Picea glauca 'Pendula'
Picea abies 'Reflexa'
Picea orientalis'Skylands'
Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula'
Metasequoia glyptostroboides

I like big things.

This post was edited by unprofessional on Mon, Jan 7, 13 at 10:09

Picea engelmannii Blue Angel
Picea pungens MPH Mamut Torony
Picea engelmannii Warrior
Cupressus nootkatensis 'Pendula' (I like Girard's Nursery's form so that's what I bought after searching because 'Pendula' is a catchall for several if not more than several clones)
Cedrus deodara 'Karl Fuchs' and Cedrus libani var. stenocoma

Dax

Picea engelmannii 'Blue Magoo'
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Glitter Falls'
Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'
Picea glauca 'Burning Well'
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Can't grow this one but envy those that can.

Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe' (Blue!)
Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' (Yellow!)
Pinus heldreichii 'Irish Bell' (Green!)
Picea sitchensis 'Papoose' (Blue/Green!)
Abies koreana 'Blue Emperor' (Metallic Blue!)

Of course I could swap all day but that group would be a nice catch of colours and forms.

This post was edited by severnside on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 22:09

Lou's Midlothian Montezuma cypress that I was forced to leave behind last summer. Awesome taxodium tree. Maybe I'll steal scions when I visit friends.

I'm going to bend the rules and list species, not in any order.

Taxodium distichum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Sequoia sempervirens
Araucaria excelsa
Ginkgo biloba

I'm aware ginkgo isn't a conifer, but it is a gymnosperm lol.

Ken

Picea abies Clanbrassiliana
Picea abies Anita's Golden Cloak
Sequoia sempervirens 'Mt. Loma Prieta Spike'
Cham. laws. 'Filip's Golden Tears'
Sciadopitys verticillata 'Henksgarden White'

This is Glaciersend's choice...

Chamaecyparis laws. 'Filip's. Golden Tears'
Abies norm. 'Filip's Goldheart'
Thuja occ. 'Filip's Magic Moment'
Pinus mugo 'Filip's Little Amigo'
Picea pungens 'Filip's Blue Compact'

This is Edwin's list ;o)

Abies koreana 'Kohout's Ice Breaker'
Tsuga canadensis 'Minuta'
Pinus korieansis 'Blue Ball'
Juniperus squamata 'Tropical Blue'
Thuja picata 'Haley Bob'

This is the list of henksgarden.

Greatings from Edwin , Dave , Henk ,sitting at the bar at the Oregon Garden Resort.

Researching Edwin's and Hank's nurseries offer, I got 50 favorite plants instead of 5.......:)

Greeting big travelers!:))

Ireena

Would love to visit The Oregon Garden one day. Have a great trip!
Richard

abies kor aurea

abies concolor for its blue cones and scent .. any named varitey .. especially the blue ones.. see last choice.. candicans ...

any dragon eye pine .. the more yellow the better ..

any mini with a growth rate under one inch ...

and anything really blue ... like P pungens hoopsi

ken

ps: i cant really name which kid is better than another.. its not good parenting.. so i defaulted to 'types' ....

unpro: skylands is orientalis.. rather than omorika .... as in Picea orientalis 'Skylands' .... i have to keep you on your toes.. since joy is off gallivanting around the globe .. lol ...

Just five? The question would be easier if you wanted 10 or 15. Here goes:

Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke'
Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon'
Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'
Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Compacta' (aka 'Glauca Compacta')
Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb' (aka 'Tom Thumb Gold')

Alex

Bah...I even looked it up, then wrote the wrong thing.

My top 5 favorite and what 5 I would plant are actually different lists. Several conifers that I really love do not have a snowball's chance of living down here. But my list of plantables are :
Eastern Red Cedar
Arizona Cypress
Bald Cypress
Hinoki Cypress
Pinyon Pine

This is a hard one.

I have so many that are unique in their own right.

I will only list the ones that stay true to color through the growing season. Not the ones that have a beautiful spring flush then revert back to their generic color. Also what is listed are well known and easily obtained in the states. Non of this foo foo stuff that you have to go under cover to obtain.

Picea pungens 'Hoopsii'

Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon'

Picea orientalis 'Skylands'.

Cupressus nootkatensis 'Van Den Akker' with the glauca color.

Picea omorika 'Gotti Weeping'. Let's not forget 'Pendula Bruns'.

Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Blue Weeping'.

Dave

I like a lot :

Picea orientalis 'Skylands'.
Cupressus nootkatensis 'Van Den Akker',
Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns',
Pinus mugo 'Sea Urchin',
a medium size broad pine growing on top of Korean hills, really loved their appearance, don't know name.

