Hi Holly, it's not impossible! Many conifers are suitable for Denver. Do you have a preference for color, e.g. blue, green, yellow?
If you're considering a nursery purchase, one option is Paulino Gardens. They are a member of the American Conifer Society and have some nice dwarf plants.
And a visit to the Botanic Gardens is always good for inspiration and ideas.

This ACS webpage discusses growth rates and other useful conifer tidbits.

Here is a link that might be useful: ACS, conifer sizes

Just to name a few I like (not all dwarfs) but all are narrower ... at least in my CO yard.

I have a Picea abies Aurea (from Forest Farm) which is doing well and is very very slender. I think its going to be tall eventually, but not wide at all.

Pinus sylvestris 'gold coin' is doing well here and is a knockout in the winter with its bright yellow needles. Its a little wider, but not very tall.

Picea omorika 'Nana' is very amazing each spring, with buds by the gallon, while maintaining a petite size.

Picea glauca densata (Black Hills Spruce) is a slow grower and seems pretty narrow, but its a beauty and somewhat easier to find.

Even the common Picea pungens f. glauca 'Baby Blue Eyes' is a great choice here.

I've also grown extremely fond of my Picea Pungens 'Bakeri' which are not that wide, fairly tall but have stunning blue every spring and some funky forms that are interesting. Its very common here and not a dwarf, but it a lot more narrow than the 3-4 large conifers that everyone plants in CO.

Thank you both for your responses!

I forgot to add that I also have a Picea pungens 'Glauca Procumbens' that has also been doing well for several years. (I think that is the cultivar - the label stake is still there but the label itself has "disappeared" :-( ) There are also four large blue spruces that a previous owner planted - on the south side of the back yard and under the phone lines, not an ideal location :rolleyes: - that seem to thrive. They aren't great specimens, in terms of unusual color or characteristics, but they are doing very well indeed. A yew planted in the shade of these spruces is also doing well

As far as colours go, I do like blue, but also like yellow forms and have no problem with the various shades of green, either. I seem to like the unusual, contorted forms, like the 'Uncle Fogy" but also like the more stately (??) forms like the arborvitae. I would love to try a Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' but they seem a bit expensive to me, and I don't want to buy another conifer that won't survive!

I do frequent Paulino's; I didn't know they belonged to the American Conifer society, either. I purchased my 'Uncle Fogy' from them. I used to go to Echter's a lot, as they had many unusual plants on offer, but they have gotten way too expensive. I don't think I went there even once last year; they are way too proud of their stuff! Timberline Gardens also is a good place to get some different cultivars. One of my failed 'St. Mary's' came from them.

I used to purchase from Forest Farm as well - primarily perennials - but haven't done so lately. My brother first introduced me to them, gave me one of their book-like catalogs years ago. I remember actually reading it cover to cover and marking all of the plants I would love to have. There were no color pictures but the descriptions were excellent. I still visit their Web page.

I will check out the conifers you listed, bunkers. Thank you for the ACS link, sluice. It has been way too long since I visited the Botanic Gardens; good idea to check out what they have growing there as an indication of what might do well for me.

Holly

Here are some I can think of:

Picea engelmannii 'Hoodie'
Picea pungens 'Wendy'
Picea abies 'Will's Zwergform'
all Picea's (spruce) will be grafted to either Picea abies (Norway spruce) or your native (Picea pungens) - both are suitable for "dry, clay, intense sunlight/heat"

I am comptemplating but, I really do think Chamaecyparis pisifera forms will do well:
Chamaecyparis pisifera
'Sungold'
'Gold Spangle' ...there's a list of them.

If you like large and columnar trees: Thuja occidentalis 'Malonyana Aurea' & 'Malonyana'.

Pinus ponderosa cultivars at the link Nate listed will be very-suitable, also native for you.

Also columnar:
Juniperus virginiana 'Taylor'

There's certainly much more.

