#19. Pinus mugo 'Carstens'. Many pines are selected for their Autumn/Fall coloring. Most turn varying shades of orange/yellow/gold. One of the best is this very dwarf mugo. It will hold this color(and intensify) through the Winter into early Spring. This specimen is grafted on standard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus koraiensis gallery

#18. Abies koreana 'Kohout's Hexe'. A small silvery-globe. I really like it because it seems very-tight and the silver color is obvious at any angle. Note that the spelling on the tag is incorrect. The above spelling is correct.

#17. Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes 'Gold Rush' (syn. 'Ogon'). A wonderful cultivar of dawn redwood and one of the brightest conifers for most of the year. The soft, feathery golden-green needles become more bright with more sun but can also burn in too much sun and heat. Reputed to grow a little slower then the species, my plants have still grown about three feet a year. This specimen was about two feet tall two years ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus mugo gallery

#17. Tsuga mertensiana 'Elizabeth'. A spreading form of mountain hemlock. This cultivar shows great silver/blue color and grows at a slow enough rate that it should be happy beneath this weeping maple for a long long time. If you can grow this species, I suggest you go out and get some. In older age, even species plants look like spectacular, 'pruned' dwarves with very compact growth, a narrow habit and great silvery/blue color.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus nigra gallery

Will, some help with your tags:
Picea mariana 'Aureovarigata'
Must be written as 'Aureovariegata'

You mentioned Metaseq. gl. 'Gold Rush' (syn. 'Ogon).
But it's the other way around, it's
'Ogon' (syn. 'Gold Rush').
'Ogon was the first name given to this cultivar in Japan, and this is the name we have to use.

I like the Tsuga mertensiana 'Elizabeth' very much.
It seems that your's is propagated as a cutting because it grows very flat.
If this cultivar is grafted, it will make a more vase shape habit like the pfitzeriana Juniperus.

Thanks as usual, Edwin. Another fifteen plants on my favorite list:

#15. Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin'. Marvelous color, small cones and dwarf habit - The name fits well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus parviflora gallery(Japanese white pine)

#14. Picea pungens 'Wisconsin Cream'. A highly unusual cultivar. Usually more upright, my specimen is a mutant - the needles flush blue and then brighten to a vivid sulfur in full sun.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus ponderosa gallery

#13. Abies procera 'Delbar's Cascade'. Named by and after a family of Christmas tree farmers from Oregon, this is plant easily earned a high ranking on my list. Fast growing but narrow, it develops a strong leader while most of the side branches weep heavily. Similar to Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'(soon on the list?), the unique coloring of the noble fir and this wonderful, narrow habit make this a tree I think most gardens should have.

My specimen.

The original plant(about 30 years old, 25-30' tall):

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus strobus gallery

Hi Will,
I love your photo of Abies procera 'Delbar's Cascade' (I have a smaller one in my garden). Did you stake the plant or does the leader naturally grow upright?
Richard

#12. Picea pungens 'Hermann Naue'. Most dwarf and miniature conifers don't generate enough 'energy' to create cones(or are otherwise sterile). Some do exist though and along with Picea abies 'Pusch', this is one of the best. Relatively slow growing(a couple inches a year), heavy coning and the cones contrast wonderfully with the blue needles. My specimen here is but a pup.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus sylvestris gallery(Scotch pine)

Sorry Richard, didn't see your question. Eventually these plants seem to take a strong leader. That might not always be the case, but I have three specimens and all three have strong, straight-up leaders.

#11. Picea sitchensis 'Bentham's Sunlight'. There is quite a story behind this rare plant and while I don't have space here, it's worth looking into. I have linked the info below for those interested. Besides the history, this plant is remarkable - golden-green even in moderate to heavy shade situations. Generally a moderate grower of 4-8" a year, this plant should make it's way into most gardens eventually.

Here is a link that might be useful: Haida's 'Golden Spruce' background

#10. Picea pungens 'The Blues'. Picea pungens has hundreds(thousands?) of cultivars across the world including many weeping/sprawling/ground cover types. My favorite of these(from my limited experience) thus far is this relatively new introduction from Larry Stanley. It's unique in that if left to it's own devices it will often send up a leaning leader while the majority of the branches weep hard towards the ground. Eventually it becomes a sculpture in the garden, with many specimens displaying a lot of unique character. Since you can train the leader as you like, this cultivar also has a lot of versatility as well.

A young specimen in my gardens.

An older cultivar(perhaps one of the originals) in Larry Stanley's gardens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus thunbergiana gallery

Finally moving into the single digits. Most of these plants I consider 'must haves' and as such I tried to collect more then one specimen of each. As a new conifer collector my view on plants is inexperienced but if you're new and listen to recommendations, I'd give my strongest recommendation to all nine of these plants. Go out and get one, plant it and enjoy the next thirty years.

