Conifer Cultivars of North America from 1932 into the Next Millenium

  Robert L. Fincham Conifers in Horticulture

24^th August 1999

Part III

            1970-1989

During the sixties many new cultivars were selected based upon special attributes of dwarfness, color variation, and a weeping growth habit. As single family homes were being built on smaller and smaller properties, a demand was being created for conifers that were either dwarf or had some special attributes a home owner found especially desirable.

            Of course many nurseries still preferred to grow what is referred to as the “bread and butter” conifers. These conifers are easy to propagate, grow fast, and can be sold in large numbers for a reasonable price while still producing a profit.

            Juniperus scopulorum was starting to demonstrate problems in the landscape and new selections were rare. Due to their exceptional characteristics, two cultivars were offered by Monrovia Nursery as their older offerings disappeared from their catalog. Otherwise there were the usual additions to the Juniperus horizontalis and x pfitzeriana groups. A few are listed here.

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Acres’ (1973)
A prostrate plant with new foliage standing upright, later lying down; grows up to 30 cm high; younger, blue foliage contrasts nicely with the older, green foliage; grown from seed collected in the Banff area of Canada in the early 1960’s by Professor McNinch of the University of Guelph.

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Emerald Spreader’ (1973)
A low, dense, carpetlike selection; originally called ‘Emerald Green’ when it was found in 1967, a name that was changed when it was offered by Monrovia Nursery, California, in 1973.

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Hughs’ (1975)
Quite flat, vigorous grower, whitish-blue. Considered the bluest of the horizontalis forms.

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Youngstown’ (1973)
A selection of ‘Plumosa Compacta’, but lower growing, very flat, bright green; originated by  Plumfield Nurseries, Fremont, Nebraska.

            Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'Daub's Frosted'
A dense, spreading selection with a flat top and pendulous branch ends; grows about 10 cm per year; bright gold foliage on the top of each branch which retains green and blue foliage on the bottom sides, often giving a tricolored effect, does not burn in the full sun; a sport of 'Mordigan Gold' that was introduced by Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon, in 1987.

            Many new Taxus and Thuja appeared during this time period, especially in the Northeast and Central regions of America. Many of these cultivars were touted as superior replacements for older selections already on the market, but few became popular. However, some of the new Thuja are worth mentioning.

            Thuja occidentalis ‘Degroot’s Spire’ (1975)
A dense, compact, narrowly conical selection; grows about 25 cm per year; foliage is dark green and twisted; one of several seedlings selected by C. DeGroot in 1964 and introduced by Sheridan Nursery, Oakdale, Ontario, Canada about 1972.

Thuja occidentalis ‘George Washington’ (1986)
A yellow variegated selection that grows into a tall pyramid but may actually be Thuja plicata.

Thuja occidentalis ‘Sherwood Frost’ (1972)
A selection that develops into a dense, broadly conical specimen; grows up to 50 cm per year; foliage pushes creamy-white in the spring and maintains a green-white color throughout the growing season without burning; originated at Sherwood Nursery, Portland, Oregon about 1972.

Thuja occidentalis ‘Sherwood Moss’ (1972)
A selection that develops into a dense, irregularly conical specimen; grows up to 30 cm per year; foliage is green with winter bronzing, sprays are juvenile and slightly twisted; originated at Sherwood Nursery, Portland, Oregon about 1972.

The seventies saw a gradual decline in new offerings by Hillside Nursery and the death of Fred Bergman, leading to the scattering of his collection, and a change in direction for Flora Vista Gardens in British Columbia as new owners took control. These negative influences on the origins of new cultivars were counteracted by a number of other events. In the Eastern United States my own Coenosium Gardens became an important retail source for rare conifers. I was very actively seeking out conifer collectors and assembling a variety of new and old cultivars for my collection. At one point my mail order catalog offered almost 1,200 cultivars. Watnong Nursery (begun in the sixties) still provided rare conifers as owners Don and Hazel Smith, the owners, continued speaking to interested groups all over the East Coast. At least five other specialty nurseries were selling conifers to retail customers via mail order by the end of the eighties.

