Want to try something "Cool" this spring?

Frio River Bald Cypress

As a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, I have become a person who embraces diversity in many regards. As it comes to landscape plants, I am learning more each and every day about the types of things that need to be identified in regards to achieving success in our Front Range environment. In reviewing various literature regarding "tough and drought tolerant" species you come across many varieties of plants that on the surface appear to be great candidates. One of the local municipalities has come up with such a list of recommended and not recommended trees for our area. Many trees on the not recommended list include some that tend to show intolerance for our higher pH soils, not that pH is the determining factor in nutrient deficiency leading to cholorosis which is an issue I will address at a later time. Regardless, one interesting recommended tree was Taxodium distichum, Common Bald Cypress, a deciduous conifer that has worked well on the plains east of here in many applications. Here, though, it gets chlorotic which is the primary reason it is not used much which may or may not have been considered prior to its placement on this list.

We now have a solid candidate for a cold hardy, alkaline tolerant Bald Cypress for our area. Taxodium distichum "Frio River" comes from a seed source located in SW Texas and has a high tolerance for alkaline soils as well as the natural ability to withstand anaerobic sites (heavy clay soils). It is cold hardy to USDA Zone 4, grows 50-70' in height with a spread of 25-35'. It is a new introduction to the market in landscape size grades and has not yet been evaluated in Colorado as far as I know. We have seen Bald Cypress specified on landscape plans lately and on recommended tree lists with various municipalities. We will be stocking a limited quantity of this plant this spring, in 2" and 2.5" caliper sizes. Please let us know early of your interest in using this plant as they are not widely available. Frio River Bald Cypress is definitely a "cool" tree that should become useful in diversifying our landscapes.

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Whoa...that's cool! What is it?

Last night we hosted a CNGA member outreach BBQ at the nursery and if you were there, you might have noticed some interesting upright deciduous shrubs acting as decorations in the potting shed. As a follow up, for those of you who didn't know or generally haven't been familiar, let me introduce you to Fine Line® Buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula 'Ron Williams'.
You may be familiar with the Proven Winners brand and this fine specimen comes from that program. You may have seen them as curious little #3 or #5 plants in pretty white pots and had to imagine what that little guy looks like when he grows up. Well as you can see from the picture, Fine Line® Buckthorn grows into a fantastic upright plant, 8' tall and 3' wide with a "finely" textured foliage that has a tropical appearance but is also dense. The plant is very adaptable, requiring moderate water and drought tolerant once established. It is SUPER hardy as well, zone 2 (-50 F)! Plant in sun or part shade, don't pick the few berries it produces (Rhamnus berries are poisonous) and watch the deer walk on by to forage elsewhere. Although no plant is perfect this one sure passes the sniff test as a tough plant for Colorado.
It has a wide range of uses including narrow hedges or screens, accent specimen, patio planters, and combination planters. It can be used to frame doors and pathways as well. We have 10 5' B&B in stock now and will be stocking more next spring, so come by to see one, try one and start designing them into your projects.

Ho! Ho! Ho! 'Green Giant' Arborvitae

No one would ever accuse me of being a fan of Emerald Green Arborvitae, at least not for the front range of Colorado. They are not particularly drought tolerant, realtively slower growing, explode in heavy snow, burn from sun and wind as well as being the epitome of a commodity product. All this being said, there is an arborvitae on the market I am excited about. Thuja standishii x plicata, Green Giant arborvitae is a National Arboretum elite plant that is tolerant of a wide variety of soils and is hardy to Zone 5. This plant can be used as an evergreen screen, hedge or as a single specimen.
'Green Giant' is virtually maintence free, pest and disease resistant and widely considered deer resistant (all deer will graze on something green when they are starving). 'Green Giant' is a very fast growing plant regularly putting on 12-24" of grown annually and even more in some climates. The size of the plants at 10 years is 18-20' tall and 8' wide. Mature height is said to be upwards of 60' tall and 30' wide, although I wouldn't expect quite that large here. The plant is a little more "open" in habit, that is relative to Emerald Green, so that it sheds ice and snow well without breakage.
I planted a small screen of 5 plants in my yard about two years ago as #7's that were maybe 50" tall. They have full south sun exposure and are planted on my property line in an area that is a small drainage swail. Today they stand about 8' to the tip and are nice and full plants. It is important to select trees with a strong central leader. 'Green Giant' will tend to stretch some at the top with a kind of leggy appearance above the body of the plant. There is a selection of 'Green Giant' called 'Steeplechase' which does not thow this longer leader up, but it is not widely available yet outside of the east coast. I have observed that the dormant color can be quite dull and last winter I saw some sunburn on foliage on the south side but the plant has grown right out of it nicely and held up well with the record setting dry winter. With the onset of many insect problems in our pine and spruce populations, there certainly is room for this plant along the Front Range.