#9. Tsuga mertensiana 'Blue Star'. Slower growing and even more narrow then the species, this cultivar seems to form a narrow beacon of silver/blue. The first shot is a small 3-year old plant in my garden. I've included a mature photo that I believe was shot at 'Henks Garden'. Located with google and the best photo of this plant I've been able to find.

Guessing about 15-20 years old? Credit 'Henksgarden'.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinus uncinata gallery

#8. Cedrus deodara 'Klondike'. During a trip to some nurseries in Oregon, I saw a 8-12 year old specimen of this plant and had to have one. The owner acknowledged that some training was given to the plant to achieve the magnificient form. The color though was undeniably bright and attractive, if hard to describe. Sort of a golden, neon-green. Ultimately this cultivar appears to grow quickly and weep lightly as well. My specimen was in a large pot and in part shade so the bright color wasn't as obvious. As such I've included a photo of the plant I originally lusted over.

Note that this color is in Winter and it appears to have these hues for most of the year. Awesome.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pseudotsuga menziesii gallery(1 of 2)

#7. Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'. Probably on most conifer collectors short list of favorite cultivars, this narrow upright tree grows upwards with character. Occasionally a little dip here, a little bend there, as it reaches skyward, the side branches weep hard to earth, forming a heavy skirt of blue-green-silver foliage. Small cones add to the plants luster, as does the fact that any garden with upward space can fit this beauty in. Even older plants are seldom wider then 4-5' at the base.

My oldest specimen, which coned heavily this year and also started to bend and twist. The stake is merely to support it's future growth, it did that on it's own.

A specimen trained over an arbor at Coenosium Gardens.

Another specimen trained up a hill at Boyko nurseries, Oregon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pseudotsuga menziesii gallery(2 of 2)

Will, it seems that this Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' is trained down the hill ;0)
Very nice pics of very nice speciments!

LOl Edwin, I didn't catch that! Funny business. Looks like a sea-monster.

#6. Picea abies 'Wichtel'. There are no doubt smaller conifers out there in the world, this is the smallest that I grow. Bought two years ago from Coenosium Gardens, this tiny cultivar is about 3" wide and tall and roughly 7-9 years old. The sign face is 2.25" for comparison. In the two years I've had it, it hasn't seem to gain any size at all. It pushes tiny needles and then they harden off and it's nearly invisible to the naked eye that the plant is getting larger. Talk about a plant you could stick anywhere and leave there! This plant takes several years in the nursery before it even reaches a sellable size. Bob's description "looks like a moss-covered rock" is very apt.

Spring

Autumn

Here is a link that might be useful: Sciadopitys verticillata gallery

While the Taxus and Thuja galleries are pretty weak, I am hoping to take some photos this Winter as they color and include some that I forgot or misplaced.

On with the list...

#5. Pinus contorta (var. latifolia) 'Chief Joseph'. Of all the many gold conifers, this pine seems to have the brightest, 'cleanest' gold of all. Medium-green from about May to September in my climate, in early Autumn it quickly turns a bright yellow that strengthens and holds well until Spring. With a semi-dwarf growth rate and a slightly contorted, upright habit, this cultivar is very high sought after. Due to considerable difficulties in graft-success(and the slow growth rate), this plant also tends to be one of the most expensive conifers you'll ever buy.

About 8-10 years old.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taxus and Thuja gallery

Nice close up Will :)

#4. Cedrus libani 'Green Prince'. This small dwarf cedar tickles me in a number of ways. First, it grows very slow, even in the Pacific Northwest, where cedars seem to explode - it grows a few inches a year. Next, without any coercing at all, this great little plant shapes itself in irregular ways, throwing out oddly directional branches here and there with smaller tips pointing towards the light. The best example I can show are the three specimens I have, none of which I have trained or pruned. They're about 5-8 years old each and are unique to themselves.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tsuga canadensis gallery(Canadian hemlock)

#3. Picea abies 'Gold Drift'. Deserving of a high honor, this beautiful, multi-purpose cultivar provides a number of uses in the gardens. This Bob Fincham introduction has a strongly pendulous habit and will ramble along the ground if not staked. Because of it's habit, it can be trained to almost any form and fit in just about any spot in the garden. The new growth in Spring starts with a strong green color, then the needles turn a striking gold anywhere the sun shines. This color holds well into early Spring before the new growth arrives. Young plants may burn a little in full sun until they establish but this cultivar handles full sun very well and should be placed as such for future color. Cold hardy, diverse and beautiful, any conifer garden should have a few on display.

A handful of specimen shots:

Trained alongside Picea pungens 'The Blues'.

Four more plants from Coenosium, each showing quite different forms.

