Scientific name: Tsuga mertensiana (N)

Common name: mountain hemlock

Family name: Pinacaea

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 4

Mature height and spread: 10-15m tall, 5-7m wide

Form: pendulous, pyramidal, conical

Water use: high

Soil requirements: humus rich, well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, spiraled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: tiny male cones, female cones are tiny, purple and on ends of branches

Limitations: prickly, doesn’t like drying winds, air pollution or flooded/compacted soils

Suitable uses:

Quick ID: Conifer. Tree. needle-like, spiraled. Flexible needles, single. Evergreen. Short needles; round, bluish hue. Look like spruce needles but no pegs. Very small needles.

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/782?image=h

Scientific name: Tsuga heterophylla (N)

Common name: western hemlock

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 5

Mature height and spread: 20m tall, 15-25m wide

Form: pyramidal, upright

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained, acidic

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, alternative

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone

Limitations: doesn’t like urban conditions

Suitable uses: forestry, background, sheared hedge. Likes to grow out of stumps

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Needle-like, alternate, flexible needles. Needles flat with two white lines underneath. Has needles that are different sizes on one stem (different than Mertensiana); hence why it is heterophylla

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/182?image=h

Scientific name: Thuja plicata (N)

Common name: Western red cedar

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections: Green giant

USDA hardiness zone: 6

Mature height and spread: 10-20m tall, 8-12m wide

Form: pyramidal, wide, conical

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: acidic, well-drained

Leaf arrangement: scale-like, opposite, imbricate

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: Dioecious. Cone, brown.

Limitations: if hedge not well irrigated get die back. Competes with neighbours for water

Suitable uses: forestry, sheared hedge. Great wood; doesn’t rot

Quick ID: Conifer. scale-like, scales overlap each other. Cones have prickles on end; stick to mittens. Evergreen. Needles smell like pineapples (unique)

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/178?image=h

Scientific name: Pseudotsuga menziesii (N)

Common name: Douglas fir

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 5

Mature height and spread: over 30m tall, 10-15m wide

Form: horizontal, pyramidal

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: acidic, well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like. Alternate and spiraled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cones, pendulous (unqiue); looks like mice tails sticking out of cone

Limitations: can get very large

Suitable uses: forestry, wind break, restoration

Quick ID: Conifer. Tree. Evergreen. needle-like. Alternate and spiraled. Needles are shorter and flatter than other pine trees. Sharp and pointy overwintering buds (unique). Pointy looking but not sharp needles.

Scientific name: Pinus sylvestris

Common name: Scots pine

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 2

Mature height and spread: 15-22m tall, 10-15m wide

Form: open, columnar

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained, acidic

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, fascicles

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: Cones (point backwards)

Limitations: stands out, use with restraint

Suitable uses: rough and dramatic looking

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Evergreen. Europe. Short, flat needles, in bunches of two (fascicles). Sharp needles that are shorter (finger length) than nigra and stem is not as broad. Blue hue.

Scientific name: Pinus nigra

Common name: Austrian pine

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 3

Mature height and spread: 22-30m tall, 7-10m wide

Form: pyramidal, horizontal

Water use: low

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, fascicles.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone, not showy. Persistent female cone

Limitations: dieback, wilt, needs full sun. Dark in landscape

Suitable uses: group plantings, wind break. Tolerant of some drought. Predictable.

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Long needls (14cm long), two needles per bundle (fascicles). Needles are flexible and longer than other 2 needled pine (palm length). Needs are in clusters. Needs born off very wide branches.

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/122?image=h

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/122?image=h

Scientific name: Pinus mugo

Common name: mugo pine

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 2

Mature height and spread: 3-5m tall and 4-7m wide

Form: irregular, pyramidal

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: acidic, well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like. Fascicles.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone. Come out at 90 degrees. Small and end of each scale is grey with pointy bit

Limitations: often gets planted as low shrub but with age becomes very tall.

Suitable uses: dense looking, prunes into shrub nicely .Grows quickly

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Evergreen.  Europe. Needle-like, in bunches of two (fascicles; very visible on stem; unique). Parallel venation. Spiky needles. Needles not in clusters but are alone on branches and point upwards.

Scientific name: Pinus contorta subsp. contorta (N)

Common name: shore pine

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 2

Mature height and spread: 22-30m tall, 7-10m wide

Form: horizontal, irregular, upright, conical

Water use: low

Soil requirements: well-drained, acidic

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, fascicles.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: small, brown cone. Egg shaped, points backwards (unique)

Limitations: needs full sun. best on coast

Suitable uses: windswept look, very dramatic. Adaptable.

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Evergreen. Needle-like, twisted (aka. Contorta), fascicles (two needles per fascicles). Needles, Green all around. Pointy and flexible.

Scientific name: Picea sitchensis (N)

Common name: Sitka spruce

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 6

Mature height and spread: 10-20m tall, 10-15m wide.

Form: pyramidal, dense, lateral sweeping branches.

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained, acidic

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, spiraled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: brown cone; not showy. Dioecious. Scales don’t fall off

Limitations: not tolerant of urban conditions, get mites and aphids. Variable because seedlings not clones.

Suitable uses: tolerant of compacted soil

Quick ID: conifer. Tree. Evergreen. Broad needle-like, spiraled. Sharp point, 4-sided and flattened. Stems (pegs) left over when needles fall off. Grey underside. Only spruce with pointy needles (unqiue)

https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/281?image=h

Scientific name: Picea pungens

Common name: Colorado  spruce

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 3

Mature height and spread: 30-60m tall, 10-20m wide

Form: narrow, dense

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like, spiraled

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: monoecious. Cylindrical cones; violet colour when immature. Wavy cone scales.

Limitations: not as blue as expected if rain lots. Gets mites and aphids

Suitable uses: adaptable.

Quick ID: Conifer. Tree. Evergreen. U.S. Needle-like. Spiraled. 4-sided needles with bluish/white colour all around. Needles are stiff. Needles leave petiole on the stem when they are removed; rough stem. Very sharp needles.