Content
Coniferous shrubs with photos and names will help you navigate the numerous proposals of nurseries. When buying, it is better to take into account not only the features of garden compositions or the unpretentiousness of plants, but also the characteristics of the soil and climate.
The advantages of growing coniferous shrubs on the site
Evergreen shrubs are often the winning choice when planning your garden. Conifers are quite unpretentious, they take root well in various parts of most of the country. Green shrubs of original forms at different times of the year are successfully perceived aesthetically, as a bright color spot. Most conifers have undeniable advantages:
- the possibility of placing in the sun, in partial shade or even in the shade;
- undemanding to the type of soil;
- the plasticity of the crown - the disposition to pruning or shearing;
- the release of aromatic medicinal compounds into the air - phytoncides;
- minimal maintenance is required.
Types of coniferous shrubs
Numerous evergreen shrubs of various families for the convenience of novice gardeners can be grouped into 3 size groups:
- high;
- medium-sized;
- dwarf.
Undersized
One of the most popular requirements for coniferous shrubs is their small size, which allows for the creation of picturesque and varied garden ensembles.
Mountain Pine Goulden Glow
The slow-growing evergreen shrub will become a bright lantern in the garden, not only in winter, but also in summer. The needles of the plant, intensely green in summer, with the onset of cold weather, acquire a yellow color, especially in the upper half of the needles. By the age of 10, the bush grows up to 0.5-0.6 m, reaching 80-95 cm in diameter. The Golden Glow variety is frost-resistant, tolerates - 35 ° C, develops on any soil, on solar exposure.
Spruce Maxwelli
The height of the fir-tree shrub is 90-100 cm, the dense crown is wide-pyramidal, extending up to 1.5-1.8 m. Shoots are formed often, densely covered with needles of light green color. A frost-resistant shrub grows on any soil in terms of acidity, but requires a moderately moist, well-lit area. Adapts to gas pollution in industrial centers.
Juniper Blue Chip
The popular variety of ground cover creeping juniper horizontal Blue Chip rises to a level of only 20-35 cm. Branches extend to the sides up to 150 cm. Silver-blue needles acquire a darker shade by winter. The plant is not capricious, it develops well on loose soils, it can suffer with an excess of moisture. The preferred exposure is sunny, on rockeries and rock gardens.
Cypress Aurora
It attracts with a beautiful wavy pattern of natural laying of spiral-twisted branches that form a crown with a silhouette of an irregular cone. The height of the shrub is 50-65 cm, the diameter of the crown is the same.The plant is frost-resistant, but at the end of winter it should be covered with agrofibre to prevent the needles from burning out in the sun. Loves wet soil and a lighted area. Aurora does not tolerate urban conditions well.
Jacobsen cross-pair microbiota
In a hardy plant native to the Far East, the branches partly spread along the ground, others rise slightly, so a support is installed near the bush. The height of the crown is up to 40-70 cm, diameter is 30-60 cm. During the year, the growth of shoots is only 2-3 cm. Scaly needles are dark green, turns brown with cold, then in the spring it becomes green again. Planted in damp, semi-shady and shady areas, in rock gardens. The shrub is often defined as a type of juniper, but it is closer to the eastern thuja.
Medium-sized
Evergreen coniferous shrubs of medium height - up to 2 m are often chosen as a visual focus for garden compositions. They also serve as an interesting backdrop for low-growing shrubs and flowers.
Mountain Pine Dwarf
The shrub, after 18-20 years of growth, reaches more than 1 m in height, after another 2 decades it rises to 2 m. The annual growth is 10 cm in width and 15 cm in height. The crown is spherical, oval over the years, very dense due to densely growing shoots, 80-90 cm in diameter. The needles are dark green, the length of the needles is 4 cm. They are planted in the sun, in loose soil. The variety is widely used in urban landscaping.
Spruce Glauka Globoza
The Glauca Globosa variety is considered by many gardeners to be a shrub, since spruce growth is very slow - by the age of 30 it reaches 3 m.Round crown, 1.2-2 m in diameter, dense due to many short branches covered with prickly silver-blue needles 1-1 .5 cm long. The variety is undemanding to soil fertility, it develops better on slightly acidic soils. The plant is light-requiring, drought-resistant, tolerates frosts below -35 ° C.
Juniper Chinese Mint Julep
The Mint Julep juniper variety with a dense and spreading crown is named after the strong mint-flavored cocktail, due to the rich and vibrant color of green needles, which seems constantly fresh. The height of the shrub is 1.5-2 m, the width of the crown is 2.8-3.5 m. Juniper shoots are long, flexible, arched. Loves a sunny location, light soils, moderate humidity.
