Evergreen Woody

Slide 1 LHAP 304 - SHP Evergreen Woodies Russian Cypress, Cedar, Mugo Pine, Mountain Pine, Bristlecone Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Scots Pine Slide 2 CUPRESSACEAE The Cypress Family Slide 3 Family Characteristics Evergreen Leaves narrow, scale-like Flattened branchlets Cones Slide 4 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress (Russian Arborvitae) Slide 5 Microbiota decussata - Russian Cypress Origin: Native to Southeastern Siberia Hardiness Zone: 2 Exposure: Part Shade to full sun Soil Conditions: moist, well drained Significant Features... Slide 6 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress Slide 7 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress FORM: Height and Spread - .75m x 3.5m Shape - low, spreading Slide 8 Microbiota decussata - Russian Cypress FOLIAGE: Texture - Fine textured and lacey - typically more scale-like compared to Juniper. (like a cypress or a cedar…) Colour - Bright green in summer, purple in winter Slide 9 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress Flower & Fruit: Not significant or showy. (the seeming absence of fruit can be used as an ID feature compared to Junipers). Slide 10 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress Landscape Use: Shady sites Winter interest Groundcover planting Fast grower Slide 11 Microbiota decussata Russian Cypress Maintenance Clean out deciduous leaves in Fall Slide 12 CUPRESSACEAE Family again... Slide 13 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae Origin: Eastern North America (Manitoba to Nova Scotia) Tree of life - tea from foliage and bark is high in Vit C (Jaques Cartier’s crew saved of scurvy!) Hardiness Zone: 2/3 Exposure: Part Sun - best results in North or East exposure with high relative humidity Soil Conditions: Moist but well drained. Tolerates high lime content Slide 14 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae FOLIAGE: Texture - Flat, overlapping, smooth feeling scale-like leaves. Branches alternate Colour - Green Other - Glands on back of leaves on lead branches Slide 15 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae FORM: Height and Spread - cultivar specific. Typically 10m x 3m max Shape - Columnar or globe Slide 16 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae Flower/Fruit: Flower - Not noteable Fruit - Small brown cone. Slide 17 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae Landscape Use: Winter feature Shady site Use cautiously until you know it’s hardy Slide 18 NE exposure, part to full shade (protected from the winds), higher humidity setting. Slide 19 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae Maintenance Considerations: Spider mites Shear carefully Deer eat them Shallow rooted, mulch with wood and no fabric Avoid snow reflection Not tolerant of salts (dog urine) Newer types seem to struggle whereas older neighbourhoods have some very mature specimens. Slide 20 Slide 21 Landscape - east facing with protection Slide 22 Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae Cultivars to note: Skybound - Z2 - Tall and narrow, plant from May-early August ‘Woodwardii’ - Globe Cedar - Z2 Naturally globe shaped ‘Wareana’ - Siberian Cedar, Degroots Spire & Techny Cedars - Z2 - more hardy? Student experience? Slide 23 PINACEAE Pine Family Slide 24 Family Characteristics Mostly evergreen Diverse family of conifers Monoecious Leaves arranged in spirals Seeds with 2 wings Slide 25 Second Year Review Needles in bundles (& evergreen) Needles typically long, sometimes twisted Growth habit may be more open, tolerates limbing up Bark colour may be variable, smoother, more plated than ridged… Cones typically larger, more distinctive, perhaps spiney How do you know its a Pine and not a Spruce (or cedar, juniper, larch or fir)? Slide 26 Second Year Review P. flexilis - Limber Pine. High altitude, slow growing but long living, open habit at maturity, bark light grey and smooth and “flexilis”, resinous, 5 needles with stomatal lines on all sides P. contorta latifolia - Lodgepole Pine Provincial tree of AB, doesn’t like alkaline soils, found more in southern AB mountains, cones with spines that “Lodge in” and open after fire, Mtn Pine beetle. 2 needles, 4-6 cm long. P. banksiana - Jack Pine More common in northern boreal forest, crosses with lodgepole, yellow in alkaline soils, cones curved and smooth “hit the road Jack” (pointed out). 