Glacier's End, 4/15/13

David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society

11 years ago

Hello friends,

I did a road trip through the environs of Portland, Oregon last weekend to attend a planning meeting of this year's American Conifer Society regional get together. Along the way, I couldn't resist visiting a couple of my favorite nurseries{{gwi:807}} in search of new treasures for the garden. Enjoy!

First stop was Jim Boyko's nursery{{gwi:807}} in Boring. Jim does some amazing things with grafting standards. Here he's used Pinus banksiana 'Uncle Fogy' as understock for Pinus uncinata 'Paradekissen.' He wasn't positive that it would work long term, but I'm willing to try anything. At the base is Cedrus deodara 'Feelin Blue' which will provide a nice understory here.
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a closeup of one of two grafted scions.
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Another one of Boyko's creations. This one is a double-graft of Pinus mugo 'Butternut,' a witch's broom Jim found at the nursery. I like the combination of the pine's gold with the Euphorbia's chartreuse.
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Last from this stop is Pinus thunbergii 'Emery's Dwarf.' A nice tight pine with the characteristic white candles.
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The next stop in the journey was European Nursery, owned and operated by Jan Redyk. I'd never been there before and I was more than impressed with all of the unusual cultivars, many that are very new to this country.

Here is Larix decidua 'Krejci,' the king of strange clumpy larches and a recent arrival from Czech Republic. I can't wait for this and another in a different part of the garden to develop.
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Pinus banksiana 'Wisconsin,' very tight and very choice. This is one of Al Fordham's many banksiana cultivars out there.
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Lastly, a couple of shots of the more mature areas. Here's a panorama of my sand bed with some alpines just rocking it. The conifers are Abies concolor 'Piggelmee' (front) and Pinus sylvestris 'Jeremy' toward the back. Concolors in sand is my big experiment. My goal is to get them to live -- something that is not the easiest thing to do in the Northwest.
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Here is Picea orientalis 'Skylands' with friends. For those of you struggling with this one, all I can say is be patient. This tree was stunted and ugly from burning for its first 4-5 years of life. Now it's looking magificent.
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I'll take our slow endless spring anytime. I'm happy to live in some of the best conifer growing climate that there is anywhere.

~Dave

This post was edited by Glaciers-End on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 8:00

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Comments (10)

gardener365
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We get more precipitation that the Pacific Northwest ;)

You've shown us some interesting things and ideas. Dennis in Iowa had a grove of Pinus flexilis in a giant crater of sand for 15 years~, however eventually... they did die. I think for a dwarf or mini, Dennis' would still have alive pines but, he had a grove of trees of the species (and on their own roots).

The same applies to other woodies in native soils different from a persons native soil. I've seen natural dwarf oaks in a pretty large sand bed that are alive only because they the person created the sand bed. As I recall one oak in particular was 2 zones warmer than our climate and was clearly thriving, not the pretties thing I've ever seen...! It had slight protection, but not enough to keep it alive, except for the sand. The hardiness was certainly improved.

Dax
ogcon
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dave ,thanks for getting Jim Boyko back on my radar.Been meaning to go there for years,finally Jeff,Monkeytreeboy and myself made it yesterday.After a swing by Larry Stanleys(all three of us scored a 'Haley Bop')it was on to
Jims quite concentrated and well laid out can yard.Jim turned out to be very personable and unassuming, in other words a great guy.He seemed interested in trading material and less worried about cash flow so a few deals
were struck.One of those unforgettable days out there in the shadow of Mt.Hood.I didn't even mention the coolest looking 'noots' I've seen so far.Doug
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coniferjoy
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dave you got some nice additions there to show people at the upcomming ACS tour!

Some mispellings to some of your conifer names:
Pinus silvestris = Pinus sylvestris.

Abies concolor 'Pigglemee' = 'Piggelmee'.

I hope I'm in time with this info before you're gonna to make the tags for them... ;0)
PRO
David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks, Edwin.

They were just errors in typing. The tags are correct. :)

I'm happy that Gardenweb now lets us correct the original post. This is now done as well.

~Dave
barbaraincalif
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the tour Dave! Love the creative grafts.
Do you have a date set for the regional meeting?

Barbara
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hold on a sec, I need to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

The Boyko standards are off the hook. Truly, fascinating specimens. Just to think of the work that went into creating 'Paradekissen'...Making the intial 'Uncle Fogy' graft and then waiting years for it to get big enough to graft the uncinata scions. This plant crosses the line beyond which plant propagation becomes art.

Thanks for the tour, it's always very interesting to see what you've got going on in the garden Dave.

Alex
PRO
David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Barbara,

The dates we're setting for the ACS Regional Meeting is September 13th through 15th with the meeting headquarters in Olympia, WA. More info to follow . . .

@Alex, you're absolutely right. Jim Boyko dances the fine line between nurseryman and artist. He's officially a wholesaler, so tell your favorite garden center to buy his stuff!

~Dave
gardener365
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hermsen Nursery in Farley, IA sells Boyko plants.

Cheers,

Dax
sluice
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nice Skylands! Thanks for the tour.
dietzjm
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lucky you, Dave! I've been scouring the globe for Larix decidua 'Krejci' for a couple years now. Your gardens are looking great!