Dax

Picea pungens 'Egyptian Pyramid' is another.
rare - Pinus resinosa 'Thunderhead'
Pinus koraiensis 'Nana'
Pinus strobus 'Sarah Rachael'
Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' - a favorite of mine of all Thuja occ. cultivars.
Pinus mugo: 'Big Tuna', 'Yellow Point', 'Marand',
Pinus banksiana 'Angel' is a favorite of mine.
Pinus ponderosa 'Hiwan'
Pinus parviflora 'Yatsubusa'

Dax

spellcheck: 'Sarah Rachel' Pinus strobus

Wow! Lots and lots of suggestions. I will be doing quite a bit of research now to see which cultivars are available to me - and which ones I can afford. I know I will want more of them than I can afford - as well as more than I have room for!

Dax - I was surprised by your suggestion of the Chamaecyparis - my vision of a cypress is probably of a bald cypress, a completely different species, so I always think they need much more water than we get here - but I will most certainly check into the Chamaecyparis pisifera cultivars you mentioned.

I know that quite a few yellow cultivars are not supposed to burn in the sun, but the high altitude, intense sunlight here in Colorado is not something that they have been tested in. I think they will do fine as well as they only get morning sunlight though.

I am excited by all of these choices; thank you all for your many suggestions.

Holly

Here's a Cham. pisifera 'Filifera' at the DBG.
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Don't plant those Holly!

Yet, best regards,

Dax

"Don't plant those Holly!" Why not, Dax? Too big, or....?

As I recall, Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop' is one of the many small conifers I have tried that didn't make it. I had it in a protected spot, but it still died before the season was up. :( I did probably try to amend the soil, since I always try to make my clay soil better, but from reading on this forum that is apparently not the thing to do with conifers Anyway, it definitely wasn't happy.

Holly

Sorry to hear about the Golden Mop. As I recall, Bunkers has one and really likes it.

I also amend my clay, which I think is an ok thing to do if your soil needs it. I realize opinions differ on this topic.

Another dwarf to consider is Pinus schwerinii 'Wiethorst', which is shown at #30 on Will's thread (link below).

Here is a link that might be useful: Wiethorst at #30

The Chamaecyparis... I think it may need humidity to succeed.
'Wiethorst' good idea.

Dax

Oh, I want a Pinus Schwerinii 'Weithorst'! What a wonderful looking tree! This one is going on my short list.

Holly

I have narrowed down my list of conifers to Pinus Schwerinii 'Weithorst' and Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' - though this list may change by the time I have the $$ to spend. :p I have found the 'Weithorst' at Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm and the 'Sherwood Frost' at Fantastic Plants. Are there better sources for these two trees?

I would also like to get a specimen of Pinus banksiana 'Angel' but can't seem to find anywhere that offers this cultivar. Does anyone know where this tree is available?

Holly

Holly, it's 'Wiethorst' instead of 'Weithorst'.
If you'll go to a garden centre and you'll ask for a 'Weithorst' then I can assure you that you'll go home empty handed...

Dax, Picea abies abies 'Will's Zwergform' must be written as 'Will's Zwerg' aka 'Obergaertner Bruns'.

Nate the Chamaecyparis pisif. 'Filifera' at your pic isn't the right one, it's to compact and it's colour isn't right.
The true 'Filifera' grows much faster and it's colour is a dark green.
The one at your pic looks like a 'Golden Mop' or a 'Filifera Nana' which isn't happy at this spot...

coniferjoy - the 'Weithorst' was just a typo - twice. :-o

It's way too early for any of the nurseries in my area to be selling trees; I just did a search on line - using the correct spelling of 'Wiethorst' - to find sources for this cultivar. :-)

Holly

Here's a good source for the 'Sherwood Frost' (cheap shipping, cheap plants, good plants).

A lot of people purchase from Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm. I just haven't.

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: Evergreen Nursery

I think if you're going to want this cultivar, this year, you'd have to write/send email to one of these specialist nurseries, asking first if they have this plant in their collection... and if so can it be propagated this year (or next).

Coenosium Gardens: does custom grafting
Gee Farms: does custom grafting
Arrowhead Alpines: write to ask
Porterhowse Farms: write to ask

If those four fail, I'll brainstorm a little more... so far every nursery's inventory including those above - aren't listing it for sale.