            The western part of America saw the beginnings of a premier wholesale conifer nursery as Jean Iseli steered Iseli Nursery on a course that amassed a collection of rare conifers in great quantities and larger sizes heretofore ever seen at a wholesale nursery. The influence of the Jean Iseli years upon the wholesale conifer business in America from about 1970 until his death in 1986 was most profound to say the least.

            A dream of Colonel Robert H. Montgomery came true during the seventies. The American Conifer Society was organized and commenced publication of a quarterly bulletin. Membership has been fairly consistent at just above 1,000 enthusiasts, and it has provided a format for keeping people informed about happenings in the world of conifers.

            Many new cultivars were introduced during this time period. A sampling follows.

            Abies balsamea ‘Verkade’s Prostrate’ (1984)
Dwarf, broadly growing selection sometimes becoming broadly conical as it ages; branchlet ends turning down; growth about 3 cm per year; slightly convex dark green needles; found as a witches'-broom by John Verkade, Pompton Plains, New Jersey, and introduced about 1984.

            Abies concolor ‘Gable’s Weeping’ (1970)
Usually growing wider than high sometimes developing a leader; laterals are all strongly pendulous; growth about 7 cm per year; curved grayish-green needles; discovered by Joseph Gable, Stewartstown, Pennsylvania about 1970.

            Abies lasiocarpa ‘Green Globe’ (1979)
Definitely globe shaped as a young plant but develops a pointed top as it grows; very densely branched; growth about 5 cm per year; dark green foliage; found as a seedling near Abies balsamea and introduced by Verkade Nursery, Pompton Plains, New Jersey about 1979, it has wrongly been identified as Abies concolor and as Abies balsamea.

            Cedrus atlantica ‘Lilliput’ (1987)
Compact, open bush with few branchlets; grows to about 1 meter in ten years; green foliage is quite sparse along the recent year’s growth and tends to cluster toward the branch ends; branchlets have a slight curve; seedling discovered about 1970 by Ivan Arneson, Canby, Oregon.

            Cedrus deodara ‘Hollandia’ (1985)
A true dwarf with short, stiff branches creating a dense, congested plant that is as broad as high; grows about 4 cm per year; the foliage is grey-green and shorter than the species; introduced by Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon about 1985; the original plant came from Hollandia Nursery, Modesto, California.

            Cedrus deodara ‘Shalimar’ (1984)
A large tree with exceptional hardiness; grows up to 1 m per year; grown from seed (collected at high altitude in its native range) at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where occasional severe winters will cause foliage burn and kill some of the late summer growth on mature specimens in unprotected locations.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Elf’ (1979)
A miniature selection with the distinctive characteristic of developing into an ellipsoid shape as it grows into a dense little bush; grows about 2 cm per year; foliage is dark green and very dense; grown as a seedling by Joel Spingarn, Long Island, New York, and introduced about 1979. This was one of a series of seedlings introduced by Spingarn through Welch’s Manual of Dwarf Conifers. The other selections included ‘Dainty Doll’, ‘Golden Fairy’, ‘Golden Filament’, ‘Golden Nymph’, ‘Golden Sprite’ (described below), ‘Leprechaun’, and ‘Pixie’.

            Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Golden Sprite’ (1979)
A miniature selection that is presently the most dwarf golden hinoki cypress, it is globose and dense with a slightly uneven outline, flattened sprays arch outward from the center; grows about 1 cm per year; gold foliage does appear to be resistant to sun scald; grown as a seedling by Joel Spingarn, Long Island, New York and introduced about 1979. 

            Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Gold Drop’ (1974)
A tidy mound not as dense as the ‘Nana’ types it is still quite compact and full; grows about 5 cm per year; yellowish green foliage becomes bright yellow-green during the winter; grown as a seedling by Ed Rezek, Long Island, New York, and introduced by him about 1974.

