NURSERY REPORT

Fashions come and go, but I’m not here to talk about clothes. Let’s talk plants…

To many people ornamental conifers are very much associated with a style of planting popular in the 1970s (or so I’m told!). Over recent years, many have predicted a conifer comeback. Let them speculate, in the meantime while we’re waiting lets just get on and plant some - conifers have so much to offer in the modern garden.

What they lack in fancy flowers they more than compensate for with their fantastic foliage that, with a few exceptions is evergreen. There’s a size, shape and colour to suit everyone, from prostrate ground cover to elegant pencil-thin columns, in shades of yellow-gold through green, bronze-orange and silver-grey to powder blue. Conifers are low maintenance and undemanding, preferring full sun, though most will tolerate partial shade. A reasonably fertile, moist but free draining soil is a general requirement that fits all. Junipers are excellent for dry conditions; especially the prostrate ground hugging forms that help conserve soil moisture beneath a thick carpet of foliage.

Conifers make excellent patio container plants, where the miniature forms can be shown off to their best effect and even the more vigorous types will behave for a number of years giving the ‘bonsai effect’. As with any containerised plant, careful watering is necessary along with a yearly application of a general purpose fertilizer. The Hillier range has been selected to showcase the best of what conifers can offer. The following evergreens are merely an appetiser, to appreciate the full range be sure to visit a Hillier Garden Centre soon.

The Japanese cedar Cryptomeria japonica reaches gigantic proportions in its native land, where it is grown for timber production as well as ornamental appeal. Thankfully for the gardener, a number of more modest yet gorgeous forms are available. ‘Sekkan-sugi’ has an upright bushy habit of long, feathery dark green foliage, the new growth of which is flushed with creamy yellow. Growing to little more than a metre and a half in five years, this choice variety also responds well to light pruning. Quite different is the dense compact foliage of Cryptomeria japonica ‘Vilmorin Gold’ whose bronzed winter foliage brightens to a sulphur yellow in spring and summer.

Quite unlike anything you’ve seen before, Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’ makes for a curious yet fantastic container or garden plant. Typical of thuja is the aromatic foliage, but what really makes this variety stand out are the long, weeping, emerald green cord-like branches. Time enhances its beauty, as a mature plant reaches little more than one meter of densely cascading branches.

The compact globe-like habit of Thuja occidentalis ‘Golden Tuffet’ provides a changing contrast throughout the year. In spring the orange-bronze foliage lightens to a golden-yellow which in late summer can be clipped to maintain symmetry. Belonging to the same species, ‘Golden Globe’ has a slightly looser habit which will exceed the 80cm growth of ‘Golden Tuffet’.

One of the most diminutive of mound-forming conifers, Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Hime-sawara’ is a real cutie. Try planting a trio within 30cm of each other, this makes more of a feature, especially when they eventually meet creating an amorphous bright green mass, 50cm in height.

A real favourite often found in the rockeries of botanical gardens, is Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’. It can ultimately reach 2.5m with a spread of 1m, although it will take many years to get there. Its rich green foliage is arranged in swirls of fan-like growth, providing a distinct texture against which low growing flowering plants will stand out.

If you are looking for a reliable bright blue foliage, Picea glauca ‘Sander’s Blue’ is for you. Don’t crowd it, enjoy its erect conical shape which will take at least 10 years to reach a height of 80cm. Most of us know Picea abies as Norway Spruce, the traditional Christmas Tree, yet the variety ‘Waldbrunn’ is far from traditional. You won’t be wanting to adorn its foliage with decorations, as its rounded, compact blue foliage is best enjoyed free of any distraction.

A remarkably hardy antipodean, Podocarpus alpinus ‘Red Tip’ deserves a higher profile as a garden plant. Its fine, dark green foliage has the appearance of a miniature loosely branched yew tree, which is most outstanding especially after a light trim. ‘Blue Gem’ is another variety that speaks for itself.

Not every garden can accommodate a Yew tree (Taxus baccata) yet its upright form ‘Fastigiata’ will complement the smallest of plantings. Excellent in a container or soil its dense, upright habit adds vertical interest, like a sentry on guard duty. ‘Fastigiata Aureomarginata’ is enjoyed for its yellow-margined leaves, of which ‘David’ is a superior selection, maintaining a rich golden yellow throughout the year.

So go on, don’t be shy, plant a conifer. You can’t lose. You’ll either be a trendsetter or at least be seen as a discerning connoisseur of their exclusive beauty.