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Czech Republic Visit

When I arrived at the Prague airport in late July, 1999, I was met by Jaroslav Kazbal and Jan Beran, two friends who were to show me a number of very special gardens and plants. They took me through the center of Prague to a hotel near the edge of the city. It was a four star hotel and cost about $40.00 per night. I checked into my room and the next day we were off!

A group of collectors are pictured: L-R are Fritsche, Esteldorfer, Beran, Krejci, and Kazbal

The Czech Republic is famous for its alpine plants and many fabulous rock gardens. I was able to several of these gardens that specialized in conifers. The people I went to see were all conifer enthusiasts and part of a group that meets twice a year to talk about their gardens and their conifer collections.

Conifer collectors in the Czech Republic are very enthusiastic plant hunters, especially for conifer witches’-brooms. Picea abies and Pinus uncinata alone have provided hundreds of little plants for their gardens. While many of these are so similar as to only be of interest to the collector, quite a few are exceptional additions to any garden.

The first place visited was Pruhonice Arboretum near Prague. This arboretum is world famous for its collections, and rightly so. At the entrance to the arboretum is the castle (i.e. manor house in England) and a small lake. The grounds and paths are nicely maintained in a natural manner.

The mother plant of what is possibly the most famous conifer cultivar in the Czech republic is found here, Pinus leucodermis ‘Smidt’, a miniature, mounding cultivar of Bosnian pine. This plant was first described in the west by a German author who Germanized the name to ‘Schmidtii’, which is incorrect.

Another very fine selection which originated here was Picea abies ‘Formanek’, a slow growing, completely prostrate plant that is still quite rare in the west.

Pruhonice has a number of old conifer specimens scattered throughout the grounds. Picea abies ‘Rothenhaus’ is a full-sized tree with side branches that turn up and weep. Picea abies ‘Virgata’, Picea abies ‘Clanbrassiliana’, and Picea abies ‘Remontii’ are also represented by very old specimens.

About a mile away from the arboretum is the Pruhonice Dendrological Garden. Conifer cultivars grouped by genera are planted in groupings throughout the garden. The cultivars are planted in multiple numbers in each grouping and are quite mature.

At Pruhonice #2, a more remote area of the arboretum, is a group of old Picea pungens that have a very unusual growth habit. They remind me of plants that have been regularly cropped by a herd of deer. However, since there are no deer tall enough to crop an eighty foot tall tree, their growth must be natural.

At the garden of Jan Beran are (L) a rock garden with miniature conifers; (C) a specimen of Picea abies 'Pusch'; (R) Abies alba 'Mlada Boleslav'.

The next visit was to the pinetum of Jan Beran at Nebronice. Jan is possibly the most intense conifer collector in the Republic. His pinetum is on less than one hectare and intensely planted with predominantly dwarf and miniature conifer cultivars.

(L) are several trough gardens positioned at the top of a wall; (C) a specimen of Picea omorika 'Treblitsch'; (R) Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Bila Lhota'.

Jan’s garden was the first of several private gardens on my tour. I will not detail all of the gardens but I will show a selection of the gardens and some of their nicest plants.

Three views of Mr. Tlatla's rock garden.

In Pruhonice village we stopped at a large peasant farmhouse with its typical high walled courtyard. As we entered through a gate in the wall, we were greeted by Mr. Tlatla. To the rear of his property is a large, immaculate rock garden. Tlatla is an elderly man who works very hard at making a living and yet has managed to build a small Eden for the enjoyment of himself and his family. Conifers are used sparingly yet effectively throughout the garden.

Three views of the garden of Karel Maly.

Karel Maly has an outstanding conifer garden around his home in Vrozdany where he searches for and creates new conifers on a regular basis.

(L) Pinus mugo 'Fructata'; (C) Picea abies 'Levousy'; (R) Picea mariorika 'Machala'

His creations result from cross pollination of existing cultivars and also from the chemical treatment of buds to encourage malformed growth.

