Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Evergreens of another color
Looks like most of us will have a white Christmas! Snow pack is great for our plants, it acts as an insulation coming just in time for those frigid temps.
Then in Spring, as the soil thaws it will soak up that snow for a refreshing wake-up call.
With all that white, we do appreciate some color in our landscape. Evergreens generally come to mind first. But they’re not all green!
These evergreens are yellow. And no, that’s not from the dog! The first is an Eastern Hemlock called ‘Golden Duchess’ from Monrovia.
It’s a dwarf plant growing just 3 to 4 feet tall with a possible spread of 5 feet. Its arching branches give it dramatic effect, looking lovely in a woodland setting or rock garden. ‘Golden Duchess’ prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. You could even grow this hemlock in a container.
Another small specimen is a False cypress called ‘Golden Mop’. It has golden thread like foliage that will fill out all the way to the ground.
It is deer and rabbit resistant, tolerates a hot/dry site and prefers sun. It grows slowly to about 5 ft. in cooler climates and can live up to 50 years.
One of my favorite pines I fell in love with after seeing it at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum decades ago is the Scotch Pine. I absolutely love its orange flaking bark and blue/green needles.
The flaking bark doesn’t happen right away, this is a plant that takes patience. Its growth rate is medium. Depending on the cultivar Scotch pine can grow to 50 feet.
There are many cultivars according to the Conifer Society although only about 3 are sold. There’s also a place in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota called Plants Beautiful Nursery, that produces extraordinary topiaries of these wonderful specimens.Talk about dramatic effect. Some are over 12 feet tall but they’ve been root pruned to help ensure survival of transplanting.
