Dwarf Conifers

Specialty plants can be described as pleasure plants.  They are plants that are rare, unusual, and ones that you don’t see in your neighbors landscape.  Two groups of specialty plants that I would like to talk about are Dwarf Conifers and Japanese Maples.

By definition a conifer is an evergreen plant with needle-like leaves that produce seeds in cones and has no flowers.  Actually in nature, there are five groups of conifers (Ginko, Golden Larch, Larch Bald Cypress and Metasequoia) that are deciduous.  All of these bear cones except for the Ginko, which bears its seeds in a fleshy odorous fruit.  They are descendants of ancient plants that inhabited the earth before the last ice age when all plants were evergreen.

Years ago nurserymen and other enthusiasts began selecting dwarf forms of the towering conifers to use in ornamental gardens.  The large trees were capable of producing mutation seedlings entirely different from the parent.  These dwarf, slow growing, densely foliaged plants on the forest floor surprisingly maintained their slow growth rate and neat compact colorful forms when brought out into full sun.  Many dwarf forms have also been propagated from Witch’s Brooms, which are stunted growths of a twig or branch caused by infection or injury.

Dwarf Conifers are more expensive than common broadleaf’s because of the slow rate of growth and difficulty in rooting, grafting, and producing.  Usually they take 2-4 years longer to grow.  If you want a low maintenance garden, Dwarf Conifers are the plants for you. Dwarf Conifers are relatively sound investments, for they rarely require pruning and do not outgrow their assigned place in the landscape.  They are comparatively disease resistant and are  tolerant of adverse weather conditions. They are limited only by the imagination of the landscape designer.  They are very useful when the summer flowering season ends and trees and shrubs lose their leaves from the fall frost because they make beautiful winter gardens.

Most are container grown and can be planted anytime of the year.  Early fall planting is probably best so that the roots can establish a foothold during the rainy winter season.  Occasionally they may be “root bound” and the roots must be “freed up” to enable them to grow out into the prepared bed.  Sometimes you may have to use a knife or spade to cut the encircling root barrier.  Mixing a small amount of fertilizer and lime in the bed is helpful.

At the Dutch Garden Center, we carry many selections of Dwarf Conifers. They can include dwarf forms of Arborvitae, Atlantic Cedar, False Cypress, Japanese Cedar, Juniper, Pine, Spruce, and others.  They are excellent plants for rockeries, as foundation plants, as ground covers, and as patio plants for container growing.