American Conifer Society Reference Gardens in the Southeastern Region March 2015 Want to learn about which evergreen and deciduous conifers grow well in your area. The American Conifer Society (ACS) has established a reference garden network across the U.S. If you are developing dwarf conifer collection […]
Archive for the ‘Pines (Pinus spp.)’ Category
Troubled Pines… And Some Good Ones To Grow
Mugho, aka mugo pine (Pinus mugo), and Scots pine (P. sylvestris) are two troubled pines which gardeners in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA Hardiness zones 6 and 7) have shied away from planting. Both have become problem growers over the past quarter century. Scots pine suffers from several devastating foliar diseases. Once a popular Christmas […]
Select The Perfect Christmas Tree
Decorating a live Christmas tree is traditional in many homes. Many different species of evergreen trees are sold at tree lots near you. Frazier Fir (Abies fraseri) is the most popular Christmas tree in the southeastern U.S. Named for Scottish botanist John Fraser (1750-1811), it makes its home in the higher mountainous elevations of Tennessee, […]
Don’t Crawl /Let’em Weep White Pine
In the beginning was a small weeping pine which wanted to crawl along the ground because it had no “legs”. The gardener came along and straightened up the leader and attached it to a tall pole. Straightening and staking continued for several years. Many years […]
What Can Be Done About Phytophthora
Phytophthora disease (Phytophthora spp.) is the fatal cause of root rots, stem cankers and crown rots. Several hundred species of plants are susceptible, including redbuds, dogwoods, rhododendrons, camellias, white pines, firs, yews (Taxus spp.), and fruit trees. It thrives in warm moist saturated soils. Phytophthora may lie dormant in the soil for several years, waiting for a […]
Reference Conifer Gardens in the Southeastern U.S.
The American Conifer Society (ACS) supports public conifer gardens around the U.S. Reference Gardens offer plant professionals and home gardeners an opportunity to evaluate conifers growing in a landscape or garden setting within their geographic region. You can compare the unique foliage colors, shapes, and growth habits which conifers offer. You can select conifer(s) which work as […]
Irrigate Evergreens This Winter
Fall slowdown in the garden brings many of us back indoors to prepare for the winter holidays ahead. A number of serious canker diseases attack evergreens in the fall and winter if soil moisture is not plentiful. These diseases include botryosphaeria, cytospora, phomopsis, and seiridium cankers. Each organism is capable of causing branch dieback or […]
Natural Evergreen Needle Drop in Autumn
Some needle loss on evergreens in the fall is natural. As night time temperatures cool, needles in the interior of many evergreen trees or shrubs regularly turn brown (or golden yellow) and drop off. Needle loss is most obvious on pines (Pinus spp.) and arborvitae (Thuja spp.) in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA zones 6 and 7). The […]