Conifer Cultivars of North America from 1932 into the Next Millenium

  Robert L. Fincham Conifers in Horticulture

24^th August 1999

Part II

              1950-1969

The fifties began with the establishment of the Robert H. Montgomery Collection at the New York Botanic Garden (1949 dedication) and the death of Charles F. Jenkins (1951).

            As many of the collectors and nurseries that were most active during the thirties and forties became less involved with introducing new conifers, a number of new people and nurseries appeared to replace them.

            The introductions of Juniperus and Taxus by several large wholesale nurseries continued. During this time period Juniperus scopulorum showed the greatest expansion in number of cultivars. From the forties and well into the fifties collectors spread through the Rocky Mountains in search of new selections. Robert E. More, associated with ‘The Green Thumb’, which I believe was a newspaper column on gardening, listed many names of plants that no longer exist. Several of the many selections of this species made in the forties had already disappeared from the scene by 1950. Plumfield Nursery in Colorado introduced two new cultivars that are still available today.

   Juniperus scopulorum ‘Cologreen’ (1956)
A columnar selection with upturned branches and good green foliage throughout the year; found as a seedling in the wild by Marshall about 1935.

     Juniperus scopulorum ‘Blue Heaven’ (1963)
A dense, conical plant with persistent blue-green foliage; originated by the Plumfield Nurseries, Fremont, Nebraska.

            Monrovia Nursery introduced at least seventeen scopulorum cultivars during this time, few of which are still available in the trade. Collectors were searching for anything that looked different, and many selections resulted that just did not survive the testing of the commercial plant market.

There were a number of other junipers introduced during this time period. A few of them are listed here.

            Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’ (1960)
A dense pyramid with nice green foliage; introduced by Monrovia Nursery, California.

            Juniperus horizontalis ‘Aunt Jemima’ (1957)
A selection with its growth habit so flattened that it resembles a pancake; up to 20 cm high; plumose foliage is blue-green throughout the year; originated in 1957 at the D. Hill Nursery, Dundee, Illinois.

            Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Horizon’ (1960’s)
A prostrate plant that does not mound up in the center, has a foliage density that is superior to that of ‘Bar Harbor’ and ‘Wiltoni’; attains a height of about 20 cm; foliage is steel blue in the summer, becoming bronzed during the winter; introduced by Mayfair Nursery in the mid 1960's.

            Juniperus x pfitzeriana ‘Gold Coast’ (1965)
A compact, spreading plant with slightly arching branches; grows up to 40 cm per year with a generous amount of juvenile foliage among adult foliage; was selected for its deep gold color which it maintains on older foliage; discovered as a branch sport on ‘Old Gold’ about 1965 at the Sakiyama Nursery, California.

            Juniuperus x pfitzeriana ‘Mordigan’ (1951)
A shrubby, irregularly growing plant; foliage is mixed juvenile and adult possessing a bluish cast when the plant is young; registered by J. B. Mordigan in 1951.

Many Taxus cultivars were also selected during this time period. An expansion of Taxus x media rapidly occurred as it became a mainstay of the wholesale nursery industry, especially in the Northeast and Central regions of America. A few of the selections made are listed here.

            Taxus baccata ‘Fowle’ (1965)
A semi-dwarf selection that becomes vase-shaped with a flat top, multiple stems arise from a short trunk; grows about 8 cm per year; foliage is adpressed and dark green; originated as a seedling about 1950 and the original plant is at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where it was registered in 1965.

            Taxus cuspidata ‘Bobbink’ (1951)
A dense, conical selection from Bobbink and Chapman Nursery, New Jersey.

            Taxus media ‘Densiformis’ (1951)
This selection is female with a dense and rounded growth habit; young shoots greenish-brown in winter, very numerous. This plant is exceptionally valuable for its winter hardiness.

         Taxus media ‘Wardii’ (1950)
A wide, irregularly spreading selection with dark green foliage that shows a tendency to produce heavy seed crops.