Bernd

Nageia maxima
Torreya jackii
Pinus lumholtzii
Pinus krempfii
Podocarpus longipedunculatus

Tough! But for sure, none of them would be cultivars, all natural, and all ones I've seen wild. I'll go for:

Cedrus libani - for its grandeur, and historical associations
Pinus nelsonii - 'cos it's plain weird
Pinus longaeva - for outlasting the years. And millenia
Picea breweriana - so graceful
Pinus stylesii - gotta have a white pine, and this one's my own discovery

But ask me again tomorrow and I might well chose a different selection . . . like why's there no Abies in that selection ;-)

Resin

Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis - Adaptable and smells good!

Picea rubens - Beautiful, dark green tree - Like the windswept wild ones

Pinus strobus - For all around adaptability - One of the most common (and nice looking) conifers around here.

Tsuga canadensis - Can't beat the graceful, sweeping branches - We've gotten lucky so far on adelgid in Indiana.

Pinus pungens - It has that bonsai look (full size, though), and smells really nice

These would also all be wild/species trees. I love the aroma of pine family conifers!

Taxodium distichum
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Thuja plicata

J

Let me throw in a couple of more species, Pinus Bungeana and Pinus Strobus, both like any cedrus, get much better with age. For general wow factor it is hard to beat Hoopsii,Gold Rush, Skylands or Picea Glauca Pendula.

I'm a rookie so its tough to call out "of all time" but here is what it might look like.

Abies concolor 'Archer's Dwarf
Abies lasiocarpa 'Martha's Vinyard'
Picea abies 'Honey Pot'
Picea glauca 'Ketch Harbor'
Picea omorika 'De Ruyter'

Can we get a bonus five?

Picea mariana 'Aureovariegata'
Picea glauca 'Yukon Blue'
Picea omorika 'Peve tijn'
Picea orientalis 'Silver Seedling'
Picea pungens 'Spring Blast'

The first three are species I love both in gardens and in the mountains:

1. Tsuga mertensiana
2. Abies lasiocarpa
3. Picea breweriana

The fourth is a wish only, as I don't know if it is available or growable in the garden. But it is my very favorite conifer to see in the wild:

4. Larix lyallii

Finally, I like miniatures in the garden, especially ones that I can picture growing near the tree line:

5. Almost any miniature conifer. Fill in the blanks... Bonus points if it has been rooted rather than grafted (such as Abies lasiocarpa 'Duflon') or is a seedling from a witches broom (such as a Picea pungens).

-m

7 Dec - But ask me again tomorrow and I might well chose a different selection . . . like why's there no Abies in that selection ;-)

8 Dec - Ok, consider yourself asked again. And could you furnish me the story of your Pinus stylesii discovery. Sounds interesting...

...and why aren't there any Abies in that selection, something to do with a prejudice? ;-)

"8 Dec - Ok, consider yourself asked again. And could you furnish me the story of your Pinus stylesii discovery. Sounds interesting...

...and why aren't there any Abies in that selection, something to do with a prejudice? ;-)"

No Abies because there wasn't space in only 5 choices. But there could easily have been one. I guess Abies fargesii might be my top choice, but equally, maybe A. procera.

Of Pinus stylesii - I'd been looking through the cones in the herbarium at Kew labelled Pinus strobiformis, and noticed that there were two very distinct types. Once I looked at the locations, it was soon obvious that the ones from the Sierra Madre Occidental were one type, and the ones from the Sierra Madre Oriental were the other. With a further literature check revealing that no white pine had ever been named from Sierra Madre Oriental specimens (Pinus strobiformis was described from the S. M. Occidental). So of course I had to head out there to see it myself. And sure enough, the cones I found were the same distinct ones.

Resin

Of Pinus stylesii - I'd been looking through the cones in the herbarium at Kew labelled Pinus strobiformis, and noticed that there were two very distinct types. Once I looked at the locations, it was soon obvious that the ones from the Sierra Madre Occidental were one type, and the ones from the Sierra Madre Oriental were the other. With a further literature check revealing that no white pine had ever been named from Sierra Madre Oriental specimens (Pinus strobiformis was described from the S. M. Occidental). So of course I had to head out there to see it myself. And sure enough, the cones I found were the same distinct ones.

That's a supreme piece of detective work and discovery. You have your very own life monument and well deserved. Stylesii - after yourself?

And reading what you said about pinus longaeva, I bought myself a Pinus longaeva 'Schulman Grove' after the site and the discoverer of which Dr. Edmund P. Schulman. I felt that to be fitting. Will it need special attention in the UK?

Hope a short photo list is OK?