2 needles, 2-3 cm long. P. ponderosa - Ponderosa Pine Introduced - maybe native in BC, encroaching into AB. Cones very large with small spines. Needles very long, 3 per bundle. Slide 27 Pinus mugo - Mugo Pine Origin - Mountains of Europe, introduced in 1779! Planting - Z2, Part shade to full sun. Growth gets leggy in perpetually wet soils. Tolerates salts and alkaline soils. Form - variable by cultivar - species is very large. Control size by pinching candles. See next slide Bark - gray and smooth, maturing to finely plated appearance that does not peel. After leaves abscise, protuberances are left. Slide 28 Now is the time to control the growth of pinus or picea, by limiting potential growth that year. Alternatively, you can prune them following correct practices, but shearing is not recommended. Slide 29 Pinus mugo - Mugo Pine Foliage - Bundles of 2. Needles 5 cm long (short, for a pine), nearly triangular, stiff and curved (usually not twisted). Flower - Typical Pine Fruit - Cones solitary or 2-3 together. 2.5-5 cm long (1-2” = short), no spines. Flat bottomed and stalked. Egg shaped when immature. 2 Tone brown. Slide 30 Pinus mugo - Mugo Pine Use and Maintenance - Shady sites, Hedge, small grouping, textural contrast. Dogs will pee on them, Moose will eat them. Slide 31 Pinus uncinata - Mountain Pine A smaller, relatively pyramidal form VERY similar in ID to the Mugo Form: tree-like, 4m x 1.5m Slide 32 Like the Mugo Pine, it has the dry male flowers usually persistent on the tree. Needles - 2 per bundle The Cones, though, are elongated Pinus uncinata - Mountain Pine Slide 33 Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine Origin - North East Europe (Montane in Spain to Russia) Hardy to zone 1b! Planting - Part shade to full sun, Very adaptable. Best pine for alkaline soils. Form - 12m x 6m Dense pyramid when young, open form, round topped, irregular at maturity with branching only up top. Relatively fast rate of growth Slide 34 Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine Foliage - 2 per bundle, needles 5 cm long with stomatal lines. Persist only 2 years. Twisted. Light green to blue-green. Bark - distinctly orange toned and fissured. Old bark exfoliates showing orange under Slide 35 Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine Maintenance and Use - Winter feature and form. Yellow belly sapsucker likes it (and rabbits). Flower/Fruit - Cones with a prominent diamond on each cone scale, golden underneath. Size 2.5-6 cm long (small), may be solitary or 2-3 together. Slide 36 Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris ‘Fastigiata’ - Columnar Scotch Pine Pinus sylvestris ‘French Blue’ - French Blue Scotch Pine…. Or there’s Green Penguin … also there’s a dwarf blue, creeper & topiary forms (requires annual shearing) Slide 37 Pinus aristata - Bristlecone Pine Origin - Southwestern United States Planting - widely adapted - tolerates dry sandy rocky soils AND moist boggy lowlands. Poor in heavy, compacted soil. Exposure - best when sheltered from winds Form - 5m x 3m. Slow growing. Loose pyramid when young. Closest we have to a Monkey Puzzle Tree. Slide 38 Pinus aristata - Bristlecone Pine Bark - Thin, smooth, grey when young. Furrowed at maturity. Foliage - 5 per bundle. 2-5 cm long (Very short, for a pine), needles with resinous exudate (white stuff, not insects). Fruit - Cones 5-8 cm long, Scales thin tipped, very prickly. Slide 39 Slide 40 Pinus aristata - Bristlecone Pine Use and Maintenance - Trees planted for the future (5000 year old specimen in California!). Accent, Specimen. Transplants well, sensitive to salt. Slide 41 Slide 42 At the Denver Botanic Gardens - unfortunate that they took off that lower limb! … and A&W in Red Deer evergreen “montane” landscape Slide 43 Slide 44 Pinus cembra - Swiss Stone Pine Origin - European Alps - North Asia Planting - part shade to full sun Form - 10m x 3m, columnar in youth - holds excurrent form for a long time, open and flat topped with drooping branches at maturity. Dense growth habit, branched right to the ground. Bark - twigs grey and smooth - tomentose in first year - bark light coloured and smooth with dark grey accents. Slide 45 Pinus cembra - Swiss Stone Pine Foliage - 5 per bundle. Dense clusters, persists 3-5 years. Soft, straight to slightly curved, triangular. No stomatal lines. Sheath falls off after 1 year. May see teeth on the needles, definitely can feel them. Fruit - Cones only on old trees, violet when young. Falls from tree after 3 years, smooth. Seed pea sized with no wings, scales do NOT open at maturity - animals harvest or cone rots. Slide 46 Pinus cembra - Swiss Stone Pine Maintenance and Use - Resists sunscald, may be difficult to establish Fine textured (soft), picturesque tree. Good for large properties, best in residential sites. Slide 47 Other Pines... Pinus strobus - White Pine: Soft blue-green to silver foliage. Used as a weeping or ground cover Pinus nigra - Austrian Pine: 15m x 7m. Broadly upright, needles last 4-7 years (makes tree seem dense). Bark grey/brown and thick. Heat, salt tolerant. Z3 Slide 48 Slide 49 Keep an eye out for… Taxus cuspidata - The Yews - Z3 and Z4. Poison, full to part shade, low growing and interesting little hedge plant. Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Sungold’ - Sungold False Cypress - Z3. Small rounded evergreen with gold hints. Nice accent plant in protected spaces