Conifers

Welcome to the conifer section of the catalog As you would expect prices reflect size and rarity. Prices are guaranteed only for spring shipment, in fall some of them may change, (many will not) if you are ordering for fall check with us for updated pricing._________ HOW BIG DOES THIS GET? This is a question I have come to abhor at least as it relates to woody plants, dwarf conifers in particular seem to evoke it, however these comments apply to woody plants in general. First and foremost, these things tend to be long lived, many can live for hundreds of years and they continue to grow throughout their life. They are not like people and do not reach a certain height and stop, look at the new annual growth, plants will continue to grow that much taller (and don’t forget wider) each year unless pruned. They never stop! If you don’t believe this just look around in spring and see how much bigger your plants are. How big will they get? Measure the annual growth and do the math, keep in mind that plants often grow faster when removed from pots and given unlimited root run in the garden. They may slow down a bit with age but they do not stop growing. If you don’t believe this get out your binoculars and look at the top of the tallest conifer you can find. Visit some old collections or check out the photo of Picea abies ‘Nana’ in the Conifer Encyclopedia. Strongly weeping forms that are high grafted or staked do give some control over ultimate height but my advice is to invest in a good set of pruners if you are serious about keeping things to a fixed height, or adopt the Dick Punnett method and just chain saw them when they outgrow your garden. Although in Dick’s case if he waits long enough some huge Oak or Ash will just fall on it and smash it flat. Between a few years of drought and the damage done from Gypsy Moth and Emerald Ash Borer not to mention windstorms, lightning strikes, and ice storms, his woodland garden is looking a bit like a prairie. Worse still, the deadfalls have an absolute knack for landing on treasured plants. (They never seem to hit deer or bunnies). How big does it get, the answer is simple it gets huge and then it falls on something more valuable._____________ QUANTITY BREAKS APPLY