Thank you for sharing those. Here are some interesting ones from the point of view of colour and cones!
Picea pungens Maigold
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And another of the same plant
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Picea pungens Hermann Naue
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Picea abies Acrocona Pusch
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The ten most botanically distinct conifers, approximately:

1 Sciadopitys
2 Cunninghamia
3 Taiwania
4 Wollemia
~5= Cathaya
~5= Saxegothaea
~5= Parasitaxus
~5= Microcachrys
~5= Microstrobos
~5= Austrotaxus

Resin

Yeah. There are some very distinct conifer Genus that I didn't mention because they are so uncommon they aren't even available for consumers.

Should have titled it 'most distinct mainstream conifers' ie. spruce, pines, firs, cypress, etc.

Sciadopitys are available from a number of places. I picked a couple up from Coenosium this fall and Bethlehem Nursery has a very extensive selection. Link has a photo from Bethlehem.

Here is a link that might be useful: S.v. 'Green Parasol'

'Horstmann's Nana' is a synonym of 'Horstmann'. Picea abies 'Pendula' may be synonym of 'Glauca Pendula'. There is no 'Pendula' Colorado spruce with a fully documented history. Perhaps the one shown here is the plant put out under than name by Iseli starting around 1978.

Cedrus deodara 'Aurea' (p.s. try to make your photos smaller, please). From The Gotelli Collection at the US National Arb. Photo taken in late May:
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Picea smithiana - US National Arb.
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Araucaria araucana - no photo

Pinus bungeana - US National Arb.
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Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' (Bickelhaupt, Clinton, IA August)
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Tsuga canadensis 'Betsy Rose' - Garden of Chub Harper, IL
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Sciadopitys verticillata 'Wintergreen' - Chub Harper
Because it can be grown in Illinois zone 5.
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Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' - Chub Harper
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Abies koreana 'Silberlocke' - Bickelhaupt March
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A hundred more. Good choices firefighter.

Dax

Change that to 'Betty Rose' Tsuga canadensis.
I now see Sprucebud added a bunch. Excellent choices. That 'Herman Naue' is on the extra tight list.

Later,

Dax

That was, of course supposed to be Picea pungens 'Pendula'.

I would like to add Picea abies 'Pendula' seen here at Yew Dell Gardens several years ago
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I'm partial to pines, mostly because they do better in my region of the US. In no particular order here's some of my favorite that I have in the ground. They all have elements that set them apart IMO.

Pinus strobus 'Winter Gold'
Pinus strobus Gold Painted
Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb'
Pinus densiflora 'oculis draconis'
picea sitchensis 'papoose' {{gwi:630333}}From the Garden Years
{{gwi:630334}}From the Garden Years
{{gwi:630335}}From the Garden Years
{{gwi:630336}}From the Garden Years
{{gwi:630337}}From the Garden Years

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

I love the P.orientalis 'Nutans.' But how a small tree looks is not a really good guide to what kind of tree it will be in 30 years. I have seen some older ones, and I love them, but they do not look so irregular or chaotic. As they grow larger, the individual irregularities of their "noddings" tend to merge into a very graceful, though still, though less prominently, irregular weeping habit.

But, in sum, I can't think of any conifer more attractive for my tastes, than a "grown up 'nutans.' Gorgeous!

--Spruce

As P. pungens 'Pendula' may perhaps be P. abies 'Pendula' is a loose term with no specific application. The cultivar usually provided under the name in general commerce is P. abies 'Reflexa'.

As P. pungens 'Pendula' may perhaps be as well P. abies 'Pendula' is...

"Picea abies 'Pendula' may be synonym of 'Glauca Pendula'. There is no 'Pendula' Colorado spruce with a fully documented history. Perhaps the one shown here is the plant put out under than name by Iseli starting around 1978."

So there is no Picea pungens 'Pendula'? People just have blue-colored Picea abies 'Reflexa' or 'Pendula'?

I know the two species are sometimes confused as in the Picea pungens 'Mrs. Cesarrini' debate. I own the plant and it really looks more like a Picea abies then Picea pungens.

The one in the back ground that is also a weeper is Picea abies 'Reflexa'.

The Picea p.'Pendula' was purchased with the Iseli tag on it in 1998. It's an Iseli introduction.

Some facts from Bob Finchamn: He calls it Picea pungens Glauca Pendula A tree that meanders its way upward with the leader often knuckling back over. Its blue foliage and the drooping branches make this plant a natural for the informal landscape. Unfortunately this plant can be very hard to find as it takes many years to develop a mature outline, and most nurseries wont take the time to develop such a plant.

Dave

Apparently my attempt at clarification was not completely successful. What I was saying was the two names could be similar in the respect of not referring to any single clearly defined and documented cultivar.

Plants being sold as Picea pungens 'Pendula' in North America dates back to 1915 or earlier. The selling of stock under this name by Iseli around 1978 marks the beginning of large-scale production, not the introduction of the name to commerce.

If that is what he thinks then Bob is not alone in thinking 'Pendula' is a synomyn of 'Glauca Pendula'; it's probably pretty safe to adopt that view as correct and call such plants 'Glauca Pendula' instead of 'Pendula'.

He shows and discusses 'Glauca Pendula' on his web site:

Here is a link that might be useful: DWARF COLORADO SPRUCES

Hey Dax,

Thanks for posting the National Arboretum and Chub Harper photos. I've been to both and enjoy seeing the pics. That Cedrus deodara 'Aurea' is sweet. I was there at the right time and saw it just after it had pushed new growth.

Jeff

Hi.Agree about Cedrus deodara 'Aurea'.Would it be sensitive to late spring frosts? T.

Hi Tunilla,

I don't think so. It's a zone 6 plant. I know you live on top of a mountain so it will be colder but general experience with the rest of your conifers/plants should give you an idea of what is tolerable and what isn't.

"Deodar is tolerant of dry sites and is very hardy, although the needles may be damaged at the tips in some winters. Zone 6"
['Conifers' by Keith Rushforth, pg. 95 (1987)]

Dax

Thanks Dax. By the way...I'm told that C. deodara 'Vink's Golden' is now considered a superior selection.Any comments? T.