Why not take a little time to study the evergreens this Winter? Many of us give them little attention during a greater part of the year, chiefly because our time and interests are taken with the more conspicuously colored deciduous materials.
Winter is the time, we say, to study the evergreens when there is little else in the garden to take our attention.
There are at least a dozen genera of narrow-leaved evergreens now being used extensively in plantings, with uncounted species and varieties. In general, they are not difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Narrow-Leaved Evergreens For Plantings
The single-needled evergreens, with one-year green twigs and fleshy red fruits, are the serviceable yews.
Taxus is easily the best for general use in low plantings. We see them mostly used as shrubs, although some grow into trees at maturity.
Then there are those with flat sprays of foliage, the arborvitae, Thuja, and the false cypresses, Chamacryparis.
Most of the arborvitae clan members are none too desirable for winter planting since they burn brown in winter, many looking as if they were going to die completely.
There are a few exceptions, and the giant arborvitae, T. plicata, and the less well-known Japanese arborvitae, T. standishi, are two.
But it pays to remember the poor color of many of these plants as they appear now, for when they are purchased in the spring or fall, the foliage is always a deceptively beautiful green.
The False Cypresses Are Often More Reliable
Several of these can be distinguished from the arborvitaes merely because the undersurface of the scale-like leaves is marked with a small white line, easily seen in such species as Chamaecyparis obtusa (which has wide excellent ornamental varieties) and C. pisifera.
The moss retinospora, C. pisifera squarrosa, has that beautiful, light-blue, soft foliage that is so greatly admired for garden plantings. But remember, most of these plants grow into trees and should not be used in foundation plantings under windows where one all too frequently sees them.
Popular Junipers
Everyone blows the junipers that are widely planted ground covers, shrubs, or trees, with very sharp scaly leaves. The red-cedar, Juniperus virginiana, and the common field juniper, J. communis, are popular plants.
There are many of them, some better ornamentals than others. This is the time to observe and study them so that desired forms can be selected for winter serviceability.
Familiar Pines
The pines, too, are familiar. These are the trees that have needles in bundles of two to five.
The botanist identifies them by their cones, but the impatient gardener frequently cannot wait that long and must take a chance on identifying them by their foliage alone.
Our native white pine, Pinus strobus, is the only common five-needled pine in New England. The western yellow pine, P. ponderosa, and the native pitch pine, P. rigida, are the three-needled pines.
The pitch pine is easily recognized even at a distance because the cones remain on the trees for several years. It is not a striking ornamental, but it will grow in poor sandy soil.
The pines with two needles in a bundle bring confusion into this group, at least for the amateur, but with a little effort, it is not long before one can distinguish among them readily.
The red pine, P. resinosa; Japanese black pine, P. thunbergii, especially valued for seashore planting; the very popular Scotch pine, P. sylvestris, with its slightly twisted needles, bluish color, and red bark; the low mugo pine; and the Japanese red pine, I’. densiflora is all in this group.
Unfamiliar Firs
The firs, spruces, hemlocks, and Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga taxifolia, look disconcertingly familiar to the uninitiated, but a few minutes spent closely examining these will show tel marks which, once learned, can always be used in identification.
For instance, the douglas-fir is the only one with a long pointed bud of many scales. It is an excellent ornamental and is dependable.
The firs, Abies, are the only ones of the above quadrumvirate genera whose dead twigs are smooth. Dead twigs on the other trees are rough because of the little bases left on the twigs when the needles fall off.
The white fir, A. concolor; Nikko fir, A. homolepis, with the decurrent ridges up and down the one-year twigs; the Veitch fir, A. veitchi; and Cilician fir, A. cilicica are among the best.
Unfortunately, the balsam fir of the mountains (and of Christmas tree fame) does not do well except in the mountains, where the climate is cool and moist.
When grown in areas with long, hot, dry spells, the tree quickly shrivels into an undesirable type.
Distinguishing Hemlocks And Spruces
With one or two exceptions, the hemlocks have flat needles, and the spruces have four-sided needles when cut in cross-section. This is an excellent way to differentiate between the two groups.
Two native hemlocks are used a great deal, the Canada, Tsuga canadensis, and the Carolina hemlock, T. caroliniana.
The latter can usually be distinguished from the former because of its needles that are borne usually on all sides of the twig and also because the edges of the needles are entire, while the Canada hemlock usually has flat sprays and minute serrations on the edges of its needles.
Finally, the spruces are those stiff trees that are too frequently represented in gardens by the Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, or one of its several varieties.
The Norway, Serbian and Oriental spruces are all popularly elected garden ornamentals and serve well under most conditions.
A study of these evergreens now might prove most valuable.
44659 by Donald Wyman