A couple of my favorite blue dwarf Picea pungens are 'Lundeby's Dwarf', 'Gentry's Gem', 'St. Mary's Broom'. For dwarf gold, Picea orientalis 'Tom Thumb' is great but I believe would be considered a miniature. Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' is a great gold mounding nest type. Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode' is a bright yellow/gold spreading ground cover that would complement the above blues and other greens as well.

Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode' is a great plant. Bright gold color in spring and summer, winter color is oranges and purples. Very nice. There may be some dwarf cedrus that would give you a nice blue. Look up Cedrus deodara 'Feeling Blue' and there are probably some Cedrus atlantica dwarfs that are a strong powder blue. More golds are Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Lutea' and Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone'. A couple more that have greenish blue and gold are Juniperus chinensis 'Daub's Frosted' and Juniperus squamata 'Holger'. There are lots of dwarf pines with blueish color in the Pinus parviflora and Pinus strobus groups with parviflora probably providing better bright blues.

electric blues are reserved for hoopsi/thomsen/endtz ... and some of the concolors ..... but there are still some nice ones ... blue fades over teh summer and winter..t he best.. imho.. is based on which holds the color over the whole season .... some of these pix are not the fresh new blue ....

i seem to recall you have a ginormous yard .. why limit yourself to small ones???

a few pix
Picea pungens 'Theum'
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Picea pungens 'St. Mary's Broom

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abies concolor sherwood something .. lol
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Picea pungens 'Egyptian Pyramid'
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Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula'
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all on the same plant
Juniperus squamata 'Star Dust'

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Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Glauca Pendula'
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Picea pungens 'Donna's Rainbow'
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Abies procera 'Prostrata' -- you have to check zones etc

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Picea pungens 'Iseli Fastigate' .. aka maybe blue totem now...
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maybe yellows later .... depending if it rains .. ken

I'll throw in these two low riders to help in your decision making.

Dave Picea p. 'Glauca Procumbens' & Juniperus h. 'Mother Lode'
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Thanks for the recommendations... and photos! Keep 'em coming, please.

Ken, I suppose the reason that I specified dwarf or slow growing is that I don't want these colors to quickly become space eaters. I like your suggestion about using fastigiate forms as well. I look forward to any yellow recommendations you may have.

Is Picea pungens 'Montgomery' a recommended cultivar? I know it's very common, but I've always liked its color and growth form. The fact that it can eventually become a substantial specimen is OK. I just don't want a cultivar to do it quickly.

Does anyone grow (or has seen) Picea pungens 'Walnut Glen Not'? If so, what can you tell me about it?

I have Chameaecyparis lawsoniana 'Aff Van Pelts'. Wow, what color!

Many thanks!

PlantMarker

walnut glen is a sickly straw color.. i was sure my one gal babe was on the verge of death for years .... now that it has more size .... its a nice unique color ...

WGnot is a plant that was sold to a vendor .. in bulk ... that ended up not being WG ... i dont recall that it has any other choice attributes other than the name.. is it gee's??? .. why do i know this story ....

research the growth rates on those that interest you ... and start small ... a one gal .. one foot plant.. that grows one foot per year... isnt going to over whelm your 5 acres anytime soon .. [dont you have that much property ...] .. i can picture the house ] .. in the next 20 years ... by which time.. you probably wont have to worry about it being some big ugly monster ...

montgomery is a PLAIN old blue spruce ... nice spring color.. dulls out pretty fast .. otherwise OK ...

procumbens ='s prostrata ='s pendula .... DOESNT IT??? i wouldnt buy more than one of any of them.. until i actually saw a difference in person in an arb ....
just go to girards .. link below ... and order 4 or 8 one gals.. one spruce [p.pungens sunshine].. one pine gold ghost.. one juniper a yellow one... one abies kor aurea .. one concolor a blue one [crushed needles small like grapefruit] .... one thuja .. yellow ribbons or some such ... is that eight ... and a liquidamber variegated... blow your socks off

DO IT TODAY ... and you will have them by next week .... you will be happy ... and you will not be driving yourself crazy trying to pick the perfect bunch ... any you are not thrilled with in 3 years .. i will pay you back for ...

though it is your job to research zone tolerances ....

JUST DO IT .. i've seen your house.. lol .. you can afford this ... it will bring you double the pleasure within weeks ...

ken

PS: girards should be behind you zone wise.. so the shipping SHOULD still be safe ... i have no vested interest in G's.. just good peeps.. who send good stock ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

PlantMarker

Depending on where you are in NC, the Cedrus and Cupressus species may perform better for you than most of the Picea and Abies. There are lots of blues and golds available in the Cedrus and Cupressus cultivars I would not overlook. Since you are in Zone 7 you may be in the Asheville area or higher elevation so the spruce and firs will do very well also. (you lucky dog! :) )

Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Glauca Pendula' should perform either way and is a beautiful specimen.

Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' is one that I have always wanted. I would probably have to get it grafted onto A. firma if I wanted a shot at getting it to live :(

I wish someone would help us southerners out here and start grafting a few Abies cultivars onto firma!! One of these days I am going to try grafting out for myself. :)

Thanks, midtn -

Unfortunately, I do not live in the higher elevations of N.C. I live in the high heat and humidity area at the base of the mountains - in the Triad area.

Thanks for your recommendations. Any specific Cedrus and Cupressus cultivars in mind?

I do have a two year graft of Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' grafted onto A. firma. I really hope I can hang on to it. I can tell it is a special cultivar. Stay tuned next year - I hear Dennis Dodge will be offering Abies grafts with A. firma understock.

PlantMarker

I've seen a Cupressus arizonica 'Sulphurea'. I loved the color.
Cupressus arizonica 'Blue Ice' has a great blue color.
I saw Cedrus deodara 'Aurea' at the National Arboretum. They were sweet. They were just putting out new growth so I am sure they were even more attactive then usual.
Cedrus deodara 'Divinely Blue' is nice.

Check out the coenosium website he has lots of pics.

Who is Dennis Dodge?

Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Cupressus arizonica 'Sulphurea'

Dennis Dodge = Bethlehem Nursery

http://www.bethlehemnursery.com/

Hi midtn,
Dennis Dodge owns Bethlehem Nursery in Connecticut. He sends out some of the nicest plants I have ever received via mail order. His plants are very reasonably priced, too.

Send him an email to get his availability list for 2008. His contact info is located on his website.
Mike
tl³

Here is a link that might be useful: Bethlehem Nursery

I talked to Dennis early this year and he told me that he had abies firma understock to graft on this year. I am not sure when those plants will be available though. David

ken- nice pictures! i just planted an iseli picea fastigiate and i am wondering if it will really stay slender...how old is yours? are there any mature ones or is the plant too new? mine is about 4' tall right now, on the outside corner of a fence and i gave it 2 feet- i hope it won't try to get very wide. the tag said 2-3 feet wide and 10 feet high, but maybe that means the 10 year size? everything else i can find online suggests it can get larger than that...does it keep its columnar shape without spreading out? thanks!
btw, followed the link from another thread to the british conifer society photos- wow! what are all those pastel mounded plants- they look like grasses or ground covers- maybe heather?