            The impetus to the introduction of new Tsuga cultivars provided by Charles Jenkins continued during the fifties and sixties. The Taxus, Thuja, and Juniperus selections were based upon commercial potential. Tsuga selections were made because the plants were different and appealed to collectors or small nurseries that saw their potential for special landscape situations. As time passed, many of the Tsuga selections also demonstrated a commercial potential and some of the larger nurseries began to take an interest in them. The Tsuga selections during this time period included a number of special cultivars.

            Tsuga canadensis ‘Ashfield Weeper’ (1964)
This selection is a weeping form that develops an irregular outline but at the Arnold Arboretum it has shown a tendency to grow upward and develop a series of tiers as it does so; originated as a seedling discovered along the roadside in Ashfield, Massachusetts, in 1964 by Ormand Hamilton of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Tsuga canadensis ‘Frosty’ (1965)
A bushy hemlock with silvery-white, green tipped foliage in the summer when planted in light shade; originated by Fred Bergman, who picked this plant from a bed of collected seedlings grown by John Swartley about 1965.  

Tsuga canadensis ‘Gentsch White’ (1969)
This selection develops into a small, bushy, conical tree; foliage green when older but when it first appears on the new growth it is white, becoming brightest during the autumn; originated by Otto Gentsch, West Merrick, Long Island, New York, who used to sell hemlock seedlings for hedging. This cultivar needs a regular shearing of the foliage to generate the many growing tips with their resulting white foliage. If not sheared, the plant is not very spectacular. Gentsch also selected ‘Palomino’ and ‘Snowflake’ from among his many seedlings.

Tsuga canadensis ‘Henry Hohman’ (early 1950’s)
This selection develops into a conical plant with a picturesque, irregular outline due to the presence of many shorter shoots along the main branches; very similar to ‘Hussii’; foliage is dark green and densely held along all of the shoots; obtained from a German nursery many years ago by the late George L. Ehrle of Clifton, New Jersey, and passed on by him to Henry Hohman of Kingsville Nursery, Maryland who first erroneously named it ‘Gracilis’.

Tsuga canadensis ‘Jervis’ (1956)
A dwarf selection that develops into an irregular little pyramid; foliage is dark green and congested on all of the branches and branchlets originated as a seedling discovered near Port Jervis, New York by G. G. Nearing of Metuchen, New Jersey. It is similar to ‘Hussii’, but it maintains a more compact habit as it grows older.

Tsuga canadensis ‘Verkade’s Recurved’ (1969)
A dwarf, irregularly growing, open pyramid; foliage is dark green and very unique in that each needle is strongly decurved and the branches are so brittle that just touching them will sometimes break them from the plant; introduced by Verkade Nursery, New Jersey. Interestingly enough, another selection called ‘Curly’ was found by Harold Epstein, New Jersey and has all of the same characteristics as this plant except the growth rate. ‘Curly’ grows much faster.

            During the sixties, several collectors became very active. In the East Fred Bergman’s Raraflora and Layne Ziegenfuss’s Hillside Nursery assembled exceptional conifer collections for what became commercial operations. In the West, Mitsch Nursery and Sherwood Nursery in Oregon, Jon Spaan in Washington, and Goddard’s Flora Vista Gardens in British Columbia were not very far behind. Some of the plants introduced during this time period that came from collectors and smaller specialty nurseries are listed here.

            Abies koreana ‘Aurea’ (1956)
Narrowly conical selection that can easily be grown as a flat-topped bush; the tree form grows up to 10 cm per year; bright gold foliage is striking and makes an exceptional contrast to the red-purple cones that form in the spring; discovered as a seedling by Ed Lohbrunner on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada in 1956.

            Abies lasiocarpa ‘Duflon’ (1954)
Miniature mound that will develop into a congested little tree as it ages; starts out as a bun for many years until a weak leader establishes itself, then it will gain a little height; growth about .5 cm per year; foliage consists of green needles that are very tiny, staying in scale with the size of the plant; discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Alton Duflon in 1954 near Lake Cushman on the Olympic Peninsula as a congested, little tree that must have been over 100 years old.

