conifers

Microbiota decussata 'Prides' in winter chromoplast phase

Chromoplasticity – It could be happening in Your Garden

Our patches of the evergreen conifer, Microbiota decussata ‘Prides’ have switched from their summer coats of green to their winter coats of bronze. The same occurs on a number of plants in the genus Thuja, Cryptomeria, and Juniperus. I have a few folks each year ask how to keep conifers from going bronze in winter,

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Picea orientalis, Sabal 'DeFuniak'

Hot and Cold Detente

We love planting garden combinations that cause visitors to have a moment of cognitive dissonance. One of those moments in the garden currently is illustrated in the combination of Picea orientalis with Sabal ‘DeFuniak’. I remember a visitor once commenting that they didn’t like it that we had planted cactus with ferns, since they found

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Populus tremuloides 'NE Arb'

Not Quaking from the Heat – Aspens in NC?

As a young gardener, the chance of growing the high elevation North American native quaking aspen in NC was always nothing more than a random thought that kept popping in my mind, being quickly dismissed, until we spotted one a few years ago at South Carolina’s Spartanburg Community College Garden. Garden director, Dr. Kevin Parris,

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Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Brooklyn Gardens'

Yew Sperm, Coming Soon

Our bank of false yew, Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Brooklyn Gardens’ is ready to release its pollen, aka: conifer sperm. Conifers grew up before flowering plants were invented, so they can’t rely on insects like bees and butterflies to assist them with sex. In the old days, plants depended on wind to assist with sex, so surviving

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Araucaria araucana

The Monkey’s Puzzle

Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla) are popular house plants, but we always longed for being able to grow araucarias outdoors in central NC. Since this native of the region around Australia/New Zealand has poor winter hardiness, our obsession focused in on the more winter hardy, South American species, in particular, Araucaria araucana, known as Monkey

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