September 29, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



335 



Ornamental Conifers 



So mucli luis already liecu wnttou aljout conifers that 

 it may at first appear quite superfluous to say more; 

 but I have often been asked, particuhirly by young gar- 

 deners, to write something uu* this important subject, 

 and that is why I have taken tlie liberty to ask the editor 

 of HoRTicTLTURE for some room in liis estimable paper 

 to tell something' of my exi>frience with these noble and 

 beautiful trees, hoping it may prove of some interest 

 and value to those young i^eople who would like to know 

 more than they might expect to learn through the ordi- 

 nary course of florist practise. That tlie topic is a 

 worthy one nobody will deny and anything that we can 

 do to develop a wider appreciation for the evergreens, 

 brin"- them into more general use as decorative objects 

 about our houses and tend eventually toward the re- 

 foresting of the vast tracts of our country once cov- 

 ered, with evero-reen grandeur but now devastated, 

 should be done. 



It will be my object in these articles to cover as nearly 

 as possible the list of conifers that are hardy or about 

 hardy in New England. 'i"he word hardy is used here 

 not in an absolute sense. It is well to know that what 

 is hardy in one place may not be so one-half mile away, 

 and consequently the list may include some tree- that 

 would not stand in every situation. Here in Stamford, 

 at Mr. Lowell M. Palmer's place, during the past twelve 

 years we have tried nearly all the conifers on the mar- 

 ket, here and abroad. We lost a great many but what 

 are left to-day can be considered as hardy and these are 

 the ones I shall try to describe briefly as to their com- 

 mercial and horticultural value. Amongst them will 

 be found some that are not much in cuUivation as yet. 



Conifers are best used in big beds or as isolated spec- 

 imens. They do not show well when mixed with decid- 

 uous trees or shrubs, except in a few cases, as, for 

 instance, Norway spruce or pines mixed with v. few 

 white birches for a background; in any case they .hould 

 not be crowded, for if too near together they soon lose 

 their lower branches, and a conifer to show its full 



beauty should be lunn.-lied with branches from top to 

 bottom as long as possible. 



Grouping conifers is a matter of taste and to do it 

 satisfactorily is not an easy task. Generally when a 

 bed is planted the trees are small and if placed at the 

 right distance the bed looks empty and lacks display 

 effect. This is the reason why they are always planted 

 too closely at the beginning. After a few years the 

 trouble begins and there is no end of moving and trans- 

 planting; the best way to avoid that trouble is to plant 

 directly at the proper permanent distance according to 

 their future size of growth, the color and forms well 

 assorted, and then fill up between with common and 

 cheap kinds that can be cut back in the beginning, and 

 taken out altogether gradually as room is needed. 

 Spruce, firs, pines and other big-growing species ought 

 not to be planted in beds; the common ones can be 

 planted in nuisses for wind break or background and the 

 rarer ones isolated or in clumps of three, five, or more, 

 on the corner of big lawns at least twenty feet apart, or 

 any way to give good vistas. In many places conifers 

 are planted in beds as regards color only, without con- 

 sideration of their size of growth, and as close as one or 

 one and a half feet apart; that is certainly a matter of 

 taste, but they do not last long; they soon kill one 

 another. Some conifers are also used for formal work, 

 as in hedges, or cut down to different fancy forms; 

 that is another matter of taste. Hedges are all right, 

 but I think there are enough conifers of a sufficient 

 varietv of natural shapes that can be used in formal 

 work 'without marring the natural l.eauty of a tree by 

 clippinL'. The dippers can !» used on conifers, but 

 sparingly to keep the symmetry of a tree, or, where they 

 grow t'oo close together, to prevent their interfering with 

 one another. 



Everything has been said about transplanting coni- 

 fers in the fall witli frozen balls in winter or in the 

 'spring. Young conifers can he transplanted with as 

 mucir success in the fall as in spring if enough water 

 can be given. August is better than October, for they 



