It's unprofessional to say that dwarf conifers are rubbish...

Me and another fella have a certain hankering for big, well-grown Norway spruce! Spruceman!!!

+oM

I went through what I grow and here is a list of some of my favorite intermediate-large growing conifers. If I had to pick one from the list which is a must-have for you I would go with 'Skylands'.

Abies concolor 'Blue Cloak'
Abies grandis x 'Luteneggeri'
Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Glacier'
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Boyko's Sundown'
Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Nietschke Cream'
Picea abies 'Aurea Jakobsen'
Picea abies 'Gold Drift'
Picea glauca 'Yukon Blue'
Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'
Picea orientalis 'Nutans'
Picea orientalis 'Skylands'
Picea pungens 'Sharp Cheddar'
Picea pungens 'Spring Blast'
Picea pungens 'Straw'
Pinus aristata 'Blue Bear'
Pinus cembra 'Stricta'
Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst'
Pinus koraiensis 'Silveray'
Pinus resinosa 'Aurea'
Pinus strobus 'Stowe Pillar'

Matt

Yeah, the yellow metasequoia does not fool around.

Of the mature conifers I have seen in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati and Dawes Arboretum the ones that stand out to me are the Pinus Bungeana and Picea Orientalis. I also like species White pines when they mature and the side branches are more open and horizontal. Mature s Cedrus are also stunning and I thing Gee Farms is growing some of the hardy selections if your interested in what has done well in Michigan.

Dittos for the Bungeana & Orientalis. Overlooked far too often. I would add the Pinus densiflora puts on quite a show of trunk color and texture when mature.

as stated before ... you need to get yourself to hidden lakes.. or my collection ... or gee's arboretum ... all are within an hour or so of you ....

the short answer to your question is: ALL OF THEM

ken

I'm workin 50+ hours a week with a newborn at home - cut me some slack, Ken! =P

I generally get out to hidden lakes about twice a year or so. I actually donated and installed about 25 waterlily cultivators in the swan pond earlier this year; should get out to check them. If they offer the grafting class this year, I'm planning on taking it.

I'm taking this weekend off, so maybe I can convince the better half to make a day of touring some conifer gardens...

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

Picea omorika 'Riverside'
'Skytrails'

Cupressus glabra 'Blue Ice'
'Blue Spire'

Picea abies 'Cupressina'

Cupressus nootkatensis most cultivars.

I can think of many more. Try http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums or http://www.conifersociety.org/

Dave

Pushing towards the large........

Picea glauca 'Pendula' was my first conifer love.

Then I saw Cupressus cashmeriana and thought it was one of the prettiest conifers I had ever seen.

After those two I'd go with Cedrus deodara 'Golden Cascade' or 'Vinks Golden', Picea orientalis 'Skylands', and I've always liked the shape and colors of Picea omorika 'Bruns'.

mark

After a trip to Mt Whitney last year, I would have to say that Pinus balfouriana with those nice metallic blue cones is the one I'm most eager to get my hands on. Just too bad it's so darn difficult to find in nurseries(at least here in Canada) and I never had any success trying to grow it from seed also....

For just a big pretty tree for many reasons I think Abies concolor takes the prize, just my humble opinion...