
||||
 |
||||
View of trees to right of frame in the previous photo: (left to right) ctr, fic, pab, tsm, psp, arb, ara, cyr (barely visible inside window) |
||||
 |
||||
| List of the conifers in these photos: (I may add more detailed descriptions for each of these at some point) | ||||||||
|
(Click on any botanical name to open the corresponding page from the
Gymnosperm Database in a separate window.) |
||||||||
| Code | Botanical name and cultivar | Common name | Brief Description (if cultivar) | Native range of species | ||||
| aks | Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' | Korean Fir | (semi-dwarf, silver recurved foliage, cones!) | Mountains of southern Korea | ||||
| alc | Abies lasiocarpa 'Arizonica Compacta' | Subalpine Fir | (dwarf, gray-blue foliage, corkbark variant) | Mountains of western North America | ||||
| ara | Araucaria araucana | Monkey Puzzle Tree | slow growing upright, sharp spiky foliage | Southern Chile & Argentina | ||||
| arb | Araucaria bidwillii | Bunya-Bunya Tree | medium growing upright, sharp flat foliage | NE Australia (Queensland) | ||||
| clb | Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Blue Surprise' | Port Orford Cedar | (dwarf upright, blue juvenile foliage) | Coast of SW Oregon, NW California | ||||
| cls | Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Silver Threads' | Port Orford Cedar | (dwarf upright, green with white and gold) | Coast of SW Oregon, NW California | ||||
| ctr | Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' | Atlantic White Cedar | (dwarf upright, reddish purple in winter) | East & Gulf Coasts of USA | ||||
| cyr | Cycas revoluta (see also Cycad Pages) | Sago Palm | looks palm-like, but is a cone-bearing gymnosperm | Islands of southern Japan | ||||
| fic | Fitzroya cupressoides | Alerce | slow growing, spreading, awl-shaped foliage | Patagonia, southern Chile & Argentina | ||||
| jsb | Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' | Singleseed Juniper | (dwarf spreading, blue juvenile foliage) | Central Asia, China | ||||
| pae | Picea abies 'Echiniformis' | Norway Spruce | (dwarf, apty known as "Hedgehog Spruce") | Northern & eastern Europe | ||||
| pal | Picea abies 'Little Gem' | Norway Spruce | (very dwarf, miniature, globose) | Northern & eastern Europe | ||||
| pgc | Picea glauca 'Albertiana Conica' | White Spruce | (dwarf pyramidal, "Dwarf Alberta Spruce") | Alaska, Canada, northeast USA | ||||
| pmn | Picea mariana 'Nana' | Black Spruce | (dwarf nest-like form, blue-green foliage) | Alaska, Canada, northeast USA | ||||
| ppb | Picea pungens 'Bakeri' | Colorado Blue Spruce | (semi-dwarf pyramidal, powder blue foliage) | Rocky Mountains (southern and central) | ||||
| psp | Picea sitchensis 'Papoose' | Sitka Spruce | (dwarf globose, sharp silver-green foliage) | Pacific Northwest Coast | ||||
| par | Pinus aristata | Bristlecone Pine | very slow growing, irregular upright | Rocky Mountains (CO, NM, AZ) | ||||
| pcn | Pinus cembra 'Nana' | Swiss Stone Pine | (dwarf pyramidal, long soft needles) | Central Europe, Alps | ||||
| pab | Podocarpus alpinus 'Blue Gem' | Mountain Plum Pine | (dwarf, spreading, bluish-green foliage) | Tasmania & southeastern Australia | ||||
| ssa | Sequoia sempervirens 'Adpressa/Albospica' | Coast Redwood | (semi-dwarf, upright, whitish tips on foliage) | Coast of N California & SW Oregon | ||||
| ssn | Sequoia sempervirens 'Nana Pendula' | Coast Redwood | (dwarf, spreading, broad green foliage) | Coast of N California & SW Oregon | ||||
| tpc | Thuja plicata 'Cuprea' | Western Red Cedar | (dwarf globose, golden foliage) | Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies | ||||
| tsm | Tsuga mertensiana | Mountain Hemlock | slow growing upright, blue-green foliage | Mountains of Pacific NW, Sierra Nevada | ||||
| Bibliography of websites and books: | ||||||
| Interested in conifers and dwarf conifers? This is a brief bibliography of websites and books which I have found to be useful and informative: | ||||||
| Gymnosperm Database (extensive taxonomic info, descriptions, and photos for nearly all known species of conifers and other gymnosperms, including cycads) | ||||||
| The Conifer Society (society for dwarf conifer enthusiasts, includes the World Conifer Database listing more than 4000 conifer species and cultivars) | ||||||
| Trees of the Pacific Northwest (info and identification key for common conifers of the Pacific Northwest) | ||||||