            Picea abies ‘Hillside Upright’ (1970)
A dark green tree that develops into a narrow, irregular pyramid; grows up to 30 cm per year; two different kinds of growth and foliage, some areas possess small needles and branchlets that grow about 5 cm per year while other areas exhibit rapid, coarse growth and species normal foliage; discovered as a witches'-broom by Layne Ziegenfuss, Hillside Nursery, Lehighton, Pennsylvania in 1970.

            Picea abies ‘Witches’ Brood’ (1980)
When first propagated, this selection is globose and very dense with thin, short, light green needles, as it matures the plant becomes conical and the foliage on the upper part of the plant becomes more species normal; grows about 3 cm per year when young and 10 cm per year when older, attaining a height of about 1 m at twenty years; discovered as a witches'-broom seedling about 1970 by H. Lincoln Foster, Connecticut. Foster had read about the work of Fordham and decided to experiment with some seed from a witches’-broom he had found at his own home. When this plant resulted, he gave a propagation of it to Don Smith at Watnong Nursery and then planted the original in the ground and never bothered with it. Eventually it was shaded out and died. The plant given to Don Smith was just setting in a container bed at the nursery when I spotted it. I talked him out of it and introduced it to the trade through Coenosium Gardens. Foster put this appropriate name on the plant.

            Picea glauca ‘Cecilia’ (1979)
Miniature bun with short needles arranged radially around each branchlet; grows about 1 cm per year, foliage is silvery-grey to blue with globular, dark brown buds; originated from a witches’-broom which was discovered near the Skippack Highway in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area by Greg Williams; named ‘Skippack’ when first discovered it has since become known as ‘Cecilia’; a reverted form is being marketed under this name that grows at about four times the true rate of this cultivar.

            Picea glauca ‘Dent’ (1980)
A medium sized tree with a relatively open growth habit; grows about 25 cm per year; foliage has patches of white scattered randomly throughout, adding a colorful touch to the garden; the variegation is most striking in the spring and suffers little burn in the full sun; introduced about 1980 by Greg Williams, Harwick, Vermont.

            Picea glauca ‘Sander’s Fastigiate’ (1985)
A selection of ‘Albertiana Conica’ with a fastigiate habit; develops into a dense, narrow cone; grows about 7 cm per year; its short, thin needles give a fine textured appearance to its light green foliage; it does develop dead patches from time to time; introduced by Iseli Nursery, Boring, Oregon about 1985. Iseli Nursery discovered many variants of Picea glauca ‘Conica’ at the nursery, which is not surprising since they have often produced over 250,000 plants per year. Some of those found were called ‘Itty Bitty’, ‘Jean’s Dilly’, ‘Rainbow’s End’, and ‘Tiny Temple’.

            Picea orientalis ‘Barnes’ (1970)
A reliably dwarf selection that develops into a globose plant with all of its branches ascending at about a 50^o angle; grows about 8 cm per year; foliage is glossy, dark green; originated as a witches'-broom at Barnes Arboretum, Merion Station, Pennsylvania. It was discovered and introduced about 1970 by Layne Ziegenfuss and Greg Williams, Pennsylvania as Witches’-broom.

            Picea pungens ‘Donna’s Rainbow’ (1980)
A dwarf, dense, conical plant with all of the new shoots angled sharply upward, giving it a very distinctive appearance; grows about 5 cm per year; foliage is light blue with the needles slightly angled toward the tip of the branch; discovered as a seedling in 1978 at Iseli Nursery, Boring, Oregon. Jean Iseli introduced a number of Picea pungens cultivars during this time period. Some of these introductions included ‘Blue Bun’, ‘Emerald Cushion’, ‘Fat Albert’, ‘Iseli Fastigiate’, ‘Iseli Foxtail’, and ‘Yvette’.

            Picea pungens ‘Saint Mary’ (1970)
A dwarf, dense mound with conspicuous buds; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is bright blue; found as a witches’-broom at Saint Mary’s Convent in New Jersey by Greg Williams and introduced about 1970 by Hillside Nursery, Lehighton, Pennsylvania. It is not uncommon for specimens of this cultivar to have many buds that never push.

