love those conifers!
would you please name the trees in the first and last photos as well as the soft, sage green colored one in the second photo?

Ooo Ooo Ooo...this is fun!! What a nice variety of conifers! Love the pot w/the lil guys! That BLUE Iris is TOO much! :D

My Christmas tree one year looked variegated somewhat like that last one. Neat-O!

What do you call those pinky growths on the one in the 1st pic?

Curious minds want to know! :)

~Rosemarie

I think I can answer jeff and ~R's questions in one post. The conifer in the first photo is a spruce which has red new growth for a couple of weeks in spring. Its called Picea abies 'Rubraspicata'. The last picture is a dragon eye japanese red pine called Pinus densiflora 'Burke's Red Variegated'. Here's another variegated japanese red pine, Pinus densiflora 'Golden Ghost':

{{gwi:64948}}

Jeff if you were refering to the conifer to the left in the container its a fir called Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'

Well, the maps say I'm in zone 5 but we're at the bottom of a hill, in our own little micro-climate, so I suspect it's more like zone 4 here.

I keep trying to grow dwarf conifers with no luck. Do you have any suggestions for any that will survive in zone 4?

Thanks a million!!

dan,
the conifer i am referring to is the light green one in the upper right of the photo; appears to be planted in the ground.

Lisa b., I started out with with conifers in the Picea abies family (Norway spruce). My first conifer was Picea abies 'Acrocona':
{{gwi:64949}}

If you want a dwarf version of it there is a 'witches broom' dwarf called Picea abies 'Pusch':

{{gwi:64950}}

Anything in the Picea abies family would be a good start as they are hardy to zone 3.

Pinus mugo (mugo pine) are also very hardy(Z2) and there are dwarf versions that are very bright gold in winter (P. mugo Carsten's Wintergold,P.mugo Zundert) also variegated(P.mugo 'Kokarde','Marand', 'Pal Maleter')

Pinus mugo 'Teeny'

{{gwi:64951}}

Finally any of the Picea pungens (Colorado Spruce)dwarf cultivars might also be a good start. ('Montgomery', 'Glauca glabosa', St. Mary's)

Picea pungens 'St. Mary's'.

{{gwi:64952}}

Picea pungens 'Mrs. Cesarini'

{{gwi:64953}}

Please be aware that I am no expert on conifers. There are probably much more qualified people on the conifer forum to give you advice. These are my personal opinions though, based on my personal experience in Zone 5 . Hope this helps .^^^Dan^^^

Jeff, The conifer you are asking about is Picea pungens 'Walnut Glen' . Here's a spring photo.

{{gwi:64954}}

It has blue foliage underneath and the new foliage is a cream-'sagey' green. Later in the summer it is blue dusted in cream on the tops of the needles where the sun hits it. Its difficult to describe and photos don't do it justice but its definately one of my favorites.

Dan-

I am just beginning to select plants I want for our home. We just bought it last summer, and it has many existing beds, but nothing we will keep. I love the dwarf conifers as winter interest and accents in between flowers, but none of the local nurseries I have checked have anything interesting. Can you recommend a nursery I could mail order from?? Your selections are exactly what I am looking for in my own garden. We are in southern Arkansas, so I know the summer heat will be an issue, but I want to try! Thanks for sharing your pictures! They are all wonderfully inspiring!!
Jennifer

Jennifer, sounds like you might be getting the conifer bug. The mail order place that I order from most frequently is Ceonosium Gardens. They have a web sight, just e-mail them and tell them you are interested. I think the catalog might be $3.00 the first time, which is refunded when you place an order. They've always been good to me. For more pictures and info check out the American Conifer Society website and actually the British Conifer Society website has some really cool pictures in their ornamental conifer section. I also posted a number of pictures in the forum and gallery sections of the conifer forum today that you might want to check out. Happy hunting, ^^^Dan^^^
{{gwi:64956}}

Thanks Dan!!
Jen