I'd love to see a good, solid discussion on this.

Platycladus orientalis ... some types can be bronze orange-ish, some can be kinda burgundy at times, like 'Morgan'

Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' ... does turn kinda reddish purple. Practically native to your area.

Thuja occidentalis 'Congabe' "Fire Chief" ... turns kinda rusty colored at the tips with bronze underneath, better than 'Rheingold'

Microbiotia, the "Siberian Arb". I've seen it turn a nice dull purple, but other plants I've seen just turn more dull bronze

a few other of those little fuzzy boring small shrubs are suppossed to turn kinda purplish. Think one is called something like Heatherbun.

not sure what else you could choose from.

almost all the thuja turn colors ... from their plain green .... like Thuja orientalis `Morgan'

and plain microbiata ...

listen .. the best way to figure it all out.. is to find a local.. labeled arboretum.. and visit it in winter... and see what grows locally.. and has interesting winter color ... sometimes you just have to turn off the computer.. and go outside.. makes for a most enjoyable afternoon ...

good luck

ken

Dax

as does Microbiota decussata:

They are not conifers and may be tougher to grow in your climate, but a number of heathers (Calluna vulgaris) change color in winter - Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame' and 'Firefly' turn brick red but various others will offer shades of gold, bronze, orange or salmon. And they are a nice accompaniment to conifers in areas where they grow well.

I would add Juniperus horizontalis 'Motherlode'. I get reds, oranges and purple on mine when it gets cold. Nice plant.

Non-conifer....

Some deciduous shrubs like Hydrangea quercifolia and Itea virginica turn beautiful red and hold their leafs very late. Up until Christmas most times in my area.

I have also had some success with Erica darleyensis. Pink, red and purple flowers in Jan/Feb.

Camellias are another option.

Winter Garden Glory by Bloom is a good book BTW.

Follow the link to a couple photos.

A tough one...very unstable. Not one to stake your life savings on. Just when it's at its best...wam bam...it croaks.

Summer 07...next Spring it was toast..that's its nature.

Dave

Visiting an arboretum in winter is a great idea. The National Arboretum is a few miles away. That will be a great starting point.

I've seen pix of Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' on eBay. But the ones posted here look much more real. That could be a very nice addition here. But it looks like it gets pretty big and grows pretty fast. I found that Iseli has a Cryptomeria Japonica 'Elegans Nana' that is dwarf and globe shaped. That might be a good smaller variety. And I have a local nursery in Boyds, MD, Susanna Farms, that buys a lot from them. So I will ask them about getting some in spring. Iseli has a bunch of other varieties of Cryptomeria Japonica that are smaller. Great suggestion.

Platycladus orientalis Morgan looks like a great one, too - though bronze rather than purple. The pix I saw look also like they're fairly small.

Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' seems to have mixed blessings. Found a thread on it from 2007 where people didn't care for it because it tends to splay...

Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' looks nice. My only concern is that sometime my wife may decide it is dying (no matter what I say) and cut it down while I'm at work.

Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother lode' looks good. Gold and blue-grey during the summer, and gold/bronze/purple in the winter.

Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame' and 'Firefly'? I never thought of heather as an evergreen. But if it is, I guess I'll have to start giving more of them a second look.

Finally, the Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Heather Bun' look like they're worth a look.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Up until now, I've been kind of limited to trying to find Picea Abies 'Rubra Spicata'.