Plant Of The Month - October - Conifers

Conifers were very popular in the seventies where unfortunately it was almost overkill with conifers dominating many gardens, combining this with commonplace Leylandii monster hedges, they all got tarred with the same brush, “not suitable” or “old fashioned”.

However, in recent years conifers have been seen as a vogue group of plants and rightly so as they are very versatile. Many new varieties are dwarf, slow growing and colourful, perfect for your garden.

Conifers have many advantages for today’s modern garden; many have good aesthetic qualities, they are low maintenance, they provide interesting shapes and colours all year round, and can provide an instant colour or design effect. There are many different types of shapes and colours for any garden situation.

From a small balcony with room for a container, to acres of grounds with space, conifers can add something truly special to any garden. Conifers are also a wonderful way to bring gorgeous colour, structure and drama to a garden all year round, whether as a backdrop, a standalone feature, or in a border with other plants.

They are extremely versatile, coming in an amazingly diverse range of shades, textures, shapes and sizes. A potted conifer can be used to brighten up a doorstep or balcony, whilst planted conifers can create height and add fantastic accent pieces to any garden.

Being hardy, easy to care for and long-lasting, conifers are the ideal choice for the amateur gardener looking for a low maintenance but high impact plant.

Here are our top ten:

1. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwood’s Gold’
A slow growing golden green variety with columnar habit. Perfect for pots and containers. 60cm in 5 years.

2. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Snow White’
A very slow growing conical variety with stunning white tips on new growth with superb winter colour. 50cm in 5 years.

3. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Minima Glauca’
Dwarf, compact evergreen globe shaped plant with lush green fan shaped foliage ideal in rockeries. 45cm in 5 years.

4. Juniperus communis ‘Compressa’
A stunning, very hardy Juniper with a compact columnar habit and attractive silver grey/green foliage. 100cm in 10 years. Perfect for pots.

5. Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Sungold’
A delightful mound forming conifer with bright golden thread-like foliage. Brightest in full sun. 30cm in 5 years.

6. Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’ 
A classic evergreen with a bonsai effect with its shell-shaped sprays of dark green foliage. 45cm in 5 years.

7. Thuja plicata ‘4ever Goldy’
A fabulous new variety with bright golden foliage in spring, darkening throughout the summer tuning bronze yellow in winter. A lovely specimen plant. 100cm in 5 years. Excellent hedging plant.

8. Thuja occidentalis ‘Golden Tuffet’
A slow growing, cushion shaped ball of orange golden foliage. Only 30cm in 10 years.

9. Pinus mugo ‘Ophir’
This wonderful dwarf pine has intense golden foliage all winter long. Only growing to 40cm in 5 years.

10. Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’
An attractive round, dense globe of bright steel blue foliage which is perfect for ground cover. Only growing to 40cm in 10 years.

Most conifers prefer a sunny, open position in well-drained fertile garden soil and combine well with spring flowering bulbs and heathers. Dwarf conifers also do well in pots planted in a John-Innes loam based compost.