Dax

Yes, I have a Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop' and its a huge favorite. It is so bright yellow all summer and fall ... and has only faded over the winter to a darker less lush yellow. I'm still hoping it makes it through the first full winter here. So far it looks good and made it through the 20 below we had. I have mine planted in an area which was flash flooded, which resulted in a some nicer topsoil and I also have been putting down the mulch layers, the bottom 4-5" inches which are just black gold compost now.

I really liked the Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop' and might try it again. Where do you have yours planted, bunkers - in partial shade, full sun, or.... As I recall (it has been a few years) I had mine planted in a shaded area and it didn't even make it through the summer. I certainly didn't mulch it as much as I should have, either, if 5" or more mulch is recommended. It seems that if you put down too much mulch, the water doesn't reach the soil level, and, on the other hand, I am concerned that mulch over clay soil will just cause it to retain too much moisture. :-(

Perhaps I should change the type of mulch I am using - I primarily use cedar bark mulch. Should I just be using compost??

Holly

Thank you for the link to Evergreen Nursery, Dax. Excellent prices, indeed!

As you suggested, I have emailed Coenosium Gardens, Arrowhead Alpines and Porterhowse Farms to see if they will have Pinus banksiana 'Angel' available at some point.

Gee Farms only has their 2010 catalog up on their website at this time and actually had two (only two!) specimens of 'Angel' available, but I was unable to find an email address on their site. I may call them later to find out if they will have the cultivar available this year, as they do include a phone number.

Holly

all yellow plants.. turn the best yellow in full sun.. otherwise the yellow tends to be dull if not greenish ....

i used cedar CHIP mulch for decades.. one of the best..

i answered the clay soil issue in your other post ... you are correct to zero in on that aspect.. but dont jump to the conclusion that the type of mulch is a problem ... if the mulch soaks up all the water ... then you havent watered the mulch enough ...

but keep firmly in mind.. ESTABLISHED conifers do not need a lot of water ... and it is really tricky with the clay soil ...

i agree with the recommendation to get to the local botanical garden ... dont get tied up in the specific named variety only .... if you like e.g. Picea glauca.. there are dozens or types ... many plants in an older established garden are simply not available ... as well as many posted by our european friends .... but trust me.. there are many look alikes ... so make lists of TYPES ... and CULTIVAR NAMES ...

have fun

ken

I'll have to find a source for cedar chip mulch; all the nurseries (and big box stores) around here seem to carry is the bagged shredded cedar bark mulch, not cedar chips. The shredded bark mulch seems to keep the water from penetrating down to the soil; I'm thinking that the chips would work better, allowing more water to make its way through to the soil.

I checked on line and found cedar chips for sale as cat litter and as a bar-b-que additive (for smoke flavor) - rather expensive, too, if I want to use it as mulch - but nothing specified as a mulch. I'll have to do some more research, call some of the local landscaping supply places.

Holly

Holly, your local superstores and grocery stores will probably carry pine nuggets. Those are great. You can also purchase online, pine straw mulch (it's lightweight) and very good. I hope they have that 'Angel' for ya.

Dax

I checked into ordering some Pine straw - a 40 lb bale for approx $30 - and then almost another $20 for shipping. Yikes. Is it worth it?

I have linked a pine nugget product below - it is made from Ponderosa pines. Is these a decent mulch? (Umm, this may be a stupid question, but do I need to worry about importing pine bark beetles to my yard by using this stuff that may have come from pine beetle-killed Ponderosas? The beetles are devastating the forests of Colorado so I don't want to help spread the infestation!)

Holly

Here is a link that might be useful: Small western garden bark

To find mulch, you may want to try and call someone like Davey Tree Experts. They don't sell mulch (I don't think) but being a tree service company, they make plenty of it. They may also be able to steer you toward someone who does sell mulch in bulk in your area.

tj

Holly, I don't know what the coverage is for a bail of straw mulch, however, I do know it goes a very long way for a very small amount of product. I'd recommend a bail.

Of course you may ask nurseries, "stores" if they can order in a bail thus bunnyhopping on their shipping and saving.