            Cedrus deodara ‘Gold Cone’ (1964)
A large tree with a distinctly pendulous growth habit, becoming dense and narrow; grows in excess of 60 cm per year; the bright gold color is superior to any of the other golden Cedrus deodara selections and is well displayed even in older specimens; discovered as a seedling by William Goddard, Floravista Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada about 1964.

            Cedrus deodara ‘Klondike’ (1964)
This  broadly conical tree has typical pendulous branches with no distinguishing characteristics during the summer, but it turns a chartreuse color during the winter with yellow stems; grows about 50 cm per year; discovered as a seedling by William Goddard, Floravista Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada about 1964. It is not as hardy as most selections of Cedrus deodara.

            Cedrus deodara ‘Silver Mist’ (1964)
A dwarf plant that becomes broadly conical with age, branches are gracefully pendulous and densely clothe a mature plant; grows up to 15 cm per year but a thirty year old plant may be only 1.6 m high and 2 m wide; foliage is white with a green tinge toward the center of the plant and it may suffer some burn in the full sun; discovered as a seedling by William Goddard, Floravista Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada about 1964. Several similar selections were made at the same time with the other two being named ‘Snow Sprite’ and ‘White Imp’. They are also very white but slower growing.

            Cedrus libani ‘Beacon Hill’ (1964)
An upright plant that develops into an irregularly pendulous tree; some branches turn downward while others arch outward; there is a tendency for collars to form at the bends of the branches, creating weak points where branches may break off; grows up to 50 cm per year; dark green with needles that are typical species length; discovered as a seedling by William Goddard, Floravista Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada about 1964.

            Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Bess’ (1960)
A dwarf selection that grows into a narrowly conical plant with a slightly spiraled appearance; grows about 5 cm per year; dark green foliage that is very densely arranged on the branches; originated as a seedling grown by Joe Reis, Long Island, New York about 1960 and named for his wife, Elizabeth. Reis enjoyed growing seeds collected from his collection of Chamaecyparis obtusa cultivars and selected several very attractive plants, two of which are described below. Other plants introduced by Reis include ‘Barkenny’, ‘Buttonball’, ‘Joan-o’, and ‘Tiny Tot’.

            Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘JR’ (1960)
A miniature selection that grows into a rounded bun with a growth habit between that of ‘Nana’ and the ultra miniatures like ‘Buttonball’; grows about 2 cm per year; dark green foliage; originated as a seedling grown by Joe Reis, Long Island, New York about 1960; it was given this unusual name to represent Joe Reis’s initials not as an abbreviation of ‘Junior’, which is sometimes given as its name.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Meroke’ (1960)
An exceptionally nice dwarf selection which develops into a narrowly conical plant with a slight spiral to its fastigiate foliage; grows about 5 cm per year; foliage is bright gold and does not burn in the full sun; originated as a seedling grown by Joe Reis, Long Island, New York about 1960.

Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Lemon Thread’ (1965)
A dense, rapidly growing plant becoming broadly conical as it ages, there are two types of foliage, threadlike and plumose; grows up to 30 cm per year; foliage is gold with green undertones; discovered as a sport on ‘Lutescens’ at Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon about 1965.

Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’ (1950’s)
A narrowly conical tree of moderate density; growth rate ranges from about 30 cm per year in the shade to 15 cm per year in the full sun; foliage is bright gold in the full sun with a tendency to burn until the plant grows large enough to shade its interior foliage, then burning ceases; bright red spring strobili add an attractive color contrast in the spring; original plant was found at Skylands Farm (now Ringwood State Park), New Jersey during the early 1950's. At the time of its discovery it was labled ‘Aurea Compacta’ so it may be found growing in collections under either name.

