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PHOTO: dwarf conifer

Dwarf Conifer Garden

Dwarf and slow-growing conifers in all their colorful, textural beauty are showcased in this four-season hillside garden.

One of the best of its kind in the country, the Dwarf Conifer Garden showcases more than 150 different kinds of the smaller members of the conifer family. Renovated in 2008 (it was first dedicated in 1988), the garden includes a new staircase entrance, views to the Japanese Garden and Great Basin, and a widened, accessible-to-all path.

Conifers are plants that bear cones. Mostly native to the earth’s northern hemisphere, conifers have skinny needlelike or scale-like leaves that help reduce moisture loss and allow snow to be shed easily.

The conifer family includes both the oldest living thing on earth (Pinus aristata, or Bristlecone Pine, known to reach 4,000+ years old) and the largest (Sequoia sempervirens, or Coast Redwood, nearly 400 feet tall).

Dwarf conifers are trees that do not reach the normal size of what is typical for their species. Dwarfism occurs naturally in several ways:

Witches’ brooms. Tangled, dense, snarled clumps of branchlets sometimes grow on full-sized trees. Called witches’ brooms, these can be caused by disease or genetic mutation. Rooted cuttings from a witches’ broom maintain a dwarf habit.
Seed mutation. Some seeds produce much smaller trees than normal, including many of the weeping and contorted varieties.
Conditions in nature. Some conifers grow in habitats with harsh conditions, such as windy, rocky outcrops and alpine zones. Over thousands of years they have adapted to these environments by becoming more prostrate in habit. A common landscape plant, Juniperus horizontalis, is an example of this.

PHOTO: pinecones in winter

gardening with dwarf conifers

Dwarf conifers are ideal plants for Chicagoland’s smaller yards and gardens. They’re low-maintenance and resistant to most insects and diseases; many have year-round color; and there is an extraordinary range of sizes and shapes available.

Growth rates

Dwarf conifers grow slowly. The American Conifer Society offers these size guidelines for all conifers:

Category	Approximate growth per year	Approximate size at 10 years
Miniature	Less than 1 inch	Less than 1 foot
Dwarf	1 to 6 inches	1 to 6 feet
Intermediate	6 to 12 inches	6 to 15 feet
Large	More than 12 inches	More than 15 feet

Site and soil

Overall, dwarf conifers thrive in sunny locations with well-drained, slightly acidic, sandy soil (though most perform well in Chicago’s less-than-perfect clay soils). Yews, spruces, and hemlocks can take partially shady conditions, but conifers don’t grow well in heavy shade. Conifers benefit from periodic fertilizer applications.

Pruning

Because most dwarf conifers grow so slowly, pruning is rarely required. Conifers shed previous years’ needles regularly in the spring—that’s why the interior of an evergreen is bare. Dead needles can be left as natural mulch for the plant.

dwarf conifer selections

PHOTO: blue conifer

Dwarf conifers for blue color
What humans see as blue color is actually a protective, waxy outer coating on new-growth ne
edles. It wears off over time.
Picea pungens ‘Montgomery’ – Colorado Spruce. A compact clone that’s one of the best of the blues.
Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Carpet’ – Singleseed Juniper. This juniper with silver-blue foliage makes a good ground cover.

PHOTO: yellow conifer

Dwarf conifers for gold color
Picea pungens ‘Spring Ghost’ – Colorado Spruce. Spring growth is whitish-yellow.
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Mother Lode’ – Creeping Juniper. This prostrate form is bright yellow in summer.

Dwarf conifers for partial shade
Taxus × media ‘Everlow’ – Yew. A low grower that can handle both partial shade and wind.
Tsuga canadensis ‘Stewart’s Gem’ – Canadian Hemlock. Tolerates light shade.

PHOTO: dwarf conifer forms

dwarf conifer forms

All hardy in Midwest gardens, these dwarf varieties delight the eye with interesting shapes, textures, and colors. Sizes listed are approximate at 10 years old.

Globose Naturally round forms add formality to walkways, beds, and edgings.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Little Gem’ – Eastern Arborvitae, 1-3 feet tall by 4 1/2-6 feet wide.
Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Heatherbun’ – Heatherbun Falsecypress, 3 feet tall by 4-5 feet wide.

Mound Low and rounded, mounded forms can hide the stems and foliage of plants behind them, and create interesting, organic bumps and hills in too-flat beds and lawns.
Pinus mugo ‘Sherwood Compact’ – Mugo Pine, 2-3 feet tall by 2-3 feet wide.

Columnar Narrow or close-to-the-street yards benefit from the screening qualities of taller-than-broad uprights. Also good as hedges and windbreaks.
Pinus nigra ‘Arnold Sentinel’ – Austrian Pine, 10-12 feet tall by 2-3 feet wide.
Picea pungens ‘Fastigiata’ – Columnar Colorado Spruce, 25 feet tall by 5 feet wide.

Pendulous Weeping, drooping branches make the pendulous forms ideal focal points in beds or borders. Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ – Canadian Hemlock, 5 feet tall by 7 feet wide.
Juniperus rigida ‘Pendula’ – Weeping Juniper, 4-5 feet tall by 2-3 feet wide.

Flattened Globose or Nest An unusual shape, often with a bowl-shaped center.
Picea abies ‘Repens Gold’ – Golden Bird’s Nest Norway Spruce, 3 feet tall by 4 feet wide.

Prostrate Prostrate forms grow flat, and when planted on an incline they appear to flow downhill.
Pinus sylvestris ‘Hillside Creeper’ – Scots Pine, 2 feet tall by 6-8 feet wide.
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Mother Lode’ – Creeping Juniper, less than 1 foot tall by 2-3 feet wide.

Upright Pyramid When punctuation is called for, use a cone-shaped form. Excellent as anchor when partnered with other dwarf conifers.
Abies concolor ‘Select’ – White Fir, 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide.
Picea abies ‘Cupressina’ – Norway Spruce, 6-8 feet tall by 3 feet wide.

Irregular Free-flowing, irregular shapes add softness to informal or cottage-style gardens.
Larix decidua ‘Varied Directions’ – European Larch, 8-10 feet tall by 10-12 feet wide.

Considering dwarf conifers for your landscape? Click here for more plant information.

What's the best way to care for your conifers? Click here for some handy gardening tips.

Download a guide for the Dwarf Conifer Garden. (PDF 400K)

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The renovation of the Dwarf Conifer Garden has been made possible by a generous gift from Georgiana Taylor, with support from the Woman’s Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society.