Conifers come in a vast range of colours and many change shade during the year. Careful choice can give you a great splash of colour in autumn and winter when most other plants are dormant. Size is determined by variety and not by size at planting. Most plant labels carry a 10-year height as part of the description.
Generally:
• [d] = dwarf, under 40cm in 10 years
• [s] = slow, under 1m in 10 years
• [m] = medium, up to 2m in 10 years
• [f] = fast, anything above that.
Growth rates vary: some grow quickly straight away (x Cupressocyparis leylandii) but then need to be kept in check; others are very slow for a time and then grow rapidly (Araucaria araucana – monkey puzzle); while some barely grow more than 2cm a year (Picea mariana ‘Nana’ – spruce).
Choosing & Planting
Conifers will tolerate most soils, but avoid planting in areas that waterlog regularly, except for Taxodium distichum (swamp cypress) and Metasequoia (dawn redwood). A very chalky soil will suit Taxus (yew), some junipers and pines. Local climate, such as areas of high or low rainfall, can affect height and spread. To help you choose the right conifer for your garden, see our list of plants opposite or ask your nursery or garden centre.
Before planting, remove the tree from the pot and soak the rootball in a bucket of water for about 10 minutes. Clear the area of weeds.
Make the planting hole about twice the size of the rootball; the top of the rootball should be just 2.5cm below ground level.
Refill the planting hole with the original soil mixed with peat, coir or very well-rotted compost. Do not use nitrogenous fertilisers such as poultry or horse manure or bedding plant compost as this usually contains fast-release fertiliser, which can damage conifer roots.
One or two feeds with a slowrelease fertiliser will be quite enough to maintain growth.
Give enough water to keep the rootball moist but not waterlogged in the early years after planting.
Recommended Plants
There are well over 1,000 different conifer cultivars to choose from; if you cannot find a specific variety that you’re looking for, there will be alternatives. When choosing conifers for a certain position, it is easier to find them by height, colour and growth habit rather than trying to remember a long Latin name. New cultivars have much more userfriendly names! Below is a list of some of the more popular cultivars, although the choice is practically endless. For more varieties, take a trip to your local garden centre or nursery, or visit www.conifers.org.uk
Hedging
Green
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Green Hedger’ [m], x Cupressocyparis leylandii [f], Taxus baccata [m], Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’[f], T. occidentalis Emerald [m] & ‘Brabant’ [f]
Yellow/Gold
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Stardust’ [m], x Cupressocyparis leylandii ‘Castlewellan’[ f] & ‘Gold Rider’ [f], Cupressus macro carpa ‘Goldcrest’ [f], Taxus baccata golden varieties [m], Thuja occidentalis ‘Sunkist’ [m]
Blue/Gray
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Chilworth Silver’ [m] & ‘Pembury Blue’ [m], Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’ [f] & var. glabra [f]
Variegated / White Tipped
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Summer Snow’ [m] & Argenteovariegata’[ m], x Cupressocyparis leylandii ‘Harlequin’ [f], Thuja plicata ‘Zebrina’ [m]
Winter Color
Cryptomeria japonica Elegans Group [f] & Elegans Compacta [m]
Column (fastigiate)
Green
hamaecyparis lawsoniana Ellwood’s Pillar [s], ‘Grayswood Feather’ [m], ‘Green Pillar’ [m], and ‘Little Spire’ [m], Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’ [m], Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ [m]
Yellow/Gold
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwood’s Gold’ [m], Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma’ [m], C. sempervirens ‘Swanes Gold’ [s], Juniperus communis ‘Gold Cone’ [s], Taxus baccata ‘Standishi’ [s]
Blue/Gray
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Pelt’s Blue’ [f], Juniperus communis ‘Compressa’ [d], J. scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’ [m], Pinus sylvestris Fastigiata Group [m]
Variegated / White Tipped
Juniperus scopulorum ‘Silver Star’[m], Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata Aureomarginata’ [s], ‘Icicle’ [d] & ‘Ivory Tower’ [s]
Conal (pyramidal)
Green
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwoodii’ m, x Cupressocyparis leylandii ‘Olive’s Green’ f, Picea glauca var. albertiana ‘Conica’ m & ‘Laurin’ d, Thuja occidentalis ‘Holmstrup’ m
Yellow/Gold
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Minima Aurea’ [s], ‘Springtime’ [s] & ‘Yvonne’ [m], Thuja occidentalis ‘Yellow Ribbon’ [m]
Blue/Gray
Abies lasiocarpa ‘Compacta’ [m], Cupressus arizonica ‘Pyramidalis’ [m], Juniperus chinensis ‘Pyramidalis’ [m], Picea glauca Alberta Blue s & ‘Sanders Blue’ s, P. pungens ‘Hoopsii’ [m] & Glauca Group [m]
Variegated / White Tipped
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Fleckellwood’ [m], ‘Snow White’ [m] & ‘Summer Snow’ [m], Juniperus chinensis ‘Variegata’ [m], Picea glauca ‘J. W. Daisy’s White’ [s]
Bronze / Purple / Winter Color
Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Ericoides’ [s], ‘Rubicon’ [s] & ‘Top Point’ [s]
Trimming & Pruning
Correctly chosen, most conifers only require a light clip in late summer with secateurs or shears to keep the shape correct. Despite popular myth, x Cupressocyparis leylandii only need one trim a year, preferably in July. Untrimmed fast-growing hedging plants are a social menace, so be a good neighbour and keep them in check. Junipers benefit from occasional radical pruning and most will reshoot from the old wood. However, as with most conifers, don’t let them get too large before pruning otherwise you will have unsightly brown wood for a year or two.