For the Pine nuggets, there's been discussion and a person can never be certain, no....... but I use them all the time, with the rest of the world. I much prefer the medium-nuggets. The large nuggets are too-large. They'd be a good top dress, over another product.

Dax

tsugajunkie - I will check with some of the local landscaping/tree services to see if they have any decent mulch for sale. My problem is that I no longer have a pick up truck so the delivery cost might far exceed what I can spend for mulch (maybe I could rent a truck though...."

Dax - Guess I will order a bale of pine straw then; it seems to be highly recommended by many people. And according to pinestrawdirect.com, one bale will cover 30 sq ft at 3" deep, more than enough for my needs at this time. And I will also get some bags of the small/medium pine bark nuggets from Home Depot.

How far from the trunk of the tree should the mulch be placed?

I have heard back from all three nurseries that I emailed about the Pinus banksiana 'Angel.' Arrowhead Alpines is going to look to see if they have any of this cultivar available and Don of Porterhowse Farms is also going to take a look at the stock at the wholesale nursery he uses to see if they have one. Bob of Coenosium Gardens, however, said it is not a dwarf selection so it is not one that he grows... I see it listed elsewhere as a dwarf...is it, or isn't it??

Holly

Holly,

I saw a photo of P.banksiana 'Angel' years ago and it's still in my mind and from memory, I think it grows up to 6" a year as it ages a few 5 years from say a 1-gallon that's a "nice graft". My memory says it grows between 4-6". What I recall most about it is the small pyramidal form with a twisty/shaggy look to the ends of the branches...

Only to clarify, *mulch goes right up near a trunk but shouldn't touch it - the main idea is not to bury the trunk and not to create the opposite of a mound to plant on, called a "mulch volcano" - you make one of those and you'll end up with something dead - hence, your mound is convex* Glad I got that off my mind... lol - Large Pine Nuggets don't go over Pine Straw Mulch. Any photo in this entire album is mulched with that bailed-product. The stuff forms a mat.

Here are a few photos in case the link doesn't work:

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Dax

Dax - thank you for those pictures - you have avery beautiful garden. The pine straw mulch looks good, IMHO. A 'mulch volcano?" How do you put 2-3" of mulch around a plant without touching the stem/trunk and also avoid leaving a hole (I am assuming that this is what you mean by a volcano - a volcano caldera?) in the mulch around the stem/trunk? :confused:

And I wasn't planning to use the pine straw and the pine nuggets together - wouldn't that look a sight! Nothing in my yard is uniform in appearance anyway. I was going to use the pine straw for some beds/specimens and the nuggets for others. First I need to redo some of my beds to try to get rid of my most invasive weed problem, lawn grass (and then there is that disgusting bindweed...) and then I want to put down a good, thick layer of mulch.

Here is my current "short list" of conifers I hope to buy and plant this year:

Pinus schwerinii 'Wiethorst'
Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion'
Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost'
Picea pungens 'Sester's Dwarf'
Pinus banksiana 'Angel'
Pinus mugo 'Yellow Point'

I have found sources for all of them and now have to find the $$ to buy them!

Holly

Holly you've made some great selections. I'll further reinforce the Pinus schwerinii 'Wiethorst' selection - it's an incredible pine with some years to it.

-Will

Holly, good luck with your conifer plantings this year! From the sounds of it, they are going to do fantastic.

Thank you for the encouragement, firefightergardener and sluice! And, of course, you can come help me with the placement of the new trees, sluice! (j/k)

I am looking forward to getting my new "babies," and I haven't even ordered them as yet. Unfortunately, I won't be able to order them all at the same time, but I'm hoping to get at least two of them (the 'Wiethorst' for sure) with my next paycheck. :-D

Holly

Hi Holly, just do what looks normal with mulch. If you create like a kid might, then somethings wrong!!

Happy Planting!

Dax
p.s. photos are from an old friend's garden, nonetheless....

Thanks Dax! I'll try not to mulch like a kid would. :-)

I ordered my Pinus schwerinii 'Wiethorst' this morning. Such a small specimen, as far as I can tell (no plant size was listed by the nursery just the size of the container,) but the shipping cost did me in money-wise so that is probably all I'll be able to order this time around.