My top 5 changes perhaps, month to month. When you see certain conifers at their best, sometimes you just cannot choose.

#5. Picea mariana 'Aureovariegata' - Really beautiful, two-toned golden foliage with silvery/blue/green underneath and foliage in the shade. Moderately fast upright grower but worth it if you have some space.
{{gwi:633726}}

The needle color is exceptional and no real sign of sunburn in full sun once it's established.
{{gwi:633727}}

4. Abies veitchii 'Rumburk' - Just a beautiful silvery-blue spreader. Different in Spring/Summer then Winter but glorious in all four seasons.
{{gwi:633728}}

3. Abies koreana 'Gait' - A narrow upright korean fir with beautiful symmetrical form and best of all - it freely cones at a very very early age and the cones are typical of the species - very beautiful.

{{gwi:633729}}

2. Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes 'Ogon' - Erroniously named 'Gold Rush' in the trade, this is one of the softest, most beautiful, graceful conifer you can grow. It grows quickly, handles moderate to full sun(if you can provide it with plenty of water), and it has a different 'Autumn' color, Spring color and Summer color. I have several planted, and for a collector, duplicates usually mean they looove a plant.
{{gwi:633730}}

Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe' - Simple a gorgeous dwarf fir, this remains my favorite, various hues from Spring to Winter of blue, teal and sky blue tinted with a silver sheen. It's a gem.
{{gwi:633731}}

-Will

Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Korean Gold'
Abies concolor 'Winter Gold'
Pseudotsuga 'Seatle Mountain'
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguro'
Picea orientalis 'Skylands'

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguro'

"Stylesii - after yourself?"

After the late Brian T. Styles, formerly of the Oxford Forestry Institute, and a very deserving botanist.

"Pinus longaeva .... Will it need special attention in the UK?"

Yes; exceptionally good drainage is perhaps the most important. Keeping the foliage dry in winter wet weather is also likely important (to stop bud rot), but not at all easy to do.

Resin

After the late Brian T. Styles, formerly of the Oxford Forestry Institute, and a very deserving botanist.

Great gesture.

Yes; exceptionally good drainage is perhaps the most important. Keeping the foliage dry in winter wet weather is also likely important (to stop bud rot), but not at all easy to do.

Wiki says that they last a paltry 100 years out of their accepted conditions. I have a 45 degree slope which gives the idea of raised gritty beds that will flush through. Or would long term generous containerization be a way? These aren't big or fast growing plants, and they might not resent some root restriction as much as wet. I'm betting the specimen is from Kohouts so I wonder how they deal with the problem. I'll make a thread about it sometime. Top wet cover would also be easier in containers.

I'd go for the raised gritty bed, rather than a pot. Top growth may be very slow, but the root system is typically very extensive.

Resin

Wow. This is tough.

1) Cedrus libani (I know it's not native, but England wouldn't be England without it)
2) Sequoia semprevirens (Gotta go big! And gotta give California its props)
3) Abies pindrow (Showy, prehistoric looking dinosaur food. Amazing something so subtropical looking can grow well on the US East Coast)
4) Pinus lumholtzii (one of the most striking photos in Conifers Around the World is of this species)
5) Larix decidua (They are so beautiful in the Alps. I wanted to get off the Bernina Express and hug one!)

Wonderful pictures, Will. I particularly like your Picea mariana 'Aureovariegata'.
Richard

I'd go for the raised gritty bed, rather than a pot. Top growth may be very slow, but the root system is typically very extensive.

Ok, I'll enjoy getting it right for them. What I'll probably do is build up some raised wells with rocks. Eventually their roots will find the clay of the slope but it's won't be in any way waterlogged.

Picea glauca “Humpty Dumpty”

Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis “Green Arrow”

Picea Pungens “Bakeri Blue Spruce”

Larix decidua “Puli”

Pinus Contorta “Chief Joseph” Logpole pine

Pinus longaeva

Pinus culminicola

Pinus rigida - Especially the Pygmy Pitch Pines that grow on Hawksbill Mountain in Western North Carolina below . . .

"But for sure, none of them would be cultivars, all natural, and all ones I've seen wild." Resin

Amen.

Bald cypress

Longleaf Pine

Sugar Pine

Giant Sequoia

Cedar of Lebanon

My top five conifers of all time would have to be:

Cupressus cashmeriana - most elegant and beautiful - even though I can't grow it - too cold

Picea glauca 'Pendula' - most stately

Picea orientalis 'Skylands' - best shaped colored conifer

Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' - best blue

Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Gold Rush' - lights up any garden

and 1st runner up - Pinus strobus 'Pendula' - a very serene tree but again I can't grow it because I'm too hot