Bushy
Green
Abies balsamea Hudsonia Group d, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’ s, Pinus mugo varieties s, Tsuga canadensis ‘Jeddeloh’ s
Yellow/Gold
Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Fernspray Gold’ [m], ‘Nana’ [d], ‘Nana Aurea’ [s] & ‘Nana Lutea’ [s], C. pisifera ‘Filifera Nana’ [s] & ‘Sungold’ [s], Pinus densiflora ‘Alice Verkade’ [m], Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’ [s], T. plicata ‘Whipcord’ [m]
Blue/Gray
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Boulevard’ [m] & ‘Squarrosa Lombarts’ [m], Juniperus ‘Grey Owl’ [m], J. squamata ‘Blue Star’ [d]
Variegated / White Tipped
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Nana Albospica’ [s], C. pisifera ‘Snowflake’ [d], Cryptomeria japonica ‘Sekkan-sugi’ [m], J. x pfitzeriana ‘Sulphur Spray’ [m]/[p]>
Bronze / Purple / Winter Color
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Compacta [s], Juniperus horizontalis ‘Andorra Compact’ [d], Podocarpus ‘Blaze’ [d] & ‘County Park Fire’ [d], Platycladus orientalis ‘Rosedalis’ [s]
Ball (glubose)
Green
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Gnome’ [d], ‘Green Globe’ [d] & ‘Minima Glauca’ [s], Picea abies ‘Little Gem’ [d], P. glauca ‘Alberta Globe’ [d], Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’ [d]
Yellow/Gold
Platycladus orientalis ‘Aurea Nana’ [s], Thuja occidentalis ‘Amber Glow’ [d], ‘Golden Globe’ [s] & ‘Golden Tuffet’ [d]
Blue/Gray
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Curly Tops’ [s], Picea mariana ‘Nana’ [d], P. pungens ‘Globosa’ [s]
Variegated / White Tipped
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Pygmaea Argentea’ [d], C. pisifera ‘Nana Aureovariegata’ [d] & ‘Plumosa Compressa’ [d], Cryptomeria japonica ‘Golden Promise’ [d]
Bronze / Purple / Winter Color
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Compressa’ [d] & ‘Vilmoriniana’ [d], Thuja occidentalis ‘Teddy’ [d]
Ground Cover (prostrate / semi-prostrate) -- Growth rates differ to width
Green
Juniperus communis ‘Green Carpet’ [s], ‘Hornibrookii’ [m] & ‘Repanda’ [m], J. x pfitzeriana ‘Mint Julep’ [m], J. rigida subsp. conferta [m], J. sabina ‘Tamariscifolia’ [m]
Yellow/Gold
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Golden Carpet’ [d], J. x pfitzeriana ‘Carberry Gold’ [m], ‘Gold Coast’ [m] & Golden Joy’ [s]
Blue/Gray
Cedrus deo ‘Feelin’ Blue’ [m], Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Chip’ [m] & Glauca Group [m], J. squamata ‘Blue Carpet’ [m]
Variegated / White Tipped
Juniperus chinensis ‘Expansa Aureospicata’ [m], J. squamata ‘Holger’ [s], Taxus baccata ‘Repens Aurea’ [m]
Bronze / Purple / Winter Color
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Andorra Compact’ [s] & ‘Winter Blue’ [m], Microbiota decussata [m], Taxus baccata ‘Corleys Coppertip’ [m]
Trimming & Pruning
Few gardens rely solely on flowers for year-round interest; they also need a structure of different plant shapes, colours and textures to provide a background and maintain year-round appeal. Conifers are ideal because they are available in so many forms, are hardy, easy to care for and long-living.
• Hedges in a variety of growth rates and colour give privacy, provide habitats for wildlife, absorb traffic noise and pollution, screen unsightly objects and create a backdrop for the garden (see our leaflet Making Gardens Beneficial to Wildlife for advice on planting a hedge).
• Ground cover can be provided by fast- or slow-growing prostrate conifers used to edge ponds, paths or borders; cover unsightly areas; and suppress weeds. They can act as a foil for bulbs, flowers and grasses.
• Specimens planted in the centre of a lawn, in a corner, in a tub or in a border or rockery can add structural interest to a garden.
• Containers: miniature and dwarf conifers suit container planting and will last five years or more in the same pot with a minimum of attention. Just water in summer, give an occasional trim and an annual feed of slow-release fertiliser. Low troughs can be underplanted with miniature bulbs and bedding plants. Plant a single conifer in patio planters to give height or a combination of different shapes, textures and colours for an all-round display. Use prostrate junipers in place of trailing plants.
• Borders can benefit from the graceful, arching foliage of pendulous conifers or upright-growing specimens. Plant with other shrubs, phormiums, heathers or grasses for a long-lasting border.
• Water features: conifers are excellent planted beside water as their strong shapes make wonderful reflections. They also hide the edges of pond liners and break up fixed lines of vision.
• Mixed plantings: conifers can be used with other plants to give year-round interest and colour: dwarf conifers live happily alongside other plants in containers, or by themselves as specimens. Try them with winter bedding and early spring bulbs and flowers, which can then be swapped for summer bedding. Heathers and hardy cyclamen also make a great combination.
