Dwarf conifers: great diversity
The term conifer perhaps evokes for you alignments of majestic trees framing an impressive path, or even a dark and somewhat sad screen, impenetrable in summer and winter. This is to forget their extraordinary diversity and in particular the whole range of small-growing conifers, or dwarf conifers, so precious for small gardens, rockeries, terraces and balconies.
In reality, there are quite few truly dwarf forms of conifers, that is to say trees not exceeding 1 m in height or width when adult. On the other hand, there are many varieties with extremely slow development, such as picea glauca Conicawhich reaches 80-90 cm in height after ten years, but ends up measuring 3 or 4 m when it is fifty years old.
So be careful when choosing one of these small conifers in a nursery, whether for the rockery or the balcony. Find out what dimensions the tree will reach after ten, twenty or more years. We also find creeping junipers which, if they never exceed 50 cm in height, spread over several meters.
A permanent decorative element
These dwarf conifers offer an impressive palette of different shapes and shades. You will have the choice between cone, column, dome, ball and dense carpet silhouettes; between shades ranging from golden yellow to bluish gray through all shades of green.
Consider these small conifers when looking for a subject of limited size and evergreen foliage. In a small garden, on the edge of a lawn, in a rockery or on a terrace, they become permanent architectural elements, with their characteristic tree silhouette, which most evergreen shrubs do not have. Generally undemanding in terms of growing conditions, they go well with flowering shrubs, rockery plants, small bulbs with spring or autumn flowering.
In the following pages, we will offer you our selection of the best varieties, from chamaecyparis to thuja. Then, based on 5 examples, we will help you properly place these small conifers in their situation, highlighting them well.
Bonsai or dwarf conifer?
Don’t think that your little conifer in a pot on the balcony will become a real bonsai over time. Although many dwarf conifers can be grown in pots, very specific techniques must be implemented to transform them into bonsai.
A wide variety of small subjects
There are many varieties of dwarf or very slow-growing conifers, and their list grows from year to year. The difficulty of the choice is largely due to the nomenclature used, the complexity of which seems inversely proportional to the size of these trees! What’s more, it is common for the same plant to have different names depending on the catalogs.
Rather than letting yourself be stopped by off-putting and unreliable names, it is perhaps simpler to choose on site, in a general nursery or a well-stocked garden center, the variety having the shape (and dimensions!), texture and the shade you want. Here is our selection.
Chamaecyparis (false cypress)
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Minimum Aurea : Very slow growing, it does not exceed 30-40 cm in height after ten years of cultivation. It offers beautiful golden yellow foliage and a very compact rounded shape. Expose it to the sun in rock gardens.
- Chamaecyparis obtusa Nana Gracilis : This conifer with very dense foliage is particularly elegant with its tiered branches and pyramidal shape. It reaches approximately 1 m in height at ten years old, 2 m as an adult.
- Chamaecyparis pisifera Filifera Aurea Nana : With its prostrate form, with golden yellow foliage, it is distinguished by very fine and drooping branches. It measures 50-80 cm after ten years.
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Elwoodii : This variety grows slowly but can reach 2 m in height at ten years old, 3 m at twenty years old. Its foliage is bluish gray and its regular conical silhouette. It is valuable for small gardens and in planters or in stone sinks on balconies or terraces.
Juniperus (juniper)
- Juniperus chinensis Blue : It forms a column slightly flared at the top, of dense, bluish gray foliage. As an adult, it reaches approximately 1.20-1.50 m in height.
- Juniperus chinensis Pfitzeriana : It is the most common in our gardens: prostrate habit, green foliage arranged in layers. Very vigorous, it reaches 50 cm in height and 1 m in width in ten years, but it can subsequently spread over 3-4 m. Ideal for drawing the backdrop of a rock garden or as an isolated subject on the lawn.
- Juniperus chinensis Pfitzeriana Aurea : Golden form, with less development than the previous variety.
- Juniperus communis Repanda : Another juniper with a spreading habit, not exceeding 30-40 cm in height, but capable of reaching 3-4 m in width. The branches, which bear dense green foliage, remain lying down.
- Juniperus sabina Tamariscifolia : This popular variety, with a spreading habit and very fine, light green, slightly glaucous foliage, reaches 20-30 cm in height and 2-3 m in wingspan.
- Juniperus squamata Blue Carpet : This creeping juniper grows slowly. Its silvery blue needles are very fine. Plant it as a ground cover or as an isolated subject.
Picea (spruce)
- Picea abies Nidiformis : This rounded dwarf spruce is decorated with a flattened, hollow top and dark green foliage. It hardly exceeds 30 cm in height and 60 in width after twenty years.
- Picea glauca Conica : This very slow developing variety, with a regular conical shape, has dense, deep green foliage. In ten years, it reaches 80-90 cm in height, but can measure 3 or 4 m after fifty years. For rockeries and small lawns.
- Picea pungens Globe : This dwarf form of the blue fir giving a beautiful silvery blue ball rarely exceeds 1 m in height and 1.50 m in width.
Cryptomeria
Cryptomeria japonica Elegans Nana : Its very fine foliage, bluish green in summer, turns purple in winter. Quite rounded in shape, it hardly exceeds 2 m in height at twenty years old.
Pinus (Pine)
- Pinus mugo Mughus : This spreading pine has dark green, fairly airy foliage, which reveals its twisting branches. Very slow growing, it can however reach 2-3 m in height and width in the adult stage.
- Pinus mugo Pumilio (mountain pine): With its dense and flattened foliage it is well suited to rock gardens. It reaches 60-80 cm in wingspan in ten years, but can spread over 2-3 m in the adult stage.
Taxus (yew)
Taxus baccata Repandens : This bushy, covering form of the common yew is valuable as a ground cover in shady corners. Its foliage is dark green (soft green for young shoots). It reaches 50-60 cm in height and up to 2-3 m in width.
Thuya
Thuja occidentalis Holmstrup Yellow : This variety with a pyramidal shape does not exceed 2 m. Not sold in France. Cotelle suggests ‘Holmstrup’ with light green foliage (3 to 4 m adult).