(L) Picea jezoensis 'Nana Kalous'; (C) Picea abies 'Rotenhause; (R) Karel Maly at work.

Maly’s garden present a different vista at every turn. He has achieved this effect through the extensive use of dwarf and miniature conifers throughout his plantings.

Lunch Maly's garden

Czech conifer names are difficult for a Westerner to pronounce and spell but they have some very interesting meanings. Many of their discoveries are simply named for the finder. However, considerable imagination is often evident in a name. For example, Pinus sylvestris ‘U-Branchi’ means "by the garden gate". The mother plant of this selection is extremely dwarf and planted in the garden of Krejci right beside his garden gate.

Some of the other names and their meanings are:

Picea glauca ‘Malecek’ –"little thumb"
Picea abies ‘Hagae’- "little ball"
Pinus mugo ‘Nerost’- "does not grow"
Picea abies ‘Svaty Jan"- "Saint John"
Pinus nigra ‘Oriesok’- "little nut"
Picea abies ‘Zahradka’- "little garden"

When we arrived at the garden of Krejci, he was busy making hay in his field. So we wandered through his garden while we waited for him to finish for the day.

Three views of Krejci's granitic rock garden.

The most outstanding feature of Krejci’s garden is a steep hillside, almost a small quarry, that he has transformed into an outstanding rock garden. Massive to moderately sized chunks of white quartzite, with many signs of weathering, create a myriad of plant niches that have been liberally planted with alpines and conifers.

Three more views of the rock garden.

When Krejci drove his tractor down the farm lane and saw us in his garden his tired features "lit up" and he gave us an enthusiastic welcome.

On the way to the garden of Jiri Balatka we made a photo stop in the village of Zvozicko. Jan wanted to pose with an American in front of a special pair of statues. When the Russians essentially ruled the then Czechoslovakia, statues of Lenin and Stalin were scattered throughout the country. When they left, most of the statues went to scrap metal yards to produce something useful. A few were set up as possible tourist attractions. We stopped at such a location and the locals who were patronizing a tavern across the street from the statues just stared at us. They probably thought we were a trio of Russian tourists.

The garden of Jiri Balatka is planted on a small city lot and has many dwarf conifers.

The garden of Balatka was intensely planted with a nice mixture of conifers and deciduous material. As always, our host was generous with his time, his plants, and his refreshments.

He loves cristate conifers and once found a Picea pungens with a large cockscombe that had died.

While visiting Czech gardens, I was always offered plants to take home. I refused since their importation into America was prohibited. Jiri did mention an American visitor in the summer of 1999 who owned a large conifer nursery and left with 76 little plants. In return he promised to send a "super secret" list of conifers that had been shared with only one other person in the whole world. I knew right away who he meant and told him not to expect anything. We all had a chuckle when Jiri mentioned that this braggart had had his pocket picked on the Prague underground.

After a tasty, traditional lunch, we were on our way back to Prague. The next day was to be a marathon drive into Austria and back.

Franz Esteldorfer’s garden is in Austria but was a must see destination during my visit to th Czech Republic. Franz is a member of the Czech conifer group and so enthusiastic about conifers that he has more Czech cultivars than anyone in the Czech Republic except possibly Jan Beran.

(L) Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'; (C) Picea omorika 'Pimoko'; (R) Abies koreana 'Blauer Eskimo'

Franz is especially into miniature conifers and they are packed into garden beds all around his home. He is also very enthusiastic about collecting brooms of Pinus cembra, of which he has over 30.

Picea jezoensis 'Nana Kalous'

Franz and his wife fed and entertained us until dark. We returned to Prague the following morning, after a long drive.

Scenes from Prague.

On my last full day in the Czech Republic Jaroslav showed me the sights of Prague and we spent the late afternoon in the garden of Mr. Holenka. He has assembled a nice selection of miniature conifers on his city lot. He especially likes Tsuga canadensis cultivars, many of which he purchased from Joel Spingarn in the 1970’s when Joel was actively propagating and selling dwarf conifers.

Scenes from Prague.