Picea pungens ‘Hunnewelliana’ (1950’s)
A selection that becomes a dense, narrowly conical, compact tree; grows about 20 cm per year; foliage is stiff and bright blue; a young plant can be difficult to distinguish from ‘R.H. Montgomery’ but since it grows slightly faster and narrower, it does become distinctive with age; originated at the Hunnewell Pinetum, Wellesley, Massachusetts about 1923 and was introduced through the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where the original specimen presently resides. It has not been described in the literature since all descriptions pertain to a rather ordinary green tree that was removed from the Arnold Arboretum in the 1950's. This plant was growing in the same area as the green tree described in the literature and when it was propagated for the nursery trade in the fifties, it was given the name of the tree that had been removed.

Picea pungens ‘Mrs. Cessarini’ (1965)
A selection that is a true dwarf, flat-topped and low without any vertical needles on the branchlets; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is bicolored blue and green with short, broad needles; there has always been some question as to its species, although most agree it is pungens, the discoverer states it was found as a witches'-broom on Picea abies, however, a high graft of ‘Mrs. Cessarini’ on a mature spruce caused it to revert to a near-normal Picea pungens; discovered as a witches'-broom about 1965 by Joseph Cessarini on a Long Island, New York estate.

Picea pungens ‘R.H. Montgomery’
A dense, conical plant that grows almost as wide as high; grows up to about 10 cm per year; foliage is very blue; originally named Picea pungens ‘Glauca Compacta Globosa’ when purchased by Colonel Montgomery from Eastern Nursery. It was given its present name in Colonel Montgomery’s honor when he donated it, along with the rest of his conifer collection, to the New York Botanic Garden in 1949. When side shoots are propagated from this cultivar, a more globose shape results and many nurseries offer this form or cultivariant as Picea pungens ‘Glauca Globosa’.

Picea pungens ‘Walnut Glen’ (1965)
A dense, broadly conical selection; grows about 20 cm per year; foliage emerges creamy white, becoming blue on the undersides by summer and completely blue by winter, burning in the full summer sun; discovered by Greg Williams, Vermont on private property in Pennsylvania about 1965; called ‘Goldie’, after the owner's wife in some collections.

Picea sitchensis ‘Papoose’ (1964)
Starting as a dense globe, this selection soon develops a slowly growing leader and becomes broadly conical; grows about 4 cm per year; foliage is bicolored blue and green with short, sharp needles; discovered as a seedling growing in the forests of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, it was given to the Victoria Parks Department which shared it with William Goddard, Floravista Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada about 1964. A twin seedling found at the same time and named ‘Tenas’ is nearly indistinguishable from ‘Papoose’.

Pinus aristata ‘Sherwood Compact’ (1960)
A dwarf, narrowly conical plant with very dense branching; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is green and lacks the resin ducts present in the aristata species; introduced about 1960 by Sherwood Nursery, Portland, Oregon who discovered it as a seedling; since aristata and balfouriana have some geographical overlap, and since this selection possesses no resin ducts, I believe it to actually be balfouriana.

Pinus contorta ‘Spaans Dwarf’ (1950’s)
A dense, globular to elliptical dwarf plant with upright branches; can grow up to 15 cm per year; foliage is dark green with twisted needles; seedling grown by Jon Spaan, Washington in the 1950's.

Pinus parviflora ‘Bergman’ (1965)
A selection that develops into a broad, rounded shrub and requires some pruning to maintain a rounded shape; grows about 15 cm per year; foliage is strongly twisted, giving it a silver and blue coloration, winter buds are quite long with some pubescence; found as a seedling and introduced in 1965 by Fred Bergman, Feasterville, Pennsylvania. This selection may actually be a Pinus pumila as evidenced by its difficulty in propagation and the characteristics of its buds and foliage. Supposedly this plant grows most like its description when it is grafted onto Pinus thunbergiana. Pinus strobus understock tends to have it develop more conically.

