We finally got a chance to bring out our excellent and unique selection of Native Conifers! Most of them are special dwarf forms that can easily fit in a home garden. These accent plants can give structure and winter interest to elevate your garden design in all seasons.
What’s special about our dwarf conifers? First of all, most of them are Colorado and regional (CO, UT, NM) native species. This makes them easy to grow in Colorado gardens.
Second, most are selections made by the late, great plantsman Jerry Morris, who devoted his career to searching out the dwarf forms of conifers in our forests.
Pinus edulis ‘Tiny Pout’ Pinyon
These rarities usually occur as isolated branches with growth that is very congested in comparison with the otherwise ‘normal’ tree. Morris grafted scions (cuttings) from the congested growth, colloquially known as ‘witch’s brooms’, onto native CO rootstock, and made them available to other specialty horticulturists, including Fort Collins plantsman, Kirk Feisler, who has continued Morris’s legacy and is the source of our offerings.
Third, we have potted up the conifers from Feisler into our own superior, living potting soil. We have grown them lean, strong and healthy, not pushing fast growth with chemical fertilizers.
Pinus ponderosa ‘Dixie’
Fourth, all of these plants have spent the winter outdoors, so rather than being straight off the truck from the West Coast, you can be sure that these specimens are already at home here!
When you purchase dwarf conifers in containers from other sources, they are usually not CO natives, or even regional natives. They have been grown in the wet climate of Western Oregon, where they have to employ bark as a growing medium to keep the roots from rotting. When those plants are shipped to our dry climate, they require constant watering while in their pots and again when they are planted. If they do manage to adapt, it usually takes a long time and lots of water. They have also been grafted onto rootstocks that may not be native to the semi-arid interior west.
Pinus densiflora ‘Low Glow’
Our collection also includes a few native conifer species that are not dwarf, but are unique and garden-worthy.
Our non-native selections are Japanese Red Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Lacebark Pine, Eastern White Pine and Serbian Pine, all proven successful in Colorado.
DWARF CONIFERS
Charming Chub Dwf White Fir (Abies concolor ‘Charming Chub’)
Wilson Dwf Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata ‘Wilson’)
Farmy Dwf Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis ‘Farmy’)
Tiny Pout Dwf Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis ‘Tiny Pout’)
Low Glow Dwf Japanese Red Pine (Pinus densiflorus ‘Low Glow’)
Scott’s Pride & Joy Dwf Japanese Red Pine (P. densiflorus ‘Scott’s Pride & Joy’)
Comanche Dwf Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis ‘Comanche’)
Damfino Dwf Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis ‘Damfino’)
Nice-I-Am Dwf Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis ‘Nice-I-Am’)
Irish Bell Bosnian Pine – slow to 8’ (Pinus leucodermis ‘Irish Bell’)
Slim Whitey Dwf Bosnian Pine (Pinus leucodermis ‘Slim Whitey)
Blue Jazz Dwf Single-needle Pine (Pinus monophylla ‘Blue Jazz’) PLANT SELECT
Tiny Taylor Dwf Single-needle Pine (Pinus monophylla ‘Tiny Taylor’)
Loma Linda Dwf SW White Pine (Pinus strobiformis ‘Loma Linda’)
Dixie Dwf Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa ‘Dixie)
MaryAnn Heacock Dwf Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa ‘Mary Ann Heacock’)
Peacock Pass Dwf Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa ‘Peacock Pass)
ADDITIONAL SPECIALTY CONIFERS
Single-Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma)
Densata Black Hills Spruce (Picea glauca ‘Densata’)
Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata)
Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana)
Xeric Blue Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis ‘Xeric Blue’)
Blue Shag Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobis ‘Blue Shag’)
Coronado SW White Pine (Pinus strobiformis ‘Coronado)
Chalet Swiss Stone Pine (Pinus cembra ‘Chalet’)
Columnar Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo, columnar)