THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
105 
landscape, and it is equally so on the city lot or as a 
single specimen. The forms vary considerably. In 
some, the branches rise in tiers, one above another, and 
grow horizontally, giving it a stiff formal look so fre¬ 
quently seen in the Kosteri. I prefer the more compact 
form, as it has a more graceful appearance. 
The finest specimen I have ever seen was in Boulder, 
Colorado. (A man told me there was a finer one in Long¬ 
mont but it would have to “go some”). I was walking 
along the street and was attracted by its appearance and 
went in to ask the lady what she did to produce such a 
fine specimen. She said she followed nature—every day 
through the heat of summer in the afternoon she took the 
hose and sprinkled it and then left the water run around 
the roots until the ground was thoroughly saturated. That 
is the case naturally. They grow in the canyons on this 
side of the range, in Colorado and Wyoming. Every day 
in the summer from about 2 to 4 o’clock in the afternoon 
there is more or less rain, and they generally grow in a 
moist situation. This tree was about 15 to 20 feet high 
and almost a perfect cone from the ground up, of a beau¬ 
tiful silvery blue. She collected it herself and had grown 
it from a small tree. This is one of the trees that should 
not be crowded, is subject to red spider and is frequently 
injured by it. Abies Maxwellii is a low tufted form use¬ 
ful in its place. I have no use for the weeping forms 
and other monstrosities. 
My favorites of all the evergreens for our locality are 
the Retinisporas, particularly the Pisifera class, which 
includes Retmispora pisifera, pisifera aurea, plumosa 
aurea, filifera, filifera aurea, and squarosa and some 
others. They are good growers, nice bright graceful 
foliage, hold their color better as a rule than most, ever¬ 
greens and stand almost any amount of pruning. Almost 
every one admits their beauty but it has been a common 
opinion that they are not entirely hardy which I think is 
a mistaken notion. There is a tree of plumosa in our 
cemetery that is about 30 feet high, has been planted 30 
or 40 years, went through last winter without injury. 
I know of a tree about 20 miles from our place of the 
squarosa variety (one of the most difficult varieties to 
grow), that is about 10 feet high and has been growing 
there for at least 15 years without any particular atten¬ 
tion. I have all those varieties growing at my place, most 
of them are now about 6 feet high, and they came through 
last winter without suffering, indeed not so much as the 
Virginiana type of Junipers. 
The Retinispora filifera aurea I consider the best of 
the small yellow evergreens, beautiful bright lemon color, 
perfectly hardy and holds its color throughout the year. 
The Obtusa varieties don’t seem to be so hardy with me. 
I had about ten trees of the Gracilis variety about 6 feet 
high, four of them were killed outright last winter and 
the rest are dead about half way down. Obtusa did not 
suffer materially but Retinispora obtusa nana suffered 
badly. 
Then we have the Junipers, a large and important fam¬ 
ily, covering a wide range of territory, including some 
of our most important trees and shrubs, from large trees 
to low trailing shrubs running through the various shades 
of color from the yellow Juniperus canadensis aurea and 
Japonic a aurea through the different shades of green to 
the dark green of the Irish and Virginiana, including 
such varieties as Pfilzeriana (some say if there was but 
one evergreen, let it be Juniperus Pfitzeriana ). J. Vir¬ 
giniana glauca, etegantissima Lee, sinensis stricta, sabina, 
Tameriscifolia, and a host of dwarf and trailing varieties, 
all important to the landscape man. 
The White Cedar (C. Thuyoides), I consider a good 
tree; it came through last winter in good shape, and is a 
good grower. C. Nootkatensis is of a fine glaucous shade 
and compact grower, and is fine for a hedge or as a 
specimen. 
The Lawson Cypress is one of the most beautiful ever¬ 
greens. It is not quite hardy in our locality, but I think 
it would be all right in the southern part of Illinois. 
There was one growing about fifteen miles from my place 
which had grown from a small tree to about twelve feet 
in height. This was a perfect specimen, with the ex¬ 
ception of a little blight on one side. It was offered to 
me if I would remove it, but I did not think it worth the 
trouble. I believe it was cut down, so I had no oppor¬ 
tunity to see how it stood last winter. I have two of the 
Triumph de Boscoop variety that are about six feet high. 
They both froze down to the snow line last winter. 
The Hemlocks are another very ornamental and indis¬ 
pensable family of trees. I gave out of adjectives, but 
there is probably no more beautiful conifer than the Hem¬ 
lock. It has none of the stiffness of some. The pendulous 
branches, with their light and feathery foliage, give it a 
very graceful appearance. .It is of a lively green, and 
holds its color well. We have two species which are 
adapted to our climate; Tsuga Canadensis and Caroliana. 
The latter, I think is hardy this far north, and the more 
graceful of the two. 
The Thujas are another indispensable species. They 
are generally better adapted for massing, but we have 
some varieties that make very handsome specimens. Lutea 
is probably the best yellow of the larger conifers. It is a 
good lively yellow, and holds its color all the year. The 
Douglas Golden is a better grower, but it is not quite as 
yellow, and inclines more to green inwinter. The Doug¬ 
las Pyramidal is a fine conical form. The Pyramidalis, 
probably the most popular Arbor-Vitae, s more fastigate 
than pyramidal (I think it should be called FastigataL is 
tall and columnar, grows very compactly, and is of a 
lighter green in winter than most varieties. They make 
fine single specimens, also groups and tub plants, and also 
fine for hedges. 
The Thuyas consist of a large variety, running from 
the tall, formal oecidentalis to the low globular forms, 
fiom a foot to eighteen inches high and wide. The ob¬ 
jection to most varieties, is their tendency to assume a 
brown color during the winter. This is more than com¬ 
pensated for by the lively green they put on the first few 
warm days of spring. They are almsot immune to fun¬ 
gus and insect diseases. 
The Biotas (Chinese Arbor-Vitae) are another family 
that have generally been considered too tender for our 
climate, and I would hesitate to recommend them for a 
climate this far north. The Biota Sinensis and Sinensis 
pyramidalis seem to be perfectly hardy wth me. I have 
some growing on my place, and others around town, five 
to six feet high, which have come through all right so far. 
