Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery, Inc. - Advice & How To's - ABOUT CONIFERS: SIZE - COLOR

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"He that plants trees loves others beside himself" Thomas Fuller

ABOUT CONIFERS: SIZE - COLOR - FORMS

What are dwarf conifers? Dwarf conifers are cone-bearing evergreens that for some reason fail to attain the size and stature of the parent plant.

(Exception: Ginkgos, Junipers and yews produce seed in berry-like fruit instead of cones)

CONIFER SIZE

The American Conifer Society has adopted the following four size categories for conifers.

Category/Symbol	Annual Growth *	Approx. size at 10 years **
Miniature (M)	<1"	<1'
Dwarf (D)	>1"-6"	>1'-6'
Intermediate (I)	>6"-12"	>6'-15'
Large (L)	>12"	>15'

* Size may vary due to cultural, climatic, and geographical region

** Refers to growth in any direction

Our ten-year growth averages are based on our 35 years of experience in Zone 5a. The numbers are estimates based on average soil and moisture conditions in the first 10 years of the plant's life from graft. Extraordinary growing conditions could modify information. West and East coast growth estimates can be quite a bit different.

CONIFER COLOR

Many garden conifers display a rainbow of colors from shades of green, yellow, oranges, blue, lavender or purple. Others have bicolor needles of stripes, spots or patches. Many go through seasonal changes and provide interest in the winter landscape. Some new growth is not only a lighter shade but emerge as a bright yellow or red. Some display two colors of needles. On others the cones and seed bearing fruits are brightly colored and decorative during certain seasons of the year. What a color show! (paraphrased from American Conifer Society's A Brief Look at Garden Conifers Pamphlet)

FORMS
	Treeform Typical deciduous habit.
	Mound Low rounded form with textural exterior.
	Shrub Lower treeform, dense and irregular.
	Globose (Latin-Globosa) Globe-like or rounded in general outline.
	Pendulous (Latin-Pendula) Upright or mounding with varying degrees of weeping branches.
	Broad Upright Includes all other upright plants which do not fit into categories 1-3.
	Prostrate (Latin- Prostrata or Procumbens) Ground-hugging, carpeting plants without an inclination to grow upward.
	Spreading Wider than tall.
	Irregular Erratic growth pattern.
	Narrow Upright (Latin-Fastigiata) Much taller than broad. Includes plants referred to as fastigiate, columnar, narrowly pyramidal or narrowly conical.
	Vase Funnel-shaped, sometimes with a hollow center.