-Will

Here is a link that might be useful: Tsuga mertensiana gallery(Mountain Hemlock)

Hi Will what great photos. I have a list of few that I would like. My list is long if we go shopping this spring. I like the gold drift planted with the picea the blues. Time to take out more perennials and add more conifers to the borders.

#2. Abies koreana 'Kohout's Icebreaker'. A relatively new introduction found from a witch's broom of 'Silberlocke', this small dwarf is one of the greatest new finds in the conifer world and one soon every collector will either own or covet. Growing a few inches a year, perhaps eventually forming a squat-leader plant(think a Hershey's kiss), the needles of this korean fir curve sharply showing their silvery undersides. The result(with some age) is a plant that resembles a silver beacon of light in the garden, even at distance. Also because the plant's growth is so compact and dense, the silvery effect is more substancial to the eye then other cultivars as basically the entire plant appears silver for most of the year.

Here's a happy specimen in my garden, showing robust growth. Note the silvery color isn't as noticable in early age, especially if the plant is growing quickly.

A young specimen at Coenosium Gardens.
{{gwi:639062}}

Photo from Henksgarden, a fantastic older specimen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rare pines(Cultivars and species)

I had a lot of fun creating this list and it also became a convenient way of indexing the conifer galleries that folks contributed to this year. Hopefully some of you folks use it in the future when looking for specific pictures of an idea of what cultivars are out there for each specific conifer genus/species.

Capping off my top-50 conifer list, a recap:

#50. Taxus baccata 'Standishi'
#49. Picea orientalis 'Nutans'
#48. Pinus parviflora 'Blue Lou'
#47. Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Seattle Mountain'
#46. Cedrus deodara 'Golden Horizon'
#45. Abies koreana 'Tundra'
#44. Picea sitchensis 'Papoose'
#43. Pinus sylvestris 'Hrock'
#42. Picea pungens 'Blue Pearl'
#41. Sequoiadendron gigateum 'Blauer Eichzwerg'
#40. Picea omorika 'Peve Tijn'
#39. Cedrus deodara 'Emerald Falls'
#38. Calocedrus decurrens 'Berrima Gold'
#37. Pinus parviflora 'Goldilocks'
#36. Sequoia sempervirens 'Filoli'
#35. Abies koreana 'Starker's Dwarf'
#34. Cedrus atlantica 'Uwe'
#33. Picea engelmannii 'Blue Magoo'
#32. Abies koreana 'Gait'
#31. Cedrus libani 'Hedgehog'
#30. Pinus X Schwerinii 'Weithorst'
#29. Picea omorika 'Elisabeth'
#28. Abies procera 'Glauca Prostrata'
#27. Pinus flexilis 'Dakota'
#26. Cedrus libani 'Home Park'
#25. Abies koreana 'Aurea'
#24. Abies lasiocarpa 'Lopalpun'
#23. Picea pungens 'Gebelle's Golden Spring'
#22. Cedrus atlantica 'Mt. Saint Catherine'
#21. Picea mariana 'Aureovarigata'
#20. Abies veitchii 'Rumburk'
#19. Pinus mugo 'Carstens'
#18. Abies koreana 'Kohout's Hexe'
#17. Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes 'Gold Rush'
#16. Tsuga mertensiana 'Elizabeth'
#15. Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin'
#14. Picea pungens 'Wisconsin Cream'
#13. Abies procera 'Delbar's Cascade'
#12. Picea pungens 'Hermann Naue'
#11. Picea sitchensis 'Bentham's Sunlight'
#10. Picea pungens 'The Blues'
#9. Tsuga mertensiana 'Blue Star'
#8. Cedrus deodara 'Klondike'
#7. Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'
#6. Picea abies 'Wichtel'
#5. Pinus contorta (var. latifolia) 'Chief Joseph'
#4. Cedrus libani 'Green Prince'
#3. Picea abies 'Gold Drift'
#2. Abies koreana 'Kohout's Icebreaker'

And my #1 favorite conifer:

#1. Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'. The days following my first visit to Coenosium Gardens, I found the website and while I found many beautiful and intriguing photos of great plants, one held almost pornographic mystique to me. It displayed a bright-silvery blue mound of remarkable dwarf form perched atop a brick wall. I've been smitten ever since. Growing an inch or two(in a good year), this marvelous dwarf noble fir maintains tremendously bright color year round and the mounding, semi-upright habit adds to the intrigue. The needle clusters also appear blunt or rounded from a distance and I find this feature one of it's best. I think the pictures show it's slightly varied form and wonderful color and I strongly encourage you to go out and plant one for your own garden.

'Blaue Hexe' on the left, in a more stressed, compacted setting. Notice the slightly different needle color and size.

