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Pinus strobus

Evergreen, coniferous, Pinaceae

Common name: eastern white pine

Hardiness: 3

Mature ht and spread: 8-18 m tall, 8-12 m wide

Form: conical, open with horizontal branching

Conditions: full sun, well drained acidic soil, tolerate heat, adaptable to any soil condition, easy to grow, likes to be protected

Leaf: blue green needles, bunches of 5, softest handshake, branches arise in whorls

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: narrow, cylindric, seed cones

Limits: intolerant of wind and summer drought, atmospheric pollution, can’t tolerate poor drainage

Suitable uses: specimen, accent, grove, screen

Id: softest pine, long needles

Native to: eastern North America

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Pinus ponderosa (N)

Evergreen, coniferous, Pinaceae

Common name: ponderosa pine

Hardiness: 3

Mature ht and spread: 8-15 m tall, 6-8 m wide

Form: rounded, horizontal branching

Conditions: likes heat and full sun, well drained soil, good air circulation, tolerant of drought

Leaf: stiff, yellowish, green-grey green needles, bundles of 3, sparsley branched shoots, long needles, thick branches

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: seed cones reddish brown, ovoid, prickly umbos, large cones

Limits: intolerant of shade, poor drainage, sensitive to cool, moist conditions

Suitable uses: specimen, accent, slab

Native to: western North America, BC native, mexico

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Picea omorika

Evergreen, coniferous, Pinaceae

Common name: Serbian spruce

Hardiness: 4

Mature ht and spread: 8-15 m tall, 3-5 m wide

Form: very narrow, conical, pendulous upward sweeping branches

Conditions: full sun, acidic, summer moist, well drained soil, tolerant of infertile, compacted soil, occasional flooding and wind

Leaf: pegs (all spruce family), looks frosted underside, needles blunt, bluish green

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: small, typical spruce cone

Limits: not shade tolerant, spruces never shade tolerant, don’t tolerate extreme heat, or drought in shallow soil

Suitable uses: specimen, accent, barrier, screen

Native to: Serbia

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Juniperus sabina

Evergreen, coniferous, Cupressaceae

Common name: savin juniper

Hardiness: 4-7

Mature ht and spread: 4 m tall, 3-6 ft wide

Form: low growing, spreading shrub

Conditions: full sun, well drained soil, can tolerate drought, can tolerate maritime exposure

Leaf: adult foliage and youth foliage different, spiky

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: berry like

Limits: cannot tolerate shade

Suitable uses: ground cover, hedge

Id: different adult and youth foliage on same stem

Native to: Europe, North America

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Cunninghamia lanceolata

Evergreen, coniferous, Cupressaceae

Common name: China fir

Hardiness: 7

Mature ht and spread: 6-10 m tall, 4-6 m wide

Form: columnar-conic, open irregular branching

Conditions: full sun-part shade, moist well drained soil, tolerates drought

Leaf: spirally arranged, broad, pointed, dark green-waxy blue, flattened, overlapping needles, two ranks along stems

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: female-globrose, imbricate cones, scales overlap

Limits: intolerant of low humidity, cold, drying winds

Suitable uses: basis of sustainable forestry, regrows new tree from base

Native to: China

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Cryptomeria japonica

Evergreen, coniferous, Cupressaceae

Common name: sugi, Japanese cedar

Hardiness: 6

Mature ht and spread: 6-10 m tall, 4-6 m wide

Form: cylindric-conic, dense, upswept branches

Conditions: full sun, moist well drained soil, tolerates urban conditions, drought

Leaf:overlapping, awl shaped, forward pointing, needles, often brown-purple in winter

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: small, globrose, 3 o more tooth-like projections on each cone scale

Limits: intolerant of poor drainage or dry winter wind

Suitable uses: specimen, allee, slab or container

Id: remember by cones

Native to: Japan

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Chamaecyparis pisifera Filifera group

Common name: sawara cypress

Hardiness: 5

Mature ht and spread: 6-10 m tall, 4-7 m wide

Form: dense, conical, becomes columnar-conic with upswept branches and pendulous tips

Conditions: full sun, moist, well drained, humus rich soil, good air circulation, tolerates moist urban conditions

Leaf: aromatic, overlapping scale leaves, flattened, drooping branchlets, self mulching, thread leaf cypress

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: tiny cones, the smallest cone

Limits: intolerant of saturated soils

Suitable uses: specimen, accent, smaller for residential, slab or container

Id: long and stringy, smells like celery/pepper

Native to: Japan

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Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Evergreen, coniferous, Cupressaceae

Common name: lawson cypress

Hardiness: 5

Mature ht and spread: 8-15 m tall, 4-7 m wide

Form: dense, conical, columnar-conic, upswept branches, pendulous tips

Conditions: full sun, moist, well drained soil, humus rich, good air circulation, tolerant of urban conditions

Leaf: dark green to blue-green overlapping scale leaves, flattened, drooping, fan like branchlets

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: attractive, red pollen cones in winter, spherical seed cones in fall, self mulching, valvate scales (more open but look like obtusa)

Limits: intolerant of saturated soils, seedlings susceptible to cypress root rot, can be grafted

Suitable uses: specimen, accent if grafted, slab or container

Native to: mtns of southwest Oregon, northwestern California

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Cedrus deodara

Evergreen, coniferous, Cupressaceae

Common name: Himalayan cedar

Hardiness: 6

Mature ht and spread: 10-20 m tall, 7-15 m wide

Form: pyramidal with broad horizontal branches, drooping tips

Conditions: full sun, good drainage, summer moisture, tolerates wind, heat, and drought

Leaf: large long soft needles, long shoot short shoot morphology, point down to shed water, green-blue green

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: male cones release pollen in autumn, fist sized

Limits: intolerant of poor air circulation and shade

Suitable uses: specimen, narrow cultivars where there is limited space

Native to: Himalayas, Tibet, mtns of Pakistan and Afghanistan

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Cedrus atlantica

Evergreen, coniferous, Pinaceae

Common name: Atlas cedar

Hardiness: 6

Mature ht and spread: 10-20 m tall, 7-15 m wide

Form: pyramidal, ascending branches, broad lateral branching

Conditions: full sun, good drainage, summer moisture, tolerant of wind, heat, and drought, needs light

Leaf: green-blue-green, evergreen, needles individually produced along stem, long shoot short shoot morphology, tufts, clusters of needles (higher elevation=more blue), glaucous filters UV

Fall: none

Flower: none

Cone: fist sized, barrel shaped, upright, disintegrates on tree

Limits: intolerant of poor air circulation, shade

Suitable uses: park, needs lots of room

Id: bluish tufts of needles

Native to: Atlas and Rif mountains of Algeria, Morocco