Holly

Quick update: These are the conifers I have ordered or obtained this spring; many of which have already been received and planted:

Picea pungens 'Blue Moon'
Picea pungens 'Sester's Dwarf'
Picea glauca (mariana??) 'Echiniformis' - probably not
*****"glauca" from what I have read here
Picea pungens 'The Blues'
Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula'
Pinus banksiana 'Angel'
Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf'
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'
Pinus mugo 'Zundert'
Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst'
Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion'
Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost'
Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost'

More trees than I intended to get and less than I want, but it is a start. The Pinus mugo 'Yellow Point' may have to wait until next year, but it is still on my wish list, as are many of the other cultivars named in this thread.

Thanks again to everyone who gave me suggestions and recommendations. And stop tempting me to get more! :-D

Holly

Don't forget pics!

Don't forget pics!

I'll see what I can do but please note these are all pretty small plants and probably won't be very impressive (especially to the mighty collectors here.) I might need a close up lens for a couple of them. :-D

Holly

Cool Photos!

:-O

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Metro Forum

Bump for progress report...

Holly where art thou?

Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive.

Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring:

Abies balsamea 'Nana'
Juniperus communis 'Kalebab'
Picea abies 'Tompa'
Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice)
Picea pungens 'The Blues'
Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis'
Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb)
Pinus banksiana 'Angel'
Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula'
Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf'
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'
Pinus mugo 'Zundert'
Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst'
Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion'
Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost'
Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik'
Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost'

These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well:

Juniperus communis 'Kalebab'
Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula'
Pinus banksiana 'Angel'
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'
Pinus mugo 'Zundert'
Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion'
Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost'
Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost'

Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant...

The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year.

I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine.

So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.')

Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D

Holly

Just noticed Dax's Gee Farms availability list - they have the Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst'...temptations, temptations....

Holly

Pull the trigger, Holly. You know you want to!

I promise to try to stop you at the third try, lol!

Last year was a tough one. I hope for a better year for us, too. We could sure use some moisture around here!

I've got too many coming to order more, so I'm not even going to look at Gees. I'm enable proof right now, so I'm working on you!

Happy Spring to you as well!

Barb

Thanks a lot, Barb! Unfortunately, I am more than able to enable myself. lol I said I wasn't going to buy anymore confers this year and have already purchased one. I am probably doomed.... :-(

We may get some snow out of this storm that is passing through; I did water everything last week, too. Moisture would indeed be nice, but I would prefer rain as opposed to a heavy spring snow that will cause lots of damage... Not that Mama Nature gives us a vote...

Holly

Last summer was terrible. I lost just about every Pinus parviflora I had. They got scorched, plain and simple.

I agree with Barb! Pull the trigger! It only hurts for a few seconds.

Dax

Here in Colorado where I live we got some much needed rain last night, no snow as yet, but that could still happen. It is about 34 degrees now - it was in the mid-80's on Saturday! Lovely Colorado extremes, very good for the plants I am sure. :rolleyes:

Sorry to hear that you had a bad summer, too, Dax. As Barb said, here's hoping for a better year for all of us.

My resolution not to buy any more conifers this year has already been broken, so I am off now to do some early morning shopping. Just one or two trees, of course....

Holly

Hi Holly,

Thanks for the update on Mile Up '92. It's good information for me to have (although I'm sorry about the outcome!). Sounds like many of your other conifers are doing well. I enjoyed seeing the Uncle Fogy at your place, that tree is outstanding. And also the dwarf ponderosa!

Nate

Hi Nate - I was devastated when I saw the poor tree start to die a little by little. As far as I could tell I didn't water it too much or too little, it seemed to be doing fine, and then it just started dying. :-( I know you said it was ready to be planted when you gave it to me, but I so wish that I had left it in the pot instead - maybe it needed to recover from having been freshly dug?? You know what they say about hindsight. Anyway, I am very sorry that one of your "babies" died when it was in my care.

The Uncle Fogey and the dwarf Ponderosa - (what ever it may be; I agree that maybe it was one that Jerry Morris was selling many years ago at the Denver Botanic Gardens yearly plant sale) - are both doing very well.

Holly