The best colored conifer I've ever seen.
{{gwi:656695}}

I hope you enjoyed the list or made use of the conifer gallery index. I'll bump this list every so often when I find plants that in my mind would fit into the top 50, and also for the purpose of keeping the post fresh for cultivar-searching folks.

-Will

Cedrus libani Green Prince at #4 and Cedrus atlantica Mt.Saint Catherine at #22, I know you really like the latter so you must really love the GP.

I can understand 'Blaue Hexe' being there. It was on my must have list from the get-go. Killed two of them as well as one or two other proceras before I gave up on them. Then last fall I got a Ab pro 'Hupp's Dwarf' that is still looking good. May revisit 'Blaue Hexe' one day. Thanks for the whole list, Will. Enjoyed it very much.

tj

""Cedrus libani Green Prince at #4 and Cedrus atlantica Mt.Saint Catherine at #22, I know you really like the latter so you must really love the GP.""

I like GP because it has such an unusual, irregular habit. I think it's a wonderful mild-climate conifer for anyone with limited space and prefers a more unusual, almost dwarf-tree shape without pruning or training.

Also I'm bumping this list with my top five most 'wanted' conifers of legend(ie. plants I that haven't been found yet or don't exist, to my knowledge):

Abies koreana, weeping form
Abies koreana 'Silberlocke' weeping form(a silver weeper)
Abies procera dwarf with cones
Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes, deep blue cultivar
Sequoia sempervirens Dwarf/miniature

-Will

A photo of the underside of my Sequoia sempervirens
'Filoli' very white stomtic bands.

Wow!! Great pictures/list. A lot of fun to go through.
Thanks

J

Some neat little plants here, well the spruces anyway, they really look inviting! Im confused by the post titles tho which don't match the contents!

blue yew,

nice pic.Can you show us the difference to 'Simpsons Silver'?

Thanks

Wolfgang

Sequoia sempervirens 'Hendersons Blue' my simpsons silver
is very small and I could not get a good photo.

An excellent compilation. Thanks!

blue yew,

no problem.

'Filoli' and 'Henderson Blue 'are beautiful conifers.

Bumped to the top for some of the new folks. Blame Ken mostly for the enabling! Enjoy.

Awesome...its like an interactive wishlist generator!

I'll have to review a few more times (by clicking on the links) but these are the few I added to my wishlist so far.

Picea pungens 'Gebelle's Golden Spring'
Picea pungens 'Wisconsin Cream'...go figure!
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'

I want one or two each of your top 50 cultivars, Will! Unforutunatly, I have neither the room nor the $$ for them, and for some, the climate where I live won't do either. I will definitely be adding some of them to my wish list, just the same.

What a wonderful garden you must have, and you have made us all a wonderful database of hundreds of cultivars; if nothing else, we can drool over the pictures.

Im confused by the post titles tho which don't match the contents!
greenlarry - Will incorporated his photographic countdown of his 50 favorite conifers with his alphabetical listing of the conifer species and included a link to photograph galleries for each species. Thus the title of the posts, which had nothing to do with the conifer in the photograph (which would be one of his top 50 choices,) but had everything to do with the linked gallery. He didn't want to bore us, I guess, by making a post that was comprised of just the links. He stated in his first post in this thread: "I am creating this thread as an alphabetized list of conifer genus/species with links to the galleries people contributed to this year." And then he added the bonus of photos of all of his own favorite conifers. Pretty cool!

Holly

Wow, Holy, lol, I couldn't have explained it better(and was too lazy to try!). Indeed, I wanted to have an index for people and myself to access photos and instead of making 60-70 colorless, photoless boring posts I shared my favorite plants. I'm glad all can enjoy it. Little by little, anyone can acquire a nice collection of conifers.

I'm just not very good at moderation.

-Will

Awesome is all I can say. Thanks for posting them.

Several months later I enjoyed this thread all over again!

An oldie but a goodie.

Wow, so many gems in this thread. Super!

Hi,
my new Christmas WB from Abies alba:

{{gwi:623059}}

Milan Simanek

Loving this thread!

This is a killer thread......worth saving......Lots of good info and photos that havnt been deleted. Will put alot of work into this one !

Great thread, and unlike so many others the pictures have not been deleted. Are you going to post updated pictures :)

The conifer nurseries should be paying you royalties!

Back in the good old days.

Many photos along with good advice for those in need of information for correction of a problem or ideas on how to move forward in their garden.

Dave

Nice bump, Dave. Too good of a post to let slip off the edge.

I'm adding one more Gallery...

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: They have no gallery Gallery

Whats just as impressive is that all the pics are still here!

I was just thinking of the lack of activity and picture posts here after seeing other forums bumping with activity and picture posts...which by the way DON'T have a separate gallery.

This forum was discriminated!