10 Stunning Conifers for your Small Garden

Let’s look at some small trees for your garden: dwarf and small conifers, mainly evergreen, in all sorts of shapes, colors and textures! Here I visit Burkland Gardens in Mt. Vernon WA, nursery specializing in dwarf and unusual conifers.
This video is part 1 of 2. Here’s a link to the rest of the tour:
• MORE Conifers for your...
Many thanks to Gil for sharing his time and expertise. For viewers looking for more information of the kinds of plants on this tour, here are links to Burkland Gardens on KZbin and their business web page:
/ @burklandgardens643
www.burklandgardens.com
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Photo credits:
Gold Tipped Picea by Mark Bolin CC BY-SA 2.0
Abies Ice Breaker by laurent houmeau CC BY-SA 2.0
Witches Broom on Jack Pine by Elia Sagor CC BY-SA 2.0

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

I keep hear that dwarf conifers don't really exist. They might be sold small, will be in a pot or are slow growing. Conifers are often mis-sold as "dwarf" when they are nothing of the sort. Aren't Gil's featured pines small because they are in pots and heavily pruned?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks. Although the term dwarf was thrown about a bit, I tried in the intro and description to focus on trees that reach a smaller ultimate size, and listed my best guess at the long-term garden size with each cultivar. There are, of course, conventional selections from naturally low-growing species, like mugo pine. And yes, there are true genetic dwarf conifers, like that abies 'Ice Breaker' - it grows so slowly that it may never reach more than a couple of feet in the garden. Those are mutations (like in roses, we have sports that are climbing - but the conifer growers are keeping an eye for mutations in the opposite direction!). We talk a little bit of the witches brooms many of these are discovered as near the end of the second video. As you point out, culture, training and pot size can be used to hold back a naturally more vigorous variety, or simply support and accentuate a naturally more compact or contorted habit (as with the candle pruning and niwaki style shaping he showed on the cork bark Japanese black pine).

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

thanks @@FraserValleyRoseFarm

[@emmalavenham]

The key is shop at a small independent nursery that knows conifers and that will provide estimates for how big the trees will get in 30 years locally. Some just happen to grow a lot more slowly. What you need to look for is a tree with super slow grow rate. There is much more than witches brooms available…. Example. Picea orientalis Firefly. Here in New England, that tree is Skylands in a small package. Ideal and just as tough.

[@Carl-iw9sy]

Conifers and Japanese maples are my kryptonite. Thanks for sharing!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks Carl. Glad you liked it!

[@popandbob]

Wow those are some awesome finds! I have not seen any of the zone 3 hardy ones here in Alberta. All the nurseries just stock the same basic trees.

[@MyPetZombie84]

So fun seeing all these collab videos, I just came across Gil not too long ago while watching conifer grafting

[@stevemurray6543]

Hello Gil, I am loving my conifers. Always enjoy seeing you and hearing you talk about conifers. Remain well.

[@Nat-mk7gb]

Love your videos! Keep doing what you are doing because it helps 👍😊

[@MyFocusVaries]

Thanks for the tour! I have a very small garden and have a few dwarf conifers. Our mugo Wintersonne is one that changes colour with the season. And we have a graceful dwarf weeping spruce (picea orientalis pendula) that has the most beautiful raspberry coloured cones in spring.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks!

[@jennifergreene8891]

Beautiful trees

[@julesdavis1845]

Thank you. This was truly delightful. I’m in zone 6b Connecticut. Nurseries here, aren’t familiar with a lot of conifers. Finding specific cultivars, like you’ve shown here, will be super useful in ordering the right plant for the right place in our landscape.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks Jules. I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@kongotronics]

Connecticut has broken arrow nursery, one of the best nursery around for rare and choice plants. Check them out, they have a great selection of conifers

[@mitzi605]

Beautiful plants

[@geraldinefields1730]

Thank you.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

My pleasure!

[@shizhen]

So fascinating. Wow, 77

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks!

[@cindyl3916]

Jason! This is another one of your great ideas, Thank You!❤ I’m with Carl-iw9sy in the comments but my kryptonite is Roses, Conifers and Japanese Maples. I’m in 6b/7a Oklahoma and am currently planting quite a few conifers mail ordered from CK in Oregon. Have 4 arriving tomorrow and 3 next week.I have several in this video. Now I’m going to watch part 2. Thank you again! You are so very awesome 💚

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[@soulgirlktf]

How lovely thanks for filming this Jason, I've spent many hours especially in the winter time on Gil's youtube channel. He has a vast knowledge and a wonderful array of conifers. He is wearing well I had no idea he was in his 70's - gardening keeps you young ! I often visit his site and Iseli too in the colder months when the ground is frozen and I'm stuck indoors tapping my fingers cos I can't do anything outside. Bob Stadnyk has a youtube channel Greenland Garden I can spend a few hours drooling on his site too ! He has some wonderful specimens I think he's out Alberta way. Let us know what you chose, hard to pick they are all splendid - spoilt for choice :)

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

You bet. I'm crossing my fingers to be going strong and still growing plants when approaching my 80s!

[@samMTL514]

Nice surprise to see x2 KZbinrs I follow in one video, double like 👍🏻

[@rotcaka]

I hope that in the future this is what the majority of people use for their Christmas Trees. 🎄 Just put a tree in a pot and use it over and over again!!!

[@gardenextra7415]

😊

[@dawnpenner847]

Great topic, do you know of any small Canadian Growers, getting a phydo certificate to import from the US is a holy pain in the butt. Especially for a home gardener. or Are you looking to branch out into conifers?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Hi Dawn. I'd love to grow everything, but should probably keep the focus on roses and perennials for now. The one direction I could point is towards a local grower in the eastern Fraser Valley: Pacific Northwest Propagators.

[@intanbaharuddin2703]

I ❤ Scot's pine & Korean pine coz they are herbal😊

[@JasperKlijndijk]

I run part of a nursery and greensales place in the Netherlands and we sell a few of these yet don't grow them ourselves. They're expensive!! How could we find a cheaper source or do ourselves the growing of these small conifer bushes?

[@JasperKlijndijk]

Follow up questions: about the non drafting species are those less expensive? How often do you repot these slow growing old plants. What's your best idea to have something special for your costumer without scaring them away with pricing

[@titosrevenger]

They're expensive because they're old. You're simply not going to buy a 15 year old tree for $50. Think about the years of time and effort the grower put into the tree before it got to your nursery.

[@rotcaka]

Not trying to be a jerk, but start grafting your own?!?!! Learn to graft ... Learn to start identifying hybrids in nature and then get cuttings, grow them out. Get rootstock and propagate more through mounding up soil/ compost around base to force more roots and "suckers" ... Just my two cents. SKOL Once I started paying attention in Alaska, I noticed a wide variety of differences and hybridization in all the trees: spruce and populous varieties

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Hi Jasper - I found it to be an interesting part of the business, involving longer timelines than anything I grow. It seemed like everywhere Gil pointed was another plant that was 20, 30 or 40 years old. It sounded (to me) like there were a good number of large-scale conifer producers in the western US from California through Washington, so Gil was able to buy in starts at a reasonable price from places that produced them in larger numbers. I only took a pretty shallow look at the business, so for anything more in-depth, you may want to catch up with Gil directly on his channel.