| Silvics of North America (online version of book from USDA Forest Service, extensive info and range maps for common North American trees) | ||||||
| Flora of North America (extensive database with info about all North American plants) | ||||||
| Center for Urban Horticulture - U of Washington (excellent horticultural and botanical library, also manages the Washington Park Arboretum) | ||||||
| The Cycad Pages (extensive taxonomic info, descriptions, and photos for nearly all known species of cycads) | ||||||
| (books in reverse chronological order) | |||||||||
| Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference | James E. Eckenwalder | Timber Press, 2009 | 720 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| A Natural History of Conifers | Aljos Farjon | Timber Press, 2008 | 304 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Conifers for Gardens: An Illustrated Encyclopedia | Richard L. Bitner | Timber Press, 2007 | 448 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Northwest Trees (anniversary edition) | Stephen F. Arno & Ramona P. Hammerly | The Mountaineers Books, 2007 | 272 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| The Bristlecone Book: A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees | Ronald M. Lanner | Mountain Press, 2007 | 110 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Northwest California: A Natural History | John O. Sawyer | Univ. of California Press, 2006 | 264 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Botany for Gardeners (revised edition) | Brian Capon | Timber Press, 2004 | 240 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Gardening with Conifers | Adrian Bloom | Firefly Books, 2002 | 192 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Cycads of the World (second edition) | David L. Jones | Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002 | 456 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| The Cycads | Loran M. Whitelock | Timber Press, 2002 | 532 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast | Robert Van Pelt | Univ. of Washington Press, 2001 | 224 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History | Michael G. Barbour et al | Cachuma Press, 2001 | 240 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| A Guide to the Sequoia Groves of California | Dwight Willard | Yosemite Association, 2000 | 124 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Conifers of California | Ronald M. Lanner | Cachuma Press, 1999 | 284 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| A Garden of Conifers: Introduction and Selection Guide | Robert A. Obrizok | Firefly Books, 1999 | 120 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Dwarf & Unusual Conifers Coming of Age | Sandra McLean Cutler | Barton Bradley Crossroads, 1997 | 176 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Growing Conifers: Four-Season Plants | R. William Thomas et al | Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1997 | 112 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Conifers: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (2 volumes) | D. M. van Gelderen | Timber Press, 1996 | 706 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Ecology of the Southern Conifers | Neal J. Enright & Robert S. Hill (editors) | Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996 | 342 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Trees of the Northern United States and Canada | John Laird Farrar | Canadian Forest Service, 1995 | 512 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Forest Giants of the World | Al Carder | Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd, 1995 | 224 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| The World of Northern Evergreens | E. C. Pielou | Cornell University Press, 1988 | 184 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Timberline: Mountain and Arctic Forest Frontiers | Stephen F. Arno & Ramona P. Hammerly | The Mountaineers, 1984 | 304 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) | |||||
| Northwest Conifers: A Photographic Key | Dale N. Bever | Binford & Mort, 1981 | 116 pp. | (View at Amazon.com) |
Interested in learning more about conifers in their native environment? See my page about Conifers of the Cascade Range.
| Page History: | ||
| April 2003 | Original version of the webpage | |
| January 2004 | Minor update to internal links | |
| January 2008 | Updated all links to the Gymnosperm Database | |
| January 2010 | Expanded the bibliography to include several books published since 2003, plus a few more older ones too |