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My Favourite 5 Medium Sized Conifers

	Serbian Spruce Picea omorika Picea omorika or Serbian spruce; this stiffly upright form of spruce with it’s proudly upswept branches reminds me of a soldier standing stiffly at attention. Many conifers take up a rather large footprint at the base and often for this reason people either choose the dwarf conifers or find something else to give them some height in the garden. This one gives you substantial height with very little width generally getting 20-25 feet in height and only about 6 feet wide at the bottom. The lovely dark green short needles contrast nicely with the silvery undersides which you see quite nicely with the upturned branches. This conifer can get on quite nicely with good drainage, humic, slightly acidic soil in full sun to partial shade. There is also a very popular blue form called Picea omorika 'Bruns'.
	Weeping Alaskan Cypress Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Pendula' I like this artistic West Coast looking conifer in groupings. We’ll call the form upright drooping. It has pea green branchlets with a slightly silvery blue underside. It holds out its branches in broad swoops while the branchlets dangle down like the tasseled ends of a shawl. - I like this artistic West Coast looking conifer in groupings. We’ll call the form upright drooping. It has pea green branchlets with a slightly silvery blue underside. It holds out its branches in broad swoops while the branchlets dangle down like the tasseled ends of a shawl. Like picea abies it can give you height in a garden without a lot of spread. It can grow to about 20-25 feet with about 8 feet of artistic like spread. This conifer prefers full sun to partial shade in well draining humic and slightly acidic soil. There are also more blue hued versions available.
	Fernspray Gold Hinoki Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold' This is a lovely slow growing artistic conifer which grows to about 8feet in height by about 6 feet. It has bright gold outer branches and branch tips while the interior of the plant is a lovely fresh green. Its branches have a lovely fine fernlike texture. This plant prefers a bit of dappled shade in the heat of the afternoon to avoid burning the gold branches. Provide ample moisture in a well drained site with a nice humic, slightly acidic soil and you will have a specimen that will have your plant loving neighbors talking! This plant also makes a lovely bonsai specimen.
	Iseli’s Columnar Blue Spruce Picea pungens Islies Fastigiata I couldn’t go without a blue could I! This variety of true blue spruce has a very slender growth habit. It grows very slowly to about 15-20 feet in height (still not there after 20 years) and about 7 feet wide. A stunning specimen at the back of the border, place this tree where you want to draw the eye. The lovely icy blue colour contrasts so nicely with my dark greens and golds. This tree prefers full sun to get the best blue colour in well drained average slightly acidic soil.
Photo Credit: Monrovia, Horticultural Printers	Silver Whispers Swiss Stone Pine Pinus cembra 'Klein' This compact soft looking mini-Christmas tree shaped conifer is another lovely variety for the smaller garden. It is slow growing to about 12 feet high by about 6 feet wide. The rich green needles in bundles of 5 are striped with white giving the tree an overall silvery green effect. It is very densely branched and full looking. This specimen is best in full sun in well drained average to humic, slightly acidic soil. This little guy is on my must get for my garden list!

These and many other great conifers are always available at Arts Nursery. If you would like more information about which ones are right for you, call 604.882.1201 or come visit and we would be happy to assist!

You can also read part one of this series.