Evergreen Woody
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1. LHAP 304 - SHP
- Evergreen Woodies
Russian Cypress, Cedar, Mugo Pine, Mountain Pine, Bristlecone Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Scots Pine
2. CUPRESSACEAE
- The Cypress Family
3. Family Characteristics
- Evergreen
- Leaves narrow, scale-like Flattened branchlets Cones
4. Microbiota decussata
- Russian Cypress (Russian Arborvitae)
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...
6. Microbiota decussata
- Russian Cypress
7. Microbiota decussata
- Russian Cypress
FORM
Height and Spread - .75m x 3.5m Shape - low, spreading
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
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).
10. Microbiota decussata
- Russian Cypress
Landscape Use
- Shady sites
- Winter interest
- Groundcover planting
- Fast grower
11. Microbiota decussata
- Russian Cypress
- Maintenance
- Clean out deciduous leaves in Fall
12. CUPRESSACEAE Family again...
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
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
15. Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae
FORM
Height and Spread - cultivar specific. Typically 10m x 3m max
- Shape - Columnar or globe
16. Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae
Flower/Fruit
Flower - Not noteable Fruit - Small brown cone.
17. Thuja occidentalis - Cedar/Arborvitae
Landscape Use
- Winter feature
- Shady site
Use cautiously until you know it’s hardy
18. NE exposure, part to full shade (protected from the winds), higher humidity setting
NE exposure, part to full shade (protected from the winds), higher humidity setting.
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.
20. Landscape - east facing with protection
21. 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?
22. PINACEAE
- Pine Family
23. Family Characteristics
- Mostly evergreen
Diverse family of conifers Monoecious Leaves arranged in spirals
- Seeds with 2 wings
24. 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)?
25. Second Year Review
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- ponderosa - Ponderosa Pine
Introduced - maybe native in BC, encroaching into AB. Cones very large with small spines. Needles very long, 3 per bundle.
26. 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.
27. Now is the time to control the growth of pinus or picea,...
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.
28. 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.
29. Pinus mugo - Mugo Pine
Use and Maintenance - Shady sites, Hedge, small grouping, textural contrast.
Dogs will pee on them, Moose will eat them.
30. Pinus uncinata - Mountain Pine
A smaller, relatively pyramidal form VERY similar in ID to the Mugo
Form: tree-like, 4m x 1.5m
31. Like the Mugo Pine, it has the dry male flowers usually persistent...
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
32. 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
33. 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
34. 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.
35. 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)
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. At the Denver Botanic Gardens - unfortunate that they took off that...
At the Denver Botanic Gardens - unfortunate that they took off that lower limb! … and A&W in Red Deer evergreen “montane” landscape
40. 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.
41. 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.
42. 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.
43. 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
44. 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