Dull cypress Rashahiba
By the age of 10, the Rashahiba variety forms a dense wide-pyramidal crown up to 1.7-2 m high. The plant is extremely decorative, thanks to the natural overflow of greenery: from intense green in the center of the crown to light green or even yellow shades of needles on the tops of the branches. Young shoots delight with a fresh lemon color. The variety grows in the sun and in light partial shade. The soil is kept loose and moderately moist.
Yew Elegantissima
The Elegantissima variety grows more in breadth - up to 1.5-3 m, than in height - up to 1.2-2.3 m. The growth of branches per season is 8-14 cm. The terminal young shoots are golden-yellow in color, from the middle of summer they become green and yellow. Because of this feature, the bush is very picturesque in spring. Good development in sun or light shade. The plant is winter-hardy, prefers neutral soils.
Tall
Coniferous shrubs up to 3-4 m in height are chosen as a material for a hedge or a background for a lawn with flower beds.
Scotch pine Vatereri
The Scots pine variety Watereri is durable, frost-resistant, with a rounded dense crown, which grows almost the same size in height and in circumference - up to 4 m. The gray-blue needles form bunches of 2 needles, 3-4 cm long. The plant is undemanding to soil, but does not grow on saline or too compacted. Pine coniferous shrub is photophilous, does not like shading.
Cypress Dracht
The shrub grows 2.5-3 m, the cone-shaped crown is up to 1.5 m in diameter. Fan-shaped branches curl slightly, giving the dense crown pattern a more magnificent appearance. Soft needles are green with a grayish tint. It acquires a bronze tint by winter. The variety is frost-hardy, but does not tolerate drought well.They are planted in the sun, in loose soil, which is moderately and regularly moistened.
Yew berry Hixie
The coniferous shrub Hicksii is characterized by an original wide-columnar crown that expands upward. Reaches 3-4.7 m in height, diameter from 2 to 2.3 m. The variety is durable, slow-growing - 10-15 cm per year. The needles are soft, dark green, 2.3-3 cm long. Berries are not consumed. They are planted on drained non-acidic loams. Develops in the sun or in the shade, the soil is moist, but without stagnant water.
Cryptomeria Japanese Elegance Viridis
The variety is decorative, lends itself well to formation, grows up to 4-6 m, the width of a dense and dense wide-conical crown is up to 4 m. In a shade-tolerant plant, the needles are dark green with a bluish tint throughout the year. It is preferable to plant in acidic, moist soils. Withstands frosts down to - 23 ° C.
Coniferous shrubs in garden landscaping
The endurance and expressiveness of the silhouette of coniferous shrubs, most of which are amenable to formation, provide plants with high popularity for building various multi-style garden compositions:
- low and medium height are positioned as attention points on spacious lawns;
- creeping and dwarf specimens - an indispensable element of rockeries, rock gardens;
- bright green plants of short stature often serve as a strict backdrop for bright flower beds;
- densely planted tall bushes form a division into zones and decorate the walls of buildings and fences;
- dwarf conifers are often grown as container crops.
How to properly place coniferous shrubs in the garden and on the site
To maintain the attractiveness of the garden, the generally accepted rules are followed:
- a flower bed with dwarf coniferous bushes is located in a spacious area;
- the lowest plants are planted in the foreground in the curbs;
- near reservoirs, deciduous, better weeping forms are planted to coniferous bushes;
- variegated varieties are planted pointwise, surrounded by specimens that do not change the color of greenery.
Original compositions
Often conifers form. Tall and medium-sized junipers, thujas, cypress trees are modeled, creating interesting examples of topiary art. Everyone chooses from a variety of garden ensembles:
- in the alleys, evergreen shrubs alternate with deciduous ones;
- low mountain pines are combined with ground cover junipers and creeping perennials;
- red-leaved barberries and tubular nandines create bright contrasts with evergreen shrubs;
- junipers are excellent partners for ferns, dwarf ones are also used as an ampel culture.
Hedge
The division between garden zones is made from bushes of different heights: low, medium or high. Usually the hedge is trimmed. Sometimes tall and medium-sized plants are planted alternately. The most dense version of a coniferous hedge is planting shrubs in 3 rows in a checkerboard pattern.
How to choose coniferous shrubs
Almost all conifers are adapted to the conditions of the middle climatic zone. Varietal plants require careful care at a young age, often shelter for the winter. If landing in the country, choose unpretentious types:
- frost-resistant, up to - 30 ° C;
- hardy to spring sun rays;
- drought-resistant;
- undemanding to the type of soil.
Conclusion
Coniferous shrubs with photos and names are a suitable mini-guide for beginner gardeners. Evergreens will show their austere and majestic beauty in favorable conditions, with appropriate care and placement.