            Picea sitchensis ‘Bentham’s Sunlight’ (1980)
A selection that was previously listed as ‘Aurea’, a name that was illegal and already assigned to a yellowish sitchensis in Australia. It was given the name, 'Bentham's Sunlight' in my November, 1994 catalog to honor the man who distributed the first, and only, successful propagations from the original tree. It is a compact, dense, conical plant; grows about 6 cm per year under the proper conditions; foliage is bright, bright gold, becoming bicolored blue and green on the undersides of the branches by winter, burns severely in the full sun; discovered growing in a British Columbia forest along a river. The original tree was sacred to the Haida Indian tribe, and wood was obtained from it through a timber company that was leasing the land at the time. The tree was recently cut down by an anti-logging activist.

            Before listing the Pinus selections, I have to mention two people who have had a tremendous influence upon conifer cultivars and their selection. Alfred J. Fordham was Head Propagator at the Arnold Arboretum through the sixties and much of the seventies. During the seventies Fordham introduced a number of new pines that were grown by him from seed. The uniqueness of these seedlings was the fact that they were dwarf selections produced from the seed collected from witches’-brooms. A number of these seedlings have proven to be very popular in North America. A close friend of Fordham, Dr. Sidney Waxman, at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, continued the work with witches’-broom seedlings. At one point Waxman had 35,000 selected seedlings growing at Storrs. Over a period of about twenty years he made a number of introductions to the nursery trade. Several of these selections have proven to be very popular.

            On the west coast, researchers at Oregon State University made selections of Pinus mugo with good growth habits that exhibited a good tendency to be propagated from rooted cuttings. One of their selections has become popular in the nursery trade (‘Green Candle’). However, the majority of nurseries growing Pinus mugo still prefer to grow sheared plants of Pinus mugo v. pumilio and sell it as a dwarf mugo pine.

            A selection of cultivars introduced during this time period follows.

            Pinus banksiana ‘Chippewah’ (1970)
The most dwarf of the Fordham banksiana selections, ‘Chippewah’ develops into a miniature, irregular, flat-topped mound; grows less than 2 cm per year; foliage is light green with tiny needles mostly held parallel to the branchlets, buds are elongated, grey-white, and slightly resinous; seedling grown from a witches’-broom about 1970 by Alfred Fordham, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Fordham was one of the first to experiment with this type of seedling. A.G. Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a close friend of Fordham’s who sent him the seed for a number of named seedlings, was possibly the first. Fordham’s other witches’-broom seedlings in this species include ‘Manomet’ and ‘Neponset’.

            Pinus banksiana ‘Schoodic’ (1970)
A selection that is completely prostrate and will grow down over walls; grows about 8 cm per year; foliage is light green with stiff needles that slightly curve around the branches; cones are produced in prolific numbers with a high percentage of viable seeds that make some interesting seedlings; seedling grown about 1970 by Alfred Fordham, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts from seed collected on the Schoodic Penninsula in Massachusetts.

            Pinus cembra ‘Chalet’ (1972)
A selection that develops into a dense column with a rounded top; grows about 15 cm per year; foliage is a soft, bluish green; seedling introduced in 1972 by Vermeulen Nursery, Neshanic Station, New Jersey. It was one of several they propagated for a number of years and sold as the species, but the superior habit and color deserved a name.

            Pinus contorta ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’ (1984)
A broadly conical tree of intermediate height; foliage is yellow-green with the spring growth appearing as bright gold candles; discovered about 1984 in the Colorado Rockies by Alan Taylor, Boulder, Colorado.

            Pinus densiflora ‘Low Glow’ (1985)
A low mound with whorls of needles at the tip of each shoot; grows about 12 cm per year; foliage is bright yellow-green; originated about 1985 as a witches’-broom seedling at a research project conducted at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut under the direction of Dr. Sidney Waxman.

