Colorful Conifers for Year-Round Interest

Any one of these trees will add structure and texture to your garden while standing out with vivid foliage

Winter in theNortheastcan leave one craving colouration . While cold , white daylight may tend to keep some of us gardeners indoors focused more onordering seedsand plants than appreciating the outdoors , there are way to institute morewinter interestto those out-of-door space . add more interesting varieties of conifers — those with leafage that is unique or strange — can genuinely make borders and beds strike . Here are a few of the most colourful conifers to consider adding to your garden .

‘Verdoni Gold’ hinoki cypress

Chamaecyparisobtusa‘Verdoni Gold ’ , Zones 4–8

Most of the hinoki cypress tree cultivar make excellent easy - growing specimens for nearly any garden , but the cultivar ‘ Verdoni Gold ’ particularly put up out . The golden foliage of this flora twists and twisting , create the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree appear like it has a yellow Molotov . It looks bright in winter when the leaves are set against white snow , but it ’s even smart in late winter during themud seasonwhen we are looking for colour in what is fundamentally still a dormant garden .

‘Skylands’ oriental spruce

Piceaorientalis‘Skylands ’ , Zones 4–8

Neighbors and garden visitors might be appal to learn that there is a spruce tree diagram cultivar that not only has aureate needles but is also a relatively slow agriculturist ( pass on 30 foot tall in 30 days ) . ‘ Skylands ’ oriental spruce is one deserving empower in . It ’s a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that checks off a lot of box : stunning color from autumn through spring , a tidy appearance , and hardihood through Zone 4 .

‘Silberlocke’ Korean fir

genus Abies koreana‘Silberlocke ’ , Zones 5–7

Long hold dear by collector of evergreen ( yes , there are such people ) , this slow grower add a silver clout to motley borders or foundation plantings . Conifer oddball get laid that sometimes the good vividness on fir tree tree appears on the bottom of the needles , yet ‘ Silberlocke ’ has detect a way to turn the rules . It turn its needles upside - down so that the twisted acerate leaf face upward , showing off their silvery underbelly . And who does n’t want a silvery evergreen plant in their garden ? A per centum of these trees will remain shrublike , never forming a leader . If you’re able to find one that does , however , it will grow into a Great Pyramid shape , and the favorable growers will see violet - colored cone form that model upright on the limb .

‘Thunderhead’ Japanese black pine

Pinusthunbergii‘Thunderhead ’ , Zones 5–10

It may be gentle to look out over this careen star at the garden center if it is young , but once you set it out in the garden , it will be easy to see why it ’s in such swell demand by garden designers . ‘ Thunderhead ’ is a black true pine that look like no other black pine . As if the longer - than - usual deep light-green and shiny needles that arise in monumental clusters are n’t enough , the lily-white standard candle that work in late winter and spring make this industrial plant front as if it had been strike by lightning ( in a good style ) . Like most evergreens , this tree gets so much easily with age . Growing more like a bush than a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , ‘ Thunderhead ’ does n’t need to come with any warning other than it might stop dealings in your neighborhood . So give in , and found it where everyone can enjoy it , keeping in mind that it tops out at 10 feet marvelous at maturity .

Caring for these conifers

All of these evergreen plant will do good from a website with soil that is well drained yet still holds some wet . Remember , these are all mountain trees and are used to wind , sun , and extreme weather . smart shade ( shade that is either puke from a house or a garage on the north side but overt to the lustrous sky ) will work too , but if you pick out a motley with golden needles , full Dominicus will enhance the tree ’s expert looks . The acidic territory found throughout much of the Northeast suit these coniferous tree well , but if your soil is alkaline , a slow - release fertilizer specifically for evergreens is advocate and can be use once a year .

essay any one of these colorful conifers to brighten up your garden in wintertime and all year - pear-shaped .

For more conifer recommendations , train out :

And for more Northeast regional reports , tick here .

— Matt Mattus is the generator of two books : master the Art of Flower GardeningandMastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening . He garden in Worcester , Massachusetts .

Photos : Matt Mattus

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