Pinus peuce ‘Arnold dwarf’ (1965)
A dwarf selection that develops into a dense, narrow, little mound; grows about 2 cm per year; foliage is dark green and the needles are actually longer than its annual growth, giving it the appearance of a conical mound of needles; discovered as a seedling at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts about 1965; also found under the incorrect name of ‘Nana’.

Pinus resinosa ‘Aurea’ (1965)
A large tree with thick, sparse branches that appears dense due to its long, thick needles; grows about 30 cm per year; foliage is yellow-green in the summer and bright gold in the winter; color is enhanced if the plant is grown under stressful conditions; terminal buds are quite large while the few lateral buds are not; discovered in the 1960’s by William Bennett, Virginia who was adept at discovering unusual plants growing along the highway as he traveled.

Pinus strobus ‘Bennett Clumpleaf’ (1965)
A medium-sized tree that appears to be thinly branched and fairly open-growing; grows about 20 cm per year; foliage is dark green with needles that stick together as they emerge from their sheaths, each apparently single needle becomes five when rolled between the fingers; discovered in the 1960’s by William Bennett, Virginia. The hardiness of this selection is under question since it does not survive in the northern limits of the range of Pinus strobus.

Pinus strobus ‘Bennett OD’ (1965)
A small, open tree; grows about 15 cm per year; foliage is dark green with each needle having a bright gold band, new growth is bright gold and susceptible to sun scald; discovered in the 1960’s by William Bennett, Virginia. Some lists are labeling this cultivar as ‘Bennett Dragon's Eye’, but William Bennett was very specific about using OD in the name. A plant named ‘Bergman’s Variegated’ is the same as this selection.

Pinus strobus ‘Horsford’ (1965)
A miniature selection that becomes a cushion-shaped, dense little bun; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is light green; its relatively long, thin needles and short annual growth give it the appearance of a shaggy little cushion; originated as a seedling discovered by William Horsford, Vermont about 1960; as with most miniature Pinus strobus it must be cleaned of dead needles each winter or sudden death may occur in the spring, a problem common to all the dwarf bun forms of Pinus strobus.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Bennett Compact’ (1965)
A miniature selection that becomes a dense, irregular little mound; grows about 2 cm per year with an occasional shoot of up to 5 cm; foliage is blue-green with relatively long, stiff, thick, sharp needles; discovered in the 1960's by William Bennett, Virginia. Occasionally a plant will send up strong growing shoots, most commonly in colder climates.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Mitsch Weeping’ (1965)
A prostrate plant that is most attractive when staked to a height of about 3 m and allowed to cascade back down to the ground, creating a dense, weeping specimen; grows about 25 cm per year; foliage is dark green with large, brown winter buds; discovered as a seedling about 1965 at Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon.

Pinus virginiana ‘Wates Golden’ (1965)
A moderately sized tree of moderate density; grows about 25 cm per year; summer foliage is light green but the winter foliage is bright gold, especially if the winter is cold, many branches are produced each year but thinness contributes to tree’s moderate density; discovered in the 1960’s by William Bennett, Virginia.

Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Graceful Grace’ (1968)
This selection is perhaps the most distinctive of many weeping forms of Douglas fir; the branchlets hang along the main trunk while the leader grows irregularly upward, making a very upright tree; grows up to 30 cm per year; foliage is blue-green with exceptionally long, curved needles; originated about 1968 at the Masonic Home, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Hillside Pride’ (1960)
A miniature selection that is narrowly conical when young, becoming somewhat rounded as it ages; grows about 1 cm per year; foliage is dark green with small, blunt-tipped needles; discovered about 1960 in a Christmas tree plantation by Layne Ziegenfuss, Hillside Nursery, Lehighton, Pennsylvania. Ziegenfuss found a number of other new introductions by walking through Christmas tree plantations.

Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Little Jon’ (1967)
A dwarf selection that is globose when young, becoming somewhat conical as it ages; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is light green with short, blunt needles; discovered about 1967 growing near ‘Graceful Grace’ by Albert Ziegler, Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The parent tree was almost two meters tall in 1994. 

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