            Pinus flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’ (1972)
An exceptionally dense, symmetrical, conical tree; grows about 25 cm per year; foliage is dark blue-green; originated as a seedling at Vermeulen Nursery, Neshanic Station, New Jersey, and introduced in 1972, has recently become a very popular selection in America.

            Pinus mugo ‘Mitsch Mini’ (1975)
One of the dwarfest Pinus mugo yet named, becoming a dense, miniature cushion with slightly contorted new growth; grows about 2 cm per year, even slower on its own root; foliage is green; seedling introduced by Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon, about 1975.

            Pinus mugo ‘Valley Cushion’ (1970)
A selection that is widely spreading when young, becoming more globose as it develops; grows about 6 cm per year, half that if on its own root; foliage is dark green; a seedling selected at the North Willamette Research Station, Canby, Oregon by Dr. Robert Tichnor about 1970 in his search for an easy rooting, superior cultivar.

            Pinus nigra ‘Arnold Sentinel’ (1984)
A dense, columnar tree with exceptionally fastigiate branches that become so heavy toward the ends that heavy snow can cause some damage; grows about 30 cm per year; foliage is dark green with long needles and thick branches; selected and named in 1986 from a batch of v. pyramidata seedlings that had been obtained from Turkey and planted by Alfred Fordham at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

            Pinus parviflora ‘Burkes Bonsai’ (1982)
A selection that is an irregularly growing, open branched, small tree, with a proclivity for producing adventitious buds on up to three year old branches creating areas of dense foliage on the tree; grows up to 20 cm per year in the landscape; foliage is dark green with short, straight, thin needles; a seedling grown by Joe Burke, North Merrick, New York,  and introduced by Coenosium Gardens, which named the plant in his honor. Burke grew many parviflora seedlings for grafting understock and selected the best for bonsai training. This selection is exceptional for that purpose.

            Pinus resinosa ‘Don Smith’ (1984)
A broad, dense, flat-topped bush with erect shoots of the most recent year’s growth; grows about 10 cm per year; foliage is light green with long, straight needles, cones are abundantly produced at the terminals; discovered in the 1960’s on an old estate in Mendham, New Jersey, by J. Leonard Bailey who showed it to Don Smith, who introduced it through Watnong Nursery, Morris Plains, New Jersey.

            Pinus resinosa ‘Quinobequin’ (1970)
A compact, dense bush becoming wider than high; grows up to 15 cm per year; foliage is dark green with red-brown branches; witches’-broom seedling grown about 1970 by Alfred Fordham, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, from seed he collected. Another plant in this species grown by Fordham was ‘Nobska’.

            Pinus resinosa ‘Sandcastle’ (1988)
A dwarf, dense, upright shrub with tufts of short, dark-green needles; grows about 10 cm per year; selected in 1988 as a result of the witches’-broom seedling research conducted by Dr. Sidney Waxman, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. Another plant in this species grown by Waxman was ‘Thunderhead’.

            Pinus strobus ‘Blue Shag’ (1986)
A dense, globular bush, wider than high; grows up to 15 cm per year; foliage is blue-green; selected in 1986 as a result of the witches'-broom seedling research conducted by Dr. Sidney Waxman, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. Waxman has introduced over twenty selections of Pinus strobus witches’-broom seedlings to the nursery trade.

            Pinus strobus ‘Hillside Wintergold’ (1970)
A moderately sized tree with an open growth habit; grows about 20 cm per year; foliage is light green in the summer, becoming gold in the winter; introduced by Hillside Nursery, Lehighton, Pennsylvania about 1970; when the gold scions were propagated, they immediately turned green in the warm greenhouse and were almost discarded. Left outside and ignored, they turned gold the following winter and were saved. The hillside where it originated had many golden specimens, but all were logged off before further studies could be conducted.

            Pinus strobus ‘Merrimack’ (1970)
A dwarf, dense globular selection that is broader than high; grows about 5 cm per year; foliage is green becoming yellowish-green during the winter; witches’-broom seedling grown about 1970 by Alfred Fordham, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts from seed he collected. Another introduction from this seed lot was ‘Uncatena’.

            Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ (1978)
A very dwarf shrub that develops into a low mound; grows about 4 cm per year; foliage is bluish-green with short needles; a witches'-broom seedling selected in 1978 as a result of the witches’-broom seedling research conducted by Dr. Sidney Waxman, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. This selection has proven to be the most popular of all the Waxman seedlings.

            Pinus sylvestris ‘Barrie Bergman’ (1970)
A densely branched, upright bush with an irregular outline; grows up to 12 cm per year; foliage is green with patches of white variegation throughout the plant which gives it a ragged summer appearance when the white foliage burns off; introduced about 1970 by Fred Bergman, Raraflora Nursery, Feasterville, Pennsylvania.

            Pinus sylvestris ‘Hillside Creeper’ (1970)
A completely prostrate selection that tends to become layered over a long period of time; grows about 18 cm per year when young, slowing to about half that rate after ten years; foliage is light green, becoming yellow-green during the winter; discovered growing in a Christmas tree plantation about 1970 by Layne Ziegenfuss, Hillside Nursery, Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Spaans Slow Column’ (1979)
A semi-dwarf, dense, fastigiate selection that does not break open like its parent plant as it ages; grows about 15 cm per year; foliage is blue-green with slightly twisted needles and dense branching; a seedling from ‘Fastigiata’ selected by Jon Spaan, Washington about 1955. It was sold to William Gotelli and became part of the Gotelli Dwarf Conifer Collection at the United States National Arboretum, Washington, DC. Two other seedlings from the same batch were similar and one was sent to a collector in Connecticut and the other was kept on the west coast, both seemingly lost to cultivation. I introduced this plant under this name through Coenosium Gardens in 1979.

            Pinus thunbergiana ‘Porky’ (1975)
A small, narrow, sparsely branched tree; grows about 25 cm per year; foliage is dull green with thick needles that stick together and appear to be single; introduced by Wells Nursery, Mt. Vernon, Washington about 1975.

            Sequoiadendron giganteum ‘Hazel Smith’ (1985)
A large, dense tree that is hardier than the species; grows up to 1 m per year; foliage is bright blue; selected for its color and hardiness from a block of seedlings by Don Smith, Watnong Nursery, Morris Plains, New Jersey and introduced about 1980. Large pieces strike easily from cuttings.

       Tsuga canadensis ‘Cappy’s Choice’ (1974)
A compact low-growing selection with fine-textured foliage and a distinct twist to the branchlets; grows 5 cm per year; foliage is light green with a hint of gold in the full sun; originated as a seedling selected by James Caperci, Mount Rainier Alpine Gardens, Seattle, Washington.

            Tsuga canadensis ‘Golden Splendor’ (1979)
A golden tree that resists sun scorch and grows into a large, loose pyramid; grows up to 40 cm per year; foliage is bright gold throughout the year; one of several seedlings sent to John Mitsch by Joe Cessarini and introduced in 1979 by Mitsch Nursery, Aurora, Oregon.

            Tsuga canadensis ‘Horsford Contorted’ (1970)
A compact plant more curious than beautiful with its branchlets twisted into tight coils or even knots with very pubescent shoot tips; grows up to 8 cm per year; foliage is dark green with narrow leaves; William. C. Horsford found a tree about 20 meters high (since cut down) in a pasture in Vermont, which had slightly twisted branches, contorted branchlets and Tsuga canadensis ‘Cinnamomea’-type tips. It was surrounded by seedlings having similar characteristics. Scions were cut from a selected compact specimen about 2.5 meters high and grafted at Hillside Nurseries, Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

            Tsuga heterophylla ‘Thorson’s Weeping’ (1985)
A prostrate mat with a habit similar to Tsuga canadensis ‘Cole’; grows about 10 cm per year over the ground; foliage is green;  

1990-The Next Millenium

            The sixties, seventies, and eighties saw a rapid expansion in the numbers of conifer cultivars that were not just “bread and butter” items for the plant factories of North America. Witches’-brooms and their seedlings moved to the forefront as sources for new selections. Justin ‘Chub’ Harper established one conifer collection at Hidden Lake Gardens in Michigan and another was begun at the Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Iowa. Many of the leading edge conifer nurseries disappeared during this time period. While the west coast has moved into prominence as a conifer producing area and as a source for many of the newer cultivars. Coenosium Gardens, Porterhowse Farms, and Stanley and Sons Nursery have very extensive offerings of old and new conifer cultivars.

