Scientific name: Picea omorika

Common name:  Serbian spruce

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 4

Mature height and spread: 15-22m tall, 3-4m wide

Form: upright, columnar, narrow crown profile.

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like. Spiraled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone. Violet, then black immature; cinnamon brown mature. Showy.

Limitations: needs right location to look good. Not shade tolerant.

Suitable uses: hedge. Specimen. Use close together on a slope (very narrow profile). Disease resistant.

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Tree. Serbia. Needle-like, spiraled. Flattened sides on pegs. Two white lines underneath. Blunt needles (not sharp). Blue underside.

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/279?image=h

Scientific name: Juniperus sabina

Common name:  savin juniper

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 3

Mature height and spread: 1.3-2m tall and wide

Form: mound. Spreading.

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: scale-like.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: blue/green cone.

Limitations: doesn’t like traffic next to it.

Suitable uses: ground cover, hedge

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Shrub. Europe. Scale-like. Smells of cat pee. Overlapping, decussate leaves. Smaller leaves than other juniper. Juvenile leaves more needle like, adult leaves more scale-like.

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/665?image=h

Scientific name: Cunninghamia lanceolata

Common name:  China fir

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 7

Mature height and spread: 22-30m tall, 5-7m wide

Form: pyramidal, wide

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: simple. Spiraled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone spherical.

Limitations: unique look

Suitable uses: background. Sustainable forestry (grows back from base). Very tough plant.

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Tree. China. Simple leaves; pale undersides; lanceolate shaped. Two ranks of leaves. Sharp. Looks a bit like monkey tree but needles not as sharp and longer.

Scientific name: Cryptomeria japonica

Common name:  Japanese cedar

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 6

Mature height and spread: 15-22m tall, 5-7m wide

Form: pyramidal, dense

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained. Acidic.

Leaf arrangement: needle-like. Spiralled.

Fall colour: purpleish.

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone. Developing cone scales; pointy and round shaped.

Limitations: none

Suitable uses: accent plant. Park.

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Tree. Asia. Needle-like; grey/green; spiraled in 5 ranks; point forward.  Unique cones. Decurant needles, point forward, soft.

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/892?image=h

Scientific name: Chamaecyparis pisifera Filifera Group

Common name: threadleaf cypress

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 6

Mature height and spread: 5-7m tall, 2-3m wide

Form: pendulous, mounded

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained. acidic

Leaf arrangement: scale-like. Opposite.

Fall colour: none.

Flower/cone/fruit description: brown cone.

Limitations: tends to revert to wild type.

Suitable uses: mass planting. Specimen.

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Tree. Scale-like, opposite. Long, golden cord-like branches that are long as they don’t branch much (pendulous, long and stringy). Decurrant. Smells like celery.

Scientific name: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Common name:  Lawson cypress

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 6

Mature height and spread: 15-22m tall, 3-4m wide

Form: dense, pyramidal

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: scale-like. Opposite.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: dioecious. Red/brown cone. Round cones. 1cm.

Limitations: susceptible to root disease. All will die

Suitable uses: hedge. Specimen. Many variable cultivars

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. U.S. scale-like leaves that are dark green/gold. Opposite. Unique smell. Spotted male cone on tips.

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/214?image=h

Scientific name: Cedrus deodara

Common name:  Deodar cedar

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 5

Mature height and spread: over 25m tall and wide

Form: horizontal, pyramidal

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-lie. Spiraled, whorled.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cones, sit upright.

Limitations: blight, canker rot. Needs lots of space.

Suitable uses: specimen.

Quick ID: Conifer. Evergreen. Asia. Needle-like. Spiraled/whorled on pendulous branches. Sharp needles. Much longer needles than atlantica. Needles variety of sizes .Short shoot morphology (tuffs)

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/27?image=h

Scientific name: Cedrus atlantica

Common name:  blue Atlas cedar

Family name: Pinaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 6

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

Form: horizontal, pyramidal

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: acidic, well-drained

Leaf arrangement: needle-like. spiraled

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: dioecious plant. Cone. Barrel shaped (fist size) cone, stands up and disintegrates on tree.

Limitations: needle blight if too humid. Needs lots of room. Not shade tolerant.

Suitable uses: background. Spectacular for parks.

Quick ID: conifer. Evergreen. Europe. Blue/green needle-like leaves. Produces short shoots with clusters of needles (tufts) but start growing as long shoot (unique). Very thin needles.

Scientific name: Calocedrus decurrens

Common name:  California incense cedar

Family name: Cupressaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 7

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

Form: upright, columnar

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: Scale-like. Opposite.

Fall colour: none

Flower/cone/fruit description: red, brown cone. Monecious (male and female on both plant). Yellow male cones on tips of branchlets.

Limitations: none

Suitable uses: background plant. Great tree, good texture and colour. Hardy, tough, drought tolerant.

Quick ID: Conifer. Evergreen. Unique smell (spicy incense). Scale-like leaves, opposite. Very decurrant (more than other scale-like conifers). Very flat branches. Flexible branches.

http://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantImages/210?image=h

Scientific name: Araucaria araucana

Common name:  monkey puzzle tree

Family name: Araucariaceae

Useful cultivars and selections:

USDA hardiness zone: 7

Mature height and spread: 22-30m tall, 10-15m wide

Form: oval, open, round

Water use: moderate

Soil requirements: well-drained

Leaf arrangement: scale-like, spiraled

Fall colour:none

Flower/cone/fruit description: cone, brown.  Very large, female cones size of volleyballs

Limitations: unique form; use sparingly

Suitable uses: tall background. Seeds source of starch

Quick ID: conifer, evergreen. Scale-like leafs. Spiralled. Leaves unique shape (awl). Chili/Argentina. Triangular shaped leaves. Sharp.