My Favorite Plant and Why

’Karl Fuchs’ Deodar Cedar was selected at a German nursery in the 1970’s from cold hardy seeds collected from high mountains south of Kabul in Afghanistan. It was selected for cold hardiness, but its extremely blue leaves, and its tendency to grow narrower than the species, also draws the attention of designers. Spring’s new growth appears a striking bright blue, then gradually matures to green, presenting a shimmering effect through much of the season.

It has not been established widely as to mature sizes and from what I can find the opinion varies from 20' in 10 years to 40'+ and beyond over its lifetime. There seems consensus that it won't get wider than 15' which makes it a great candidate for the narrower spaces we see in the landscapes today.

Colorado is a very tough environment for conifers, particularly on the high plains. Year after year we see winter dessication and burn on all types of conifers because of our high light intensity, highly variable temperatures and often very dry winters. Often plants are selected for here due in large part to their cold hardiness ratings. This is a misleading statistic, especially for the high plains. This plant has been rated as a zone 5 or 6 plant. I planted one in my yard in Reunion two years ago. We have well draining sandy loam soils there. The tree was about 6-7' tall from a #15 container. It is planted in the far southwest corner of my yard, in full sun with a little bit of winter wind protection but not much. Last winter we got to -15 F and had trace precipitation from November to February. I was nervous because the plant seemed to fade out to green and I was waiting to see signs of burn come March. To my pleasant surprise, not one needle dropped or burned. The tree now stands over 10' tall and has put on 8-12" of new growth again this year. After two years of traditional week long cold snaps and the driest winter on record (with no additional winter watering) I feel confident that this plant has great potential for widespread use along the Front Range. I would make sure to plant it in well draining soils. We are getting a larger specimen to plant in front of the new office which I am confident will be a conversation starter. By the way, Fuchs is pronounced Fooks in case you were wondering!

Going to DC.....

Tomorrow I leave for my third ANLA legislative conference in Washington DC. It is a very interesting and exhausting whirlwind of meetings, speakers and visits to meet with the various staffs, and sometimes elected officials, to discuss and promote issues important to our industry. Some things remain a consistant issue, such as the battle for legal and stable workforce, and some new opportunities are on the horizon in regard to promoting the real value of plants in the landscape, especially their "ecosystem services" benefits. One thing that I think has been a very wise decision for ANLA is to position it's legislative efforts around the real issues of our industry and aligning itself politically to weather the ebbs and flows of the political tide. This affords our industry the valuable luxury of not only continuous access to both parties but ever increasing respect and recognition of the value our industry provides our communities. I have observed in the few times I have visited our nation's capitol that, at least for our elected officials and their staff members, certainly a fishbowl effect in terms of not only how they view their constituencies but also in how the filter the communication they receive from the people they represent. The one thing I think I have come to understand best about this experience is that it does, in fact, matter a whole lot that we send representatives of our industry to advocate our issues. They do listen and weigh very strongly the stories we bring with us about what life really is like in the real world out here. We may not always receive a consistent level of support across all the issues we face, but it is certain there is always a position or issue we can find sympathy and support from our politicians, and to that end, we need to continue to make the effort to volunteer to engage in the system whether it means writing in a blog, visiting Congressional offices or writing letters or emails. If you do not speak, you cannot be heard.

Karl's Korean Cousin

As bulletproof as it is, Karl Foerster Feather Reed grass does get used a ton. In fact, it is still our #1 selling item. But Karl's lesser known Korean cousin is already making its way into the landscape. Calamagrostis brachytricha, Korean Feather Reed grass, has been wowing folks at the Denver Botanic Gardens for years and is now in our production mix as #1 containers. Similar in size to Karl Foerster, Korean Feather Reed has a distinctive flower and its leaves tend to not be quite as erect. More suitable for moderately sunny areas, Korean Feather Reed is a nice change of pace and a great choice for broadening your pallette of ornamental grasses suited to our region.