            The new conifers of the nineties and beyond are being found by many different people. Jerry Morris and Chub Harper are two of these individuals. Morris has documented over 1,000 witches’-brooms on native species of conifers throughout the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Most are in Picea pungens and Pinus aristata and Pinus flexilis. Many are in Picea englemannii, Pinus edulis, Pinus ponderosa, and Pseudotsuga menziesii. Every year he finds new brooms and collects seeds from many of his past discoveries, which he distributes to interested persons through the American Conifer Society. Harper has been very active doing the same things only he works throughout the central region of America.

            Conifer introductions of the nineties are a reflection of the work of Morris, Harper, and others. There has been a near flood of witches’-brooms and their progeny into gardens of collectors throughout America. Brooms are being propagated and sold based upon descriptions of the brooms. Unfortunately few of these new selections are being evaluated for growth habit and longevity before being marketed. To list all of the present offerings would be an exercise in futility as the majority of these selections will never become established in the horticultural world. It is hoped that people will not become so frustrated with the large numbers of these plants which are appearing and will not allow a few of the really outstanding selections to disappear with the flotsam.

            Most people will still purchase the faster-growing, cheaper plants being churned out by wholesale growers. The higher prices required for dwarf conifers will limit their impact on the marketplace, but a consistent demand will always be present, especially as more people become educated about the greater practicality and long term financial savings that result from planting these more desirable selections.

            Into the next millenium Americans will see more color in their conifers and a greater variety of dwarf selections in native species. The commercial growers will continue to offer improved selections of old cultivars, most of which will not replace the older forms. People will still make extensive use of conifers in their landscapes and there will always be a place for both new and old selections.

            A few of the cultivars for the future are listed here.

            Picea abies ‘Gold Drift’ (2001)
This selection grows like a typical Picea abies ‘Reflexa’ but about 2/3 as fast; foliage emerges yellow-green and soon turns a bright orange-gold; originated about 1991 at Coenosium Gardens, Aurora, Oregon as a branch mutation on Picea abies ‘Reflexa’.

Picea mariana ‘Blue Teardrop’ (1995)
This selection develops into a dense, teardrop-shaped bush; grows about 15 cm per year; foliage is blue-green; developed as a sport on Picea mariana ‘Nana’ in 1990 at Coenosium Gardens, Aurora, Oregon.

Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb Gold’ (1999)
This selection is a dense, miniature bun; grows about 1 cm per year; foliage is bright, bright gold; originated as a witches'-broom on ’Skylands’ and was first propagated by Verkade Nursery, New Jersey about 1980. This selection is only now becoming available in the nursery trade.

Picea pungens ‘Blue Pearl’ (1997)
This plant is a dense, globular selection that develops into a broad cone as it ages; grows about 3 cm per year; foliage is blue; originated as a witches’-broom on ‘Fat Albert’ at Iseli Nursery, Boring, Oregon.

Pinus ponderosa ‘Grapevine’ (1997)
A dense, dwarf, globose plant that becomes broadly conical as it ages; grows 8-10 cm per year; originated in 1980 as a witches’-broom discovered west of Denver, Colorado by Jerry Morris. Morris has personally discovered over 1,000 witches’-brooms throughout the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Many of his discoveries are finding their way into American horticulture at an almost overwhelming rate.

We cannot predict; we can only speculate about what cultivars will inhabit the American scene in the next millenium. Only time will tell.

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