New conifers - for Severnside

What a great collection....you'll enjoy having these in pots so you can admire them close-up. I find them really fascinating close up, whereas in the borders, I rarely give them a second glance!

i am interested in following this, thanks for putting this on, they look really lovely plants.

thanks scottish and thanks 7.

The Yew, Taxus media ‘Stricta Viridis’ does get big - there is one in Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline that must be over 8ft tall and at least 20ft wide. That one must be over 100 years old though. I have a common Yew in a pot, as long as you feed it and repot it every few years it does not seem to mind (it will go yellowish and put out lots of berries if unhappy). Must be 4ft tall but not wide and be 4 years old. They take pruning well, so not a problem to keep it from getting massive at all. I would say only to pot up and not let it get into a large pot quickly as that will entice it to grow when you want to keep it small am guessing?

I really like your Abies balsamea Hudsonia. Not one I have seen and first glance looks like a Yew. A quick look at google and it says that is a dwarf - so great choice and one for my wish list I think!

Great photos, Scottish.
Interesting to read your input, Kildermorie
Thank you ... :o)

great pics Scottish

They look lovely,Scottish,and I especially like the first one..I don't have any conifers,but on seeing Sev's and yours,I am very tempted.Mine would have to be in pots too..

Well the concern that they might need repotting quickly doesn't arise, which is good news. Those pots are perfectly adequate to let them complete their new growth, which they are already well into. The P.g 'J W Daisy's White' is showing it's name derived white flush of new growth, beautiful. And as it gets bigger that will become more and more of a late spring showcase. All three look perfect and healthy. In the late autumn (dormancy) we can discuss moving them to a 38cm or equivalent pot, with the bark and perlite mix for better drainage. On that note, don't let them get too waterlogged in the current persistent rain. I have two conifers in their nursery compost and I keep them under an outdoor table at the moment, playing safe.

There is no limit to the size of a specimen in a container up to a realistic point (no mature Giant Redwoods...). You would need a pot the size of a large trug for the Taxus, I even use large trugs with holes cut in the bottom for holding over big specimens. A healthy specimen that size will have a big and strong root system. It can be done, it's just a scaling up of the process. But I myself would consider if it can't stay in the ground in another place, it's getting into it's stride and pruning a fastigiate is a bit tricky without spoiling it's natural flow. Much easier with bushy Taxus forms as you are then cutting back along the branch. With a fastigiate you have to remove whole branches back to the base to limit girth. There are other Taxus cultivars perfect for long term containers. Let me know how you feel.

They are beautiful, love the first one.
They will make a spectacular show altogether on your decking.

You've got some lovely conifers there. Isn't it nice the way we can all help each other :o)

Karensusan...Thank you...I'm sure I will enjoy :)
Pleased you like them Sticki :)
Kildermore...thank you ever so much for your input - The Taxus is one of those plants that when you buy it the label does not give you full information regarding the height etc.
I bought it originally to plant up by the shed but the soil was a bit too wet and it looked positively unhappy! The Abies balsamea is one I have admired for a long time which grows in the garden of Binny Plants - his one is around 20 years old and it sort of trails over the top of a wall - lovely - been waiting ages on him having it in stock!! Was only £6.25 which I thought was a real bargain!
Thank you Terra and Paul :)
Bloomer...I hope you join me :)
Severn....thanks for taking the time to explain to me. Late autumn, that's fine - I can collect all the things I need as the year progresses and have them all ready by this time. I have them sheltering under a Rhododendron at the moment - once I know for sure the frost is gone I will get them out a bit more in the open and shelter them when the rain is heavy!
Re the Taxus - I have a largish terracotta pot - 50cm diameter and 40 cm deep - would this be ok size wise? I could always plant it in a trug and put it in the container to disguise - I'm thinking when I have to re pot - it would probably be easier to cut the trug - what do you think? If it really should go into the garden - can you give me a more realistic size it will get in say 20 years, have tried looking on internet but they all say different.
Willinilli....Thank you...I hope they do too!
Hywel....Isn't it great - 1 year ago I would have just stuck them in a pot with some multi purpose compost and let them get on with it - in fact I did exactly that with 3 others - 2 now in the garden and 1 still in the pot!!!

Yes it's easy to slice a trug apart when it's out grown. I'll look into the size estimates for your Taxus.

Yes it does get big but as with all conifers it's the rate that's the key. What you could do is measure it now before it puts out it's new growth and again in late autumn. That would tell you exactly what to expect. I'm guessing between 10-20cm which is the average for my large fastigiate yews. It doesn't seem to get more than 1m wide and that would take a long time.

Thanks for the tip S. I've already measured it so will keep note and re measure later in the year. I thought it was a narrow one all the web site I found stated that it was narrow it was the heights that differed but reading Kildemores comments re 20ft wide - I just about had a kitten :))