hi

welcome. ..

you need to get to latin.. to play this game ....

when i google your incense cedar.. i get two different trees.. one a CA sequoia.. and one Calocedrus decurrens .. and i have to tell you IA isnt CA ... lol ..

and frankly.. neither of them grow in my zone 5 ... so i would suggest a newbie cross that one off your list ... and if you google the latin Calocedrus decurrens is listed both as z5 and z6 hardy... and higher zones .... that is not what i call a bullet proof z5 plant.. and i would call it odds on dead z5 plant ...

soil is irrelevant.. but for how you plant them in your soil ... we can worry about that later ...

nordmann fir .. do not do well in my z5 ... though others will claim they hate me personally ... i think you are zone pushing.. unless you have some magical micro climate.. but when you say they will be planted individually.. i wonder about such .... IMHO.. a dice throw ...

the nootka is not a cypress [i know that is what 'they' call it.. but 'they' are idiots.. lol] ...... and has gone thru many recent name changes.. it should be fine for you ... and pendula should be bullet proof.. with proper aftercare ...

you really havent told us what you want.. color??.. texture??? .. size.. etc.. link below to an intro to conifers... pay attention the the section CONIFER SIZES.. and understand that size ESTIMATES are at 10 years.. and being trees.. they will never stop growing... and they will be twice as big in 20 years ....

also note the annual growth rates.. and if you want slower growing varieties.. then you go for plant with lower annual growth

there are some great arborteums in IA ... i think.. my best suggestion.. is to track one down.. and go look at the myriad of options you may have.. near you ... once you get some ideas.. most of us mail order them to our front door ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

You are correct, i meant calocedrus decurrens.

Thanks for the link. I'd be looking for intermediate/ large trees. No specific wants for color/texture. Just a change up from the deciduous trees, winter interest, and hopefully some shelter for birds.

What about a dawn metasequoia glyptostroboides?

"the nootka is not a cypress"

Not a Chamaecyparis, now a Cupressus, but yes, a cypress.
Man that reads like I'm slurring my speech.

tj

metasequoia glyptostroboides is commonly called dawn redwood .... try not to mix the common name into the latin .. lol ...

bulletproof in z5 MI ...

BUT!!! ... its deciduous like the rest of your trees ...

it might not add anything to winter interest ...

there are a few allegedly variegated ones ... of which i am not unduly impressed ... really now.. if you have to have it 3 inches from your nose.. to notice variegation.. well .. thats not much of a show ...

but Ogon .. the gold one is to die for in summer ... and i am totally blanking on its name ..... oh.. M. g. Gold Rush i think ... is a blinding yellow all summer long ....

when i think of cypress.. i think cypress greece ... and when i think that.. i think to myself.. MI aint greece.. nor coastal Mediterranean ... so i think to myself.. hmmm.. i bet thats not going for work for me .... and that is why i had the little rant about calling the nootka a cypress [and noting the multiple name changes on it] ... this plant.. this pendula.. no matter how they want to argue about classification of names.. is z5 bulletproof .... and just to top it off.. the nootka part is commonly called an alaskan cedar [but of course.. its not a cedar either ] ... but its interesting to note.. some parts of alaska are z7 or 8 .... and then.. just to continue the rant.. lol.. for a while they were calling it some unpronounceable name that began with an X .... and at that point.. i figured the scientists were simply messing with us ... crikey ... whats that all about ...

IA is big hosta territory .. and when i had the national hosta convention here.. a few years back.. many IA peeps came.. and frankly were sick of hosta.. by the time they made it to my garden.. and they were amazed at the vast number of species i could grow.. MI is in some magical area.. where i can do a vast range of things.. that peeps south of me cant do.. so i am loathe.. to make specific recommendations to you about your options.. and why i suggested you track down a local collection or arb to view what is more specific to you area ... e.g. Davesconifers [Kansas City] ... can not do a lot of what i do.. but we are both z5 ... and what you are looking for is the first two latin names ... all 'named cultivars' within the species.. would survive per the species .... get those names.. and then we can discuss the named ones ...

so when it all boils down.. you get the names.. i will give you opinion.. but i cant get you the names .. for fear of leading you astray ....

ken

Ken,

Thanks for your continued thoughts. Bummer about the metasequoia being deciduous (for my purposes). I'll have to give that some more thought.

I need to get to an arboretum like you said.

At the point though I am giving more thought to doing the more common varieties. I am going to do at least one chamaecyparis nootkatensis pendula though.

go figure.. one of the supreme gardens in the US ..... right in IA ....

they have a plant list on line too .....

the world is your oyster ... whatever that means ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I second Ken's suggestion for the dawn redwood. If you want something that will nock your socks off, grow crazy fast, and will be a tall beautiful tree in your lifetime, then get a Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon' aka 'Gold Rush'. You won't be disappointed. It will put on a great show and quickly become a tall monumental, glowing, beacon in your yard. You just can't beat the bright feathery foliage.

Sorry, I'm just a huge fan of this tree.

Here's a link below to a mail order 2 gallon 24'-30' tall 'Ogon' if your thinking about it. =^)

Here is a link that might be useful: singtree.com - M.g. 'Ogon'

I do think I'll do a metasequoia. Just need to decide on species, dawn, or waasland.

Now I just need to observe some other species and pick a few out. I really want those to keep their needles during the winder for both winter interest and bird habitat.

Sorry, duplicate post.

This post was edited by mdchambe on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 20:22

Abies concolor does very well in NW Iowa. Great powder blue color with new growth that feels like cool latex rubber.
Rob

hungrymind, here's a Concolor on a campus nearby in western MD. It's actually double-trunked, but you can